Welcome to DeKalb County Illinois / USGenWeb
Places Of Interest Around DeKalb County, Old & New

Submitted to DeKalb County, ILGenWeb by Sheila R. Larson

AFTON CENTRE	Located in Afton township on section 21. The name Afton was derived from a song 'Flow gently, sweet Afton:' an admirer of the song, John A. Hayden used the name.
AFTON TOWNSHIP	This township was organized in 1854. Previous to that time the northern half had been attached to DeKalb, and the southern half to Clinton. W.R. Campbell was probably the first white resident of the place, and John A. Hayden the next.
ALMON	Horace Fay, county surveyor in 1854 made the first village plat of the town of Sandwich, this name was given to the village in honor of Almon Gage who owned the farm upon which the principal part of the first survey was located. Mr. Gage was too modest to allow his name to be used and the substitution of Sandwich was made.
BANNIGAN'S GROVE	Located in Paw Paw township on section 27. On the original survey for DeKalb County, Illinois it has Bannigan's house and field in section 26. Mr. Bannigan was an Irishman and located in   this grove and gave it his name but it was later known as Coon's Grove.
BEULAH	A post office was established in March 1860 and discontinued in April 1864 in Squaw Grove township. The original Post Office sign was found in the attic of a home (built by D.M. Dobbin) on Howison Road in section 31 in Squaw Grove township. The post office was located two miles northwest of the Somonauk Church on Howison Road very near the Clinton township line. The Beulah Post Office sign has been donated to the Joiner History Room in the basement of the courthouse.
BLOOD'S POINT	Located in Franklin township on section 2 and just over the county line into Boone County, Illinois. There is some controversy as to where the post office was located in DeKalb or Boone Counties, Illinois. The post office was established around 1848 with S.V.W. Scott as postmaster.
BRADT	This was an area name used for rural route DeKalb, Illinois. Along the railway of Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad.
BRODIES GROVE	Located in Ogle County, Illinois next to the DeKalb county line. This was an early rendezvous of an organized band of bandits.
BRUSH POINT	Located in Mayfield township section 14. An early post office with Harrison Mackey as postmaster in 1855. It was at the intersection of Five Points Road and Pleasant Hill Road.
BUCK'S BRANCH	Located in Somonauk township. This was an early post office established around 1850 with C.B. Rhodes as postmaster in 1851. Changed July 1, 1854 to the Somonauk Depot.
BUENA VISTA	Name first given to the City of DeKalb in the 1850's. Land first belonged to Russell Huntley in section #23 of DeKalb township. It was named in honor of one of the battles of the War with Mexico - the Battle of Buena Vista.
CARLTON	Located in Afton township on section #32. A post office was established from Hayden (look up Hayden in index) in December 1886; changed to McGirr in January 1908.
CENTERVILLE	This was the name given to the residence of Frederick Love's log cabin in DeKalb township.     Mr. Love had hopes that this would be the county seat.
CENTRAL GROVE	In Gross's 1907 history book, page 145, an explanation stated that the timber land of DeKalb township naturally divided itself into three parts. The South Grove, of Huntley's Grove, was separated from the Central Grove, later called Union Grove, by a gap extending east and west over the site of the Normal bridge. Another gap was found on the land owned by Phineas Stevens and extending westward, and for a long time these settlements were known by the names of Huntley's Grove, Union Grove and Coltonville.
CHADWICK	The plat of the village of Chadwick was recorded in March 1887. It was situated on M.H. Quinn's land about six miles west of Sycamore on the Milwaukee & Northwestern Railroad. The Sycamore  True Republican reported on this village in the March 30, 1887 issue saying that the iron for the side track was already there and the depot was expected to be built that week. It's reported that a lot was sold to William McCarty to build a store.
CHAPMAN AND/OR CHAPMANVILLE	Located in Kingston township, near the present village of Kingston. In the Sycamore True Republican on December 23, 1885, a story reported on Henrietta reports that Chapman was off to the west of the Henrietta and had a new $4,000 church. It is on the 1892 plat of DeKalb County, Illinois.
CHARTER GROVE	This grove is located in Sycamore township in section #10, #11, #14, and #15. The name   was named from a Mr. Chartres, a Frenchman who was an early settler.
CHARTER OAK	Located in Franklin township at the intersection of Pearl Street and Cherry Valley Road in section #12. A Methodist Church was built here in 1866 and an early post office was maintained for many years. In section #2 is the Charter Oak Cemetery.
CHASE	Located in Pierce township section #4. Listed on Rand McNally Geographical and Commercial Atlas, Chicago, 1956, but not on the 1958 version. Rural Cortland.
CLARE	Located on section #24 in South Grove township and in Mayfield township on section #19. A post  office established in August 1890; changed from Holly; still has active post office. RFD served Wilkinson and on Chicago Great Western Railway.
CLINTON CENTER	Name used for Waterman, Illinois
CLINTON TOWNSHIP	This township was organized in 1850 and included one half of Victor and one half of Afton, as well as its present territory. In 1853 it was reduced to its present dimensions. The name of Clinton was given by the settlers who were from Clinton, New York and liked the name.
CLOVERDALE	Located in Sandwich township section #22 and possibly #15. On 1905 DeKalb County Atlas, page 43.
COLTONVILLE	Located in DeKalb township on the northern border in section #2. It is at the intersection of     North First Street and Rich Road about two miles north of DeKalb. Rufus Colton in the winter of 1836 purchased this land from C. Morey and had a portion of the land surveyed and a village plat made in hopes of having a thriving community and hopefully be DeKalb County's county seat. Post office was established in March 1838 from Sycamore, Illinois; changed back to Sycamore in August 1840; re-established separately in December 1843 and discontinued in March 1850. In the tavern at Coltonville was the first Commissioners Court in 1837. A large Indian village was here prior to the first settlement, but in the fall of 1835 the Indians were removed beyond the Mississippi.
COLVIN PARK	Located in Kingston township on section #9. The Illinois Central Railway use to go through this village. This was used as a shipping station for the farmers in the northern part of this township. Post office established in May 1889; discontinued in January 1914; nor rural Kingston, Illinois.
COON GROVE	Located in Paw Paw township section #27. Also known as Bannigan's Grove. 1907 History of   DeKalb, page 115 mentions it as being one of three valuable and beautiful woodlands that naturally attracted those seeking homes in the west at a very early day.
CORNTON	Located in Shabbona township section #15. It is about one-half mile west of Shabbona. It was platted at the junction of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and C&I Railroads. Post office was established from Malma in January 1872; changed to Shabbona in November of 1872; changed back to Cornton in January 1873 and changed back to Shabbona in December 1878.
CORTLAND	Located in Cortland township on section #29. Post office was established from Courtland in June 1892; still active; rural served Chase. Formerly known as Courtland, Courtland Station, Lost Grove, Pampas, and Richland. The town was incorporated in February 1865 and this is also when the name of Pampas was changed to Cortland.
CORTLAND STATION	See Cortland
CORTLAND TOWNSHIP	Named for the village of the same name. The first name given to the township was Richland. This was soon after changed to Pampas township, a name suggested by J.R. Crossett, from the resemblance of its prairies to the pampas or plains of South America. In 1864 this name was changed by the Legislature to Cortland, the name of its village and postal station. It was in October 1835 that a group of emigrants (George W. and Isaac Gandy, John and Perry Elliott, David Wood, and Henry Smith, with their families) came northward from Ottawa, Illinois on the line of an Indian trail and found themselves in Cortland township on what is now section #3.
COTTENTOWN	Names in honor of John Cotten and was located in the southwest section of DeKalb once known as Pegtown and/or Shoetown.
DAVIS LAKE	Also called Somonauk Lake and Devil's Lake - it was located on the southwest edge of Sandwich, Illinois and covered over 100 acres. It furnished recreation with hunting, fishing, and boating. In 1912-13 John Cortright was hired to drain the lake and so ended a natural recreation spot.
DEERFIELD PRAIRIE	Located in South Grove township section #18. An early post-office was established in June 1857 with P. Waterman being first postmaster; changed to Esmond in December 1887. In January 1878 a petition asking that the Deerfield Prairie post office be discontinued and a new mail route be established running from Sycamore to South Grove and Dustin and thence to Wallace and Fielding. In 1891 it was located where Esmond village was on the Chicago St. Paul and Kansas Railroad in South Grove township.
DeKalb	This city is located in DeKalb township mostly on Section #23. A post office was established here in May 1883 from DeKalb Centre and is still active. It was incorporated as a village in 1856. Named for Baron Johanna DeKalb, a German soldier of fortune, who fought in the French army during the American Revolution.
DeKalb CENTRE	A post office was established here in February 1849; changed to DeKalb, Illinois in May 1883, effective in July 1883.
DeKalb COUNTY POOR FARM	The DeKalb County Infirmary was originally the home to those who were unable to pay for their own medical attention. Many had no living relatives and no money and when they died they were interred at the expense of the county in the DeKalb County Cemetery on the same property. The buildings have been torn down and the county home is now located on the west side of DeKalb. The cemetery however is still intact and in fine condition. More information can be found at the following link. Click Here
DeKalb TOWNSHIP	This township is located in the center of the county. It was formerly called Orange township when it was organized in 1850. The first settlers of this township were John B. Collins and Norman C. Moore. They came in the spring of 1835. Huntley's Grove and Coltonville were also located in this township.
DEVILS LAKE	Located in Sandwich township on section #35. Also called Davis Lake and Somonauk Lake.
DORSET	Located in Clinton township section #33. An early post office with William Robinson as postmaster was established in May 1850; discontinued in February 1874.
DRISCOLL'S GROVE	South Grove township was named Driscoll's Grove before the township organization of the county in 1850. It was then called Vernon township, and finally South Grove township, as it was the first grove south of the large woods along the Kishwaukee River in the north part of the county.
DUSTIN	Located in South Grove township on section #8. A post office was established here in May 1868; discontinued in January 1873; re-established in March 1873; and discontinued in November 1887. It was named in honor of General Daniel Dustin, a Civil War Soldier.
EAST PAW PAW	Located in Paw Paw township sections #7 and #18. A post office was established in February     1854; changed to Lee County, Illinois in June 1855; changed back to DeKalb County, Illinois in March 1861; discontinued in September 1898.
ELBA STATION	A post office established in April 1886 and discontinued in February 1914.
ELVA	Located in Afton township on section #9, south of DeKalb, on the Northern Illinois Railroad. Part was on the Joseph Glidden land and named for Elva Glidden Bush, daughter of barbed wire inventor Joseph F. Glidden of  DeKalb, who owned land in Afton township.
ESMOND	Located in South Grove township section #18. The Chicago Great Western Railroad had a station established here. A post office was established from Deerfield Prairie in December 1887. The post offices of  Deerfield Prairie and Dustin were merged into the Esmond post office with Martin Kennedy as postmaster. The post office was located in the Kennedy Brothers grocery store.
ETNA TOWNSHIP	This was the second name given to the present township of Malta township. The first name was Milton township.
FAIRDALE	Located in Franklin township on section #19. A post office established from Wallace in November 1895; discontinued in 1931; now Kirkland.
FIELDING	Located in Franklin township on the southwest quarter of section #19 on Route 72 just east of the DeKalb County line. Fielding was named for Albert Fielding. The post office was named for Wallace Koch, son of Henry and Julia A. Koch one of the town's founders. As years went by it became confusing to have two different names for the town and its post office - this prompted the change to Fairdale in January 1896.
FISH TRAP	Located in Mayfield township. In Gross History, page 185 it mentions a cabin on what was in 1907 known as Fish Trap about 1840, across in Mayfield township.
FIVE CORNERS	Located in Mayfield township on section #26. Also called Five Points. Five different roads     intersected at this point.
FIVE POINTS	Another name for Five Corners which is located in Mayfield township on section #26.
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP	This township is located in the northwestern tier of DeKalb County. Andrew and William Miles and Samuel Corey were probably the first settlers of the township.
FRANKS	Located in Somonauk township on section #4. A post office was established in November 1891 and discontinued in April 1902 because the post office was unable to find a successor to Miss Carrie Beelman, postmistress at Franks, when she resigned in 1902. The closing of Freeland Corners post office was such a hardship to the farmers of Freeland Corners and Somonauk Crossing that they petitioned the Post Office Department to establish another office in the location of Frank Richey's creamers, and that it be called Frank's Post Office. The building was located just north of the bridge on the west side of the road.
FREELAND AND/OR FREELAND CORNERS	Located in Somonauk township section #3. The name for this corner was suggested from the fact that the neighborhood was composed of liberty loving people, those who strongly believed in a free land. A post office was established from Somonauk Corners in December 1855; discontinued in November 1884; re-established in December 1884; and discontinued again in March 1886. When the railroad was built through the present town of Somonauk in 1853, the mail station was moved there. Mail was carried to Free land Corners, the new name of Somonauk Corners, by horseback.
GENOA	Located in Genoa township on sections #19 and #20. A post office was established here in May 1837 and is still active; the name came from Genoa, New York, where Thomas Madison / Matteson, the first settler came from.
GENOA GROVE	On the 1860 DeKalb County, Illinois Land Ownership Atlas in Genoa township on section #19.
GENOA TOWNSHIP	This township is located at the northern part of DeKalb County in the northeast corner. The     first settler of this township was Thomas Madison/Matteson and his family which included his son in law, Voranus Emory Moore and his family in 1836.
GREELEY	Located around the station at Waterman in the township of Clinton, this little village was laid out. Mr. Greeley, a cousin of Horace Greeley, laid out an addition of twelve acres and called in Greeley.
HART	Reference made to rural Genoa on Illinois Central Railroad.
HAYDEN	Located in Afton township section #32 with John Luther as postmaster. It was named after one of the first inhabitants and the name of the station, which was formerly Newton and was changed to correspond. A post office was established in November 1886, changed to Carlton in December 1886 and later to McGirr.
HENRIETTA	Located in Kingston township on section #23 at the junction of the Northern and the Milwaukee Railroads. The Sycamore True Republican, December 23, 2885 talks of the new town. Says that Kingston is on one side, Genoa on the other and Chapman is right off to the west with its handsome new $4,000 church. The old depot was bought by Cassius Fairclo and moved to his farm on Base Line Road.
HICKORY GROVE	Located in Genoa township on section #18. On the 1860 DeKalb County Land Ownership           Atlas it was on the Genoa Kingston township border. Part of the grove was in Kingston township on section #13. It  was named because of its abundance of hickories there.
HICK'S MILL	Located in Franklin township on section #16 on the border of section #21 (this is from the original survey of DeKalb County, Illinois) on the Kishwaukee River. Named after Mr. Hicks who erected a saw mill in 1837. Some say Henry Hicks, others say Harris Hicks. A post office was established in January 1839 with Henry Hicks the first postmaster; changed to South Mills, Boone County, Illinois in March 1844; changed back to Hicks Mills in July 1845; discontinued in August 1875 on the advent of the railroad.
HINCKLEY	Located in Squaw Grove township on sections #14 and #15. This village was first known as Squaw Grove and changed its name around 1872 to Hinckley in honor of Francis E. Hinckley who was active in the building  and developing of the railroads. A post office was established in the village of Squaw Grove, which was situated in the grove about one half mile west of town, in August 1872; it was moved from the grove into the new store of Mr. Frank E. Merrill; it is still active today.
HOLDERMAN'S GROVE	Located in Somonauk township section #10. It was located about twelve miles southeast of Freeland Corners which is in section #3.
HOLLY	Located in South Grove township, section #24. A post office was established here in August 1887; changed to Clare in August 1890.
HUNTLEY'S CORNERS / CENTER	On the 1860 DeKalb County, Illinois Land Ownership Atlas it is located on section #22, DeKalb township.
HUNTLEY'S GROVE	Located in DeKalb township and named after Russell Huntley who settled here. It is now         called DeKalb, Illinois. To show how valuable the timberland was at an early date and how little the pioneers valued the prairie is the following from the 1907 DeKalb County history by Gross, page 145: "Russell Huntley moved to the south end of the grove and bought the claim of Jesse Root. This was the period of wild cat money and Mr. Huntley bought all of the southern part of the grove. This purchase embraced about 500 acres of woodland and as much of the prairie as he chose to call his own. As it seemed desirable, however, that each should know where his line was, he made an agreement with the Brady's of Brody's Grove, about ten miles west of him, that the division line between them should be half way between the two groves; and he made a similar verbal arrangement with inhabitants of Shabbona Grove on the south."
JOHNSON'S GROVE	Located in Clinton township on sections #29 and #30. It was also known as Pritchard's               Grove. Renamed for Oliver P. Johnson who located here in April 1835.
KINGSTON	Located in the center of Kingston township on section #22. A post office was established in July 1839 which served Colvin Park, Henrietta and Herbert. Incorporated as a village in February 1886.
KINGSTON TOWNSHIP	Located in the middle northern tier of townships in DeKalb County. In 1835 the only             human inhabitants of Kingston township were the Pottawattamie Indians. Among the first settlers were Thomas Robb, George H. Hill, Isaiah Fairclo, Harmon Miller, Lewis Driggs, John Judd, Benjamin Schoonover, James Green, Nathan Billings and John Freel.
KIRKLAND	Located in Franklin Township on section #26. A post office was established in July 1875 and is still active; named after William T. Kirk, one of the pioneer settlers of Franklin township. The post office serves Fairdale.
KISHWAUKEE	Located possibly in Franklin township. In 1838 the mills of the Hicks brothers and Gilchrist were kept busy in sawing lumber to build the new town of Kishwaukee, which was projected and designed to be an important place. It was located at the mouth of the Kishwaukee river. Several buildings were constructed, stores, shops, etc. were started, but the town never acquired any considerable size and was abandoned. This was in Boies history book, page 459. At the June session of the Commissioners' Court, in 1839, the county was divided into three assessment districts - Franklin, Kingston and Kishwaukee.
LA CLAIR	Located in Paw Paw township on section #18 and #19. Named after Pierre LaClair. This was an early post office and in 1851 Daniel Robinson was postmaster. Originally in Lee County, Illinois a post office was established in July 1849; changed to LaClair in January 1895 which was then located in DeKalb County; changed to Lee County, Illinois again around May 1901; and discontinued in February 1902.
LACEY	Located in Franklin township on section #25; established during the first decade of the county's existence. Lacey's post office was on the line between Kingston and Franklin townships. Post office established in February 1849; discontinued in February 1864; re-established in March 1864 and again discontinued in July 1875.
LEE	This village is located in both DeKalb and Lee Counties; in DeKalb county it is located in Shabbona County with an establishment date of September 1872. It was discontinued in September 1874 and changed to DeKalb County in December 1885; changed back to Lee County in June 1906.
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP	This is the first name given to what is now Mayfield township. The reason they changed           the name was from the fact that the township had an exuberance of wild flowers in the spring. The name Mayfield  was suggested by Eunice Nickerson, daughter of Mulford Nickerson, who was the townships first supervisor.
LINE	Located in Cortland township. A post office was established in January 1847 with Joseph Shaw the postmaster in 1849; changed to Lodi Station in Kane County, Illinois in March 1854; it is now Maple Park, Illinois.
LODI	Now Maple Park, Illinois. Located on the border of Cortland township near section #36.
LOST GROVE	Located in Cortland township on section #3. It was given the name Lost Grove from the fact that it was separated from the main body of timber. First settled by James and Joseph Roberts, two bachelors, around 1835 or 1836. The name was continued until 1855. A post office was in September 1849; changed to Courtland Station in March 1854; it is now Cortland post office.
LUCE'S CORNERS	Located in Cortland township on section #29. It was about one-half mile south of the present   village of Cortland where a post office was established in 1850 by Chauncey Luce. There was about a half dozen houses, with a tavern, a store, and the usual shops and dwellings, but most of the buildings were subsequently moved to the railroad station.
MC GIRR	Located in Afton township on section #32. A post office was established in January 1908 from Carlton; discontinued in July 1919; formerly Carlton, Hayden and Newton.
MALMA	Located in Shabbona township on section #16. Malma post office was established in June 1860; changed to Cornton in January 1872; it is now Shabbona post office. The first postmaster is said to of been Ira Fisher.
MALTA	Located in Malta township on section #23. A post office was established in February 1857.
MALTA TOWNSHIP	Formerly known as Milton and Etna townships. It was originally part of DeKalb township       but in 1855, a sufficient number of settlers had moved in to give them a right to a separate township organization. Its first inhabitant was Ezekiel Whitehead, who commenced a farm in 1851.
MAYFIELD TOWNSHIP	This township was first settled in 1835. A large Indian village then occupied the site of         Coltonville. Liberty was the name given to the township upon its organization in 1850. It was selected by the Townsends, Nichols', and Nickersons' - those earnest, active members of the Liberty party of those times, who were neither ashamed nor afraid to be known as station agents on the underground railroads - it was later changed to Mayfield township from Liberty township for the beautiful May flowers it had.
MILAN TOWNSHIP	One of two townships in DeKalb County without a village or town. It is also one of the           youngest townships by being established in 1857. Its parent townships were Malta and Shabbona, who each contributed three square miles. Lewis McEwen was the first inhabitant of Milan settling there in 1852.
MILTON TOWNSHIP	This is the first name given to the present township of Malta. Milton township was formed         from DeKalb township in 1856. When it was organized it contained the north half of the present township of Milan  township.
NEW LEBANON	Located in Genoa township on section #24. A post office was established in December 1845; discontinued in July 1907; re-established in July 908; and again discontinued in November 1914; now rural Hampshire, Illinois.
NEWARK STATION	This was the name used to early mail delivery by the railroad to the present town of                     Sandwich in Sandwich township.
NEWTON	Former name of McGirr and Hayden which is in Afton township, section #32. In 1886 the 'new' post office of Hayden was formed with John Luther and postmaster.
NEY / NEY GRANGE	Located in Genoa township on section #3; an early post office was established in May           8151 with C. Goddsill as postmaster and then discontinued in August 1900.
NORTH CLINTON	Located in Clinton township on section #9. The North Clinton Church was located here.
NORTH KINGSTON	Located in Kingston township section #9. A post office was established in June 1852 with       Charles W. Branch as postmaster; discontinued in October 1877. North Kingston Cemetery is located on the Genoa Belvidere Road in section #10.
NORTH PIERCE	Located in Pierce township, a post office was established in June 1854 and discontinued in     January of 1855.
NORTON'S GROVE	In Clinton township. The Old Settler's Picnics were held here from 1902 until their duration. The grove, what is left of it, is now the Shabbona Forest Preserve.
NORWEIGN GROVE	Located northeast from Sycamore, Illinois in Sycamore township on sections #28 and #33.       Named for a Norwegian doctor by the name of Norbo who settled in 1835 at this grove.
OHIO GROVE	Located in Cortland township in sections #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #24 and #23. It was   named from the fact that the greater number of the first settlers were from the State of Ohio and settled there in 1835 and 1836. A post office was established in December 1838; discontinued in August 1840; re-established in May 1846; and again discontinued in September 1864.
ORANGE TOWNSHIP	This was the first name give to the present township of DeKalb township.
ORPUT'S GROVE	Located in South Grove township on section #23. This was named after John Orput and his     family who were from the State of Ohio, moving later to Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois.
PAMPAS TOWNSHIP	Name given to the present township of Cortland. This was the second name given to the             township, the first was Richland township. The name of Pampas was suggested by J.R. Crossett because of its resemblance to the pampas or plains of South America. In 1864 Pampas was changed by the legislature to Cortland township, the name of its village and postal station.
PAPPOOSE GROVE	Located in Squaw Grove township on section #14. It is located just east of Squaw Grove. It     was named by a party in 1834 when they passed through the groves and found them occupied mainly by Indian squaws with their pappooses. Squaw Grove was named for the squaws and Pappoose Grove named for their pappooses.
PAWGROVE	A post office was established under this name in November 1898 and discontinued June 1902.
PAW PAW GROVE	Located in Paw Paw township partially in sections #18 and #19 and partially in Lee County,   Illinois. A post office was established in November 1836 in LaSalle County, Illinois; in 1837 Asahel Baldwin was postmaster; changed to Ogle County, Illinois about March 1839; changed to Lee County, Illinois in January 1844; changed to Paw Paw in May 1883; changed to Paw Paw, Lee County, Illinois in November 1893.
PAW PAW TOWNSHIP	This township is in the southwestern corner of the county and was organized in 1850. The first settlers of the township arrived in the fall of 1834. David A. Town came first and he was soon after joined by Edward Butterfield and Benjamin Harris
PEGTOWN	See Cottentown.
PIERCE TOWNSHIP	This township is located on the eastern borders of DeKalb County. It was originally settled     by many settlers who were natives of Germany and Ireland. The first settler was Elder Nathan Wilcox, who made a farm in the northern part of the township in 1848. This section of country was at first included in Somonauk precinct, subsequently in Orange precinct, and before the township organization was adopted in 1850, was incorporated with Cortland township (or Pampas) in Richland precinct. Until 1853 the northern half was attached to Pampas township   and the southern half to Squaw Grove township. In 1853 Pierce was organized into a township and named in honor of President Pierce. The name was selected by Mr. Champlin and George W. Kretsinger.
PIERCEVILLE	Located in Pierce township section #21. This was an early post office which was established in February 1854 with Moses Hill as postmaster, the office was at Mr. Hill's house which was on the route from Somonauk to Cortland; and discontinued in January 1898.
PLEASANT HILL	Located in Mayfield township on section #12. A cemetery is also located here in section #12   called Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
PRAIRIE POND	Located in Clinton township on section #10 which was kept by Lent Reynolds in his home, one mile of Waterman. One source has that it was located on the North Road in the house then (1897) occupied by Frank Greeley. A post office was established in October 1860; changed to Waterman Station in May 1871; and is now named Waterman, Illinois.
PRITCHARDS GROVE	Located in Clinton township on section #29. In 1835 Deacon Pritchard came through this         section of the county and liked what he saw and wanted to possess it; but returning next year with his family, he was disappointed by finding it claimed and occupied by Oliver P. Johnson, who had given his name to the grove  (Johnson's Grove). Pritchard moved on to Grand de Tour, on the Rock River; but eight years later returned and bought the property, settled there, and renamed it Pritchard's Grove.
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP	Name given to present township of Cortland. This was the first name given to the township; from Richland it was changed to Pampas and finally in 1864 to Cortland township.
ROLLO	Located in Paw Paw township on section #21. A post office was established in March 1886; discontinued  in December 1922; now rural Earlville, Illinois.
ROSS GROVE	Located in Paw Paw township on section #11. The grove itself was named after Joseph Ross and comprised of several sections of land in this area. An early post office was established here in April 1843; chanted  to Shabbona's Grove in June 1844; and discontinued in 1931.
SANDWICH / SANDWICH             TOWNSHIP	Located in Sandwich township on sections #35, #36, #25, and #26 and also extends into Kendall County, Illinois. The name of Sandwich comes from Sandwich, New Hampshire, home town of the then Congressman for this area "Long John" Wentworth, a prominent Chicago politician. A post office was established in March 1850; discontinued in September 1851; re-established in February 1854. It was also formerly called Newark Station.  In 1898 the DeKalb County Board of Supervisors split Somonauk Township into two distinct half- townships, Sandwich Township on the west and Somonauk Township on the east.
SHABBONA	Located in Shabbona township on section #35. A post office was established from Cornton in November 1872; changed back to Cornton in January 1873; changed back to Shabbona in December 1878. The village of Shabbona was platted and surveyed by the county surveyor in the spring of 1872. Former names were Cornton and Malma.
SHABBONA GROVE	Located in Shabbona Township largely on section #23 and #26. A post office was                   established as Shabbona Grove from Ross Grove in June 1844; discontinued 1931. This township is where Chief Shabbona, the Pottawattamie Indian Chief made his home. In the treaty made at Prairie Du Chien in 1829, by which he Pottawatomie ceded this section of country to the United States, two sections of land at this grove were made reservation to Shabbona. The first white man's dwelling in this township was built in 1836. It is said that in the early days almost every resident of Chicago could tell you where Shabbona Grove was and all about it.
SHABBONA TOWNSHIP	Named after the famous Pottawattamie Chief, Chief Shabbona. This township was                 settled in 1836 by Edmund Town and David Smith.
SHOETOWN	See Cottentown.
SNELL	A post office located in Mayfield township was established in April 1894 and discontinued in July 1895. It was in the home of Mr. J.T. Snell in Mayfield township and he was also postmaster.
SOMONAUK CORNERS AND/OR CROSSING	A stage coach route was established along the Chicago-Galena road, and a mail station was begun at this place in a log cabin built in 1834 by an unknown trapper. The site of the cabin was on the north bank of Somonauk Creek, which ran by the east side of the Somonauk church. Later, Reuben Root took possession of the cabin and became the first postmaster in DeKalb County, Illinois. John Estabrook took squatter's rights to the cabin in 1836. He then became postmaster. A short time later, the mail station was moved one and one-half miles east of the Somonauk Church at the intersection of the Chicago Galena highway and the road  running north from Ottawa to Wisconsin and became called Somonauk Corners. Later became Freeland Corners when the C.B. & Q. Railroad established a station called Somonauk, five miles south.
SOMONAUK TOWNSHIP	In this township is the first white man's inhabitation - a cabin built in the spring of  1834, on the bank of Somonauk Creek. It was used as a station house on the mail route between Chicago and Galena. The cabin was abandoned in the autumn. It subsequently became the property of the Beveridge family. In 1898 the DeKalb County Board of Supervisors split Somonauk Township into two distinct half-townships, Sandwich Township on the west and Somonauk Township on the east.
SOMONOC DEPOT	Name once used for Somonauk. A post office was established from Buck Branch in Jan  1854; changed to Somonauk in December 1855.
SOUTH GROVE TOWNSHIP	This township, which was organized in 1850, was first called Vernon. It had previously been known as Driscoll's Grove, but the name was changed soon after its organization. It is said that the highest point of land between Chicago and the Mississippi River is in the southern part of this township.
SOUTH MILLS	Located in Franklin township on section #17. A post office was established from Hicks Mill,   DeKalb County to South Mills, Boone County in March 1844; changed back to Hicks Mills, DeKalb County in July 1845.
SOUTH PAW PAW	Located in Paw Paw township, DeKalb County and overlaps into Lee County, Illinois on         1876 Illinois State Atlas.
SQUAW GROVE	Located in Squaw Grove township where Hinckley is now located. A post office was             established in January 1853 in the store that John Sebree built in the same year; the post master was William Tappan, the mail was carried from Somonauk to Cortland by a man named of Mr. Cheasbro; post office changed to Hinckley in August 1872 when the village changed its name to Hinckley; the post office was then located in Frank E. Merrill's store in Hinckley.
SQUAW GROVE TOWNSHIP	This township was probably the first township settled in DeKalb County. In the summer of 1834, a Mr. Hollenbeck, who lived near Ottawa, Illinois, made a journey as far as the present site of  Sycamore and on his return made a claim to the fine grove in this township. This he called Squaw Grove, because he found here, alone, a large number of squaws, whose partners had gone on a hunting expedition. He never remained on his new claim but told others about it. William Sebree with his family settled there in September 1834.
STEWARTVILLE	Located in Kingston township on section #21. In Boies history of DeKalb County, page 458 it says it is a small hamlet consisting of a store, post office, wagon and blacksmith shop, and a handsome Masonic hall, and is the only village in the township. Also spelled Stuartville. It was located at the present corner of Route 72 and Annie Glidden Road. It was named after Lyman and James Y. Stuart and their father, Nathan, who were early settlers of this township. When the railroad came business was moved into the present village of Kingston, which was    platted in May 1876 by the same two brothers.
SYCAMORE	Located in Sycamore township mostly on section #32. A post office was established here in     September 1836; changed to Coltonville in March 1838; changed back to Sycamore in August 1840 and today remains. Rural routes serve Charter Grove and Five Points.
SYCAMORE BIG GROVE	This grove is located in Sycamore township and runs along the townships western  boundaries.
SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP	Named after the township, the first settlers was probably Lysander Darling, who came in 1835.
UNION GROVE	Located mostly in DeKalb township and it runs along the Kishwaukee River southwest of         Sycamore. It was named Union because the groves are united by isthmuses. It was originally called Central Grove (see Central Grove).
VAN BUREN	Located in Victor township on section #8. An early post office was established here on April 1851; in 1852, Jeremiah Mulford was postmaster; discontinued in October 1893. It was named after President Van Buren.
VERNON TOWNSHIP	This is second name given to South Grove township. See South Grove township.
VICTOR	A post office was established in September 1896 and discontinued in September 1902
VICTOR CENTER	Located in Victor township on section #17. An early post office was established here in April 1863; and discontinued in July 1879.
VICTOR TOWNSHIP	This township was organized in 1853, before that it had been with Clinton and Afton townships. In 1847 and 1848 some of the lands were first entered. There is no village in the township. Leland, a village in LaSalle County is about one and one half miles south of the southern township border.
WALLACE	Located in Franklin township on section #19. It was situated close to Fielding, which is now Fairdale, Illinois. A post office was established in September 1875 with B.B. Blace as the first postmaster; changed to Fairdale in November 1895.
WATERMAN  / WATERMAN STATION	Located in Clinton township on sections #15 and #16. A post office was established from       Waterman Station in May 1883. Formerly known as Clinton Center, Prairie Pond, and Waterman Station. The village of Waterman was surveyed and platted by S.T. Armstrong, County Surveyor, in March 1872. It comprised a portion of section #16. The village of named in honor of Daniel B. Waterman, of Aurora, Illinois, who was general solicitor of the Chicago and Iowa Railroad.
WILKINSON	Located in Mayfield township on section #28 on the Chicago Great Western Railway. It was   established about 1904. A plat of the village is on page 44 in the 1929 DeKalb County Atlas.
WILLIAMSBURG	Located in Cortland township on section #22. An early post office was established here on     February 1850 and discontinued about June 1865. John F. Snow was postmaster in 1851.
WOOSTER	The inhabitants of Wooster Precinct petitioned the Commissioners Court of DeKalb County to change the name of their precinct from Wooster to Genoa, "a name by which this part of the county is generally designated." Petition was filed and recorded 5 June 1848.

Rays-place.com:  Contains information taken from The History of DeKalb County by Henry Boies

     

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