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The Commemorative Quarter for Illinois





Welcome to Van Petten ...

Van Petten is located in Lee County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Van Petten, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1901.

Van Petten is 650 feet [198 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Van Petten lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Van Petten: 815 & 779<3>

Communities near Van Petten ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Van Petten.

  • Dixon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sterling
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Rock Falls
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Morrison
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrison have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
    • Morrison is located in Whiteside County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,950 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morrison <4>
  • Amboy
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amboy have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
    • Amboy is located in Lee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,287 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Amboy <4>
  • Polo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Prophetstown
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Walnut
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Milledgeville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Franklin Grove
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Grove
    • Franklin Grove is located in Lee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 919 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin Grove <4>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Van Petten. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Van Petten.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Van Petten. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Van Petten.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Van Petten. See our Newspapers Page for Van Petten.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Van Petten ...

Looking for more information about Van Petten? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Van Petten, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Van Petten.

Adding Van Petten to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Van Petten in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Van Petten was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

X2X - From that list, the Van Petten post office opened in 1901.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Van Petten.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Van Petten. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Lee, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Van Petten - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 815 code has been Overlayed with the 779 area code. New phone numbers in the Van Petten area will be assigned with one of these codes: 815 or 779. As a result, placing a call in the Van Petten area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<6>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025