Kankakee County, Illinois
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe Library of Congress U.S. Newspaper Directory lists 41 newspaper titles published in Kankakee County, Illinois, with the earliest starting in 1800. None of these titles are currently digitized on Chronicling America. The National Register of Historic Places includes 15 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1978. Most listings are in or near Kankakee, Momence, Bourbonnais.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers published in Kankakee
Library of Congress41 newspaper titles
Source: Library of Congress U.S. Newspaper Directory. “Digitized” links lead to page images on Chronicling America.
Coverage timeline
NewspapersEach bar is one title’s publication span. brown = digitized on Chronicling America Open-ended runs extend to today.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP5 of 15 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
15 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Bradley, B. Harley, House and Stable | Kankakee | 2009 |
| Chipman, Edward, Public Library | Momence | 2017 |
| Downtown Momence Historic District | Momence | 2006 |
| Durham-Perry Farmstead | Bourbonnais | 2006 |
| Hickox, Warren, House | Kankakee | 1978 |
| Hunter-Hattenburg House | Kankakee | 2008 |
| Illinois Central Railroad Depot | Kankakee | 2000 |
| Kankakee County Courthouse | Kankakee | 2007 |
| Kankakee State Hospital Historic District | Kankakee | 1995 |
| Milk, Lemuel, Carriage House | Kankakee | 1979 |
| Point School | Grant Park | 1992 |
| Pope Brace Company Building | Kankakee | 2021 |
| Riverview Historic District | Kankakee | 1986 |
| Swannell, Charles E., House | Kankakee | 1982 |
| Windrose Site | Bourbonnais | 2000 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBKankakee was formed in 1853 (1853-04-05) from Iroquois, Will.
KANKAKEE created from IROQUOIS and WILL. Boundaries were somewhat different from the KANKAKEE proposed on 11 February 1851.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusKankakee County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15,412 | 25,047 | 37,154 | 44,940 | 60,877 | 73,524 | 92,063 | 102,926 | 103,833 | 107,502 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS68 cemeteries and 3 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 68 of 68 listed
| Name |
|---|
| All Saint Cemetery |
| Aroma Park Cemetery |
| Barnett Cemetery |
| Beach Cemetery |
| Beebe Family Cemetery |
| Bloom Old Cemetery |
| Blooms Grove Cemetery |
| Bnai Israel Cemetery |
| Bonfield Cemetery |
| Chief Yellowhead Cemetery |
| Colman Cemetery |
| Concordia Cemetery |
| DeSelm Cemetery |
| Eldridgeville Cemetery |
| Elmwood Cemetery |
| Essex Township Cemetery |
| Floridgeville Cemetery |
| Grand Prairie Cemetery |
| Grand Prairie Cemetery |
| Guiding Star Memorial Cemetery |
| Hall Cemetery |
| Heusing Cemetery |
| Kankakee Memorial Gardens |
| Kankakee State Hospital Cemetery |
| Lancaster Cemetery |
| Leggtown Cemetery |
| Limestone Cemetery |
| Maple Grove Cemetery |
| Maternity Blessed Virgin Mary Cemetery |
| Momence Cemetery |
| Mound Grove Cemetery |
| Mount Airy Cemetery |
| Mount Calvary Cemetery |
| Mount Hope Cemetery |
| Mount Hope Cemetery |
| Mount Langham Cemetery |
| Nichols Cemetery |
| Oakwood Cemetery |
| Old Baptist Cemetery |
| Old Lehigh Cemetery |
| Old State Hospital Cemetery |
| Pilot Center Cemetery |
| Rice-Bebe Cemetery |
| Richardson McKinstry Cemetery |
| Saint Anne Catholic Cemetery |
| Saint Anne Township Cemetery |
| Saint George Cemetery |
| Saint James Cemetery |
| Saint Joseph Cemetery |
| Saint Judes Cemetery |
| Saint Patricks Cemetery |
| Saint Paul Lutheran Cemetery |
| Saint Peter and Paul Cemetery |
| Saint Rose of Lima Cemetery |
| Sammons Cemetery |
| Sherburnville Cemetery |
| Shreffler Cemetery |
| Shrontz Cemetery |
| Smith Cemetery |
| Smith Cemetery |
| South Essex Cemetery |
| State Hospital Cemetery |
| State of Illinois Veterans Home Cemetery |
| Trinity Lutheran Cemetery |
| Union Corners Cemetery |
| Wingerter Cemetery |
| Zion Lutheran Cemetery |
| Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 3 of 3
| Name |
|---|
| Collins |
| Judson |
| Pilot Center |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Kankakee County, Illinois
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.