|
Momence Located 50 Miles due south of Chicago and 15 miles east of the Kankakee/Bradley/Bourbonnais metropolitan area, Momence area residents enjoy their rural surroundings as well as close proximity to many urban amenities.
The City of Momence has a population of approximately 3,200, with the surrounding Momence and Ganeer townships providing an additional 7,500 people to the immediate area. The population of Kankakee County in its entirety is approximately 103,800 residents.
Momence is the oldest town in northeastern Illinois, celebrating its sesquicentennial in 1984. Nearly 200 years ago when fur trader Gurdon Saltenstall Hubbard first ventured into the region to establish trading posts, most of the state was still wilderness-praire, woodland and marsh. This area in particular was home to the Native American Pottawatomi, whose chief, Momenza, inspired the name "Momence."There were 1,159 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.7 males.
The trail Hubbard established to transport fur between Chicago, then known as Fort Dearborn, and Vincennes, Indiana, was later used by pioneers from Canada and the East, who made their homes at the first settlement of Momence, the Upper Crossing on the banks of the Kankakee River, Sections of Hubbard's Trace Later became the Dixie Highway, which bisects the town, as well as the Vincennes Trail.
Early settlers dubbed Momence the "Border Town" to describe its position between 1800s civilization and the American frontier.
With the clearing of the rich land for farming, the construction of mills and treaties with the Pottawatomi, the town moved one mile downstream to its current location. Much of the original nineteenth century business district, surrounded by graceful Victorian neighborhoods, remains intact today, evidence of the devotion residents have to the town's rich heritage. |
