Franks is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in DeKalb County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, United States, located northwest of Sandwich. Originally, Franks was the village of Somonauk. Founded in 1834, it was situated on Chicago Rd, a mail route that ran from Chicago to the far West. There were dozens of small cabins along Somonauk Creek; wmong them was an Underground Railroad stop. Many of the people of Somonauk died due to lack of food and poverty. Recently, an original house from the Somonauk settlement caught fire. In the mid-1840s, the double-track CB&Q mainline was built from Chicago to Galesburg, prompting the whole village to relocate to the present-day village of Somonauk.

References

Unincorporated communities in DeKalb County, Illinois Unincorporated communities in Illinois {{DeKalbCountyIL-geo-stub