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Frankfort is a village in Will County and Cook County in the U.S. state of
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. It is a southern suburb of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, and is approximately 28 miles (45 km) south of the city. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,296. Frankfort's historic downtown area contains the Frankfort Grainery, Breidert Green, and a portion of the Old Plank Road Trail, a 22-mile-long paved recreation trail. The village also contains Commissioners Park and multiple schools, including Lincoln-Way East High School, Hickory Creek Middle School, and Dr. Julian Rogus School.


Name

The name "Frankfort" was taken from Frankfort Township designated by the governing board of Will County. It was commonly known as "Frankfort Station" after the opening of the Joliet & Northern Indiana Railroad through the township in 1855, though the official plat of the community dated March 1855 shows the name as "Frankfort". Property deed abstracts and railroad documents also show that the name was always Frankfort. Local residents incorporated Frankfort as a village in 1879. It also has some reference to the major German city of Frankfurt.


History

First inhabited by Native Americans, including the Potawatomi and
Sac and Fox The Sac and Fox Nation (Sauk language: Thâkîwaki) is the largest of three federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Sauk people, Sauk and Meskwaki, Meskwaki (Fox) American Indians in the United States, Indian peoples. They are ...
tribes, Frankfort was used as a conduit between the Des Plaines and St. Joseph rivers. Originally, the area was part of the Virginia Territory before the French signed a treaty with Manitoqua, the Potawatomi chief, for land in the Prestwick area. The first pioneers came to Frankfort in the early 1830s by means of the Des Plaines River from the southwest and by wagon from the east along the Sauk Trail, a roadway that still exists today. William Rice, the first non-native settler, made a permanent settlement in Frankfort in 1831. While the first pioneers, coming mainly from the
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
colonies, were mostly of English and Scottish descent, German settlers made the village of Frankfort a reality. Later in the 1840s German settlers migrated from Germany to Frankfort. They had fled harsh conditions in their homeland by coming to America and proved to be very industrious and experienced farmers as they soon bought most of the fertile farm land from the "Yankees", who were more inclined to provide services for local needs. Establishing both ownership and pride in the area, the German settlers implemented the first system of resident concern for local lands, which has been maintained ever since. What is now known as Frankfort Township was originally part of the Hickory Creek Precinct. Will County was originally divided into ten precincts. The county, in 1850, was changed to the township form of government. Frankfort Township was named by Frederick Cappel after his native city,
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, Germany. In 1855 the Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad built a line through an area linking
Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...
, with Lake Station, Indiana. The J&NI Railroad was leased to the
Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in th ...
, and service was implemented in July 1855. Nelson D. Elwood, an officer of the rail line, and Sherman Bowen, a Joliet attorney and real estate man, jointly platted a village of around in March 1855 and named it Frankfort after the township. It was commonly referred to as "Frankfort Station" because of the railroad depot located there, but when the village was incorporated, the "station" was dropped from the name. John McDonald became the first railroad agent in 1857. In 1879, the village of Frankfort was incorporated, and elected John McDonald as the first Village President. Along with the establishment of the government, among the first undertakings of the newly formed administration was the institution of land use policies. Early plans that were recorded indicated a traditional grid pattern with residential uses surrounding the business district and railroad line and additional land provided for schools and public open spaces.


Geography

Frankfort is located at (41.498133, -87.849549). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Frankfort has a total area of , all land. Frankfort is located in the Chicago Metropolitan area, and is approximately 28 miles south of Chicago. An unincorporated area north of the village of Frankfort (in Frankfort Township) is a census-designated place known as Frankfort Square. The village is bordered by Richton Park to the east, Tinley Park, Frankfort Square and Matteson to the northeast, Mokena and New Lenox to the west and Monee and University Park to the southeast.


Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 20,296 people, 6,072 households, and 5,305 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 6,902 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 80.96%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 8.65%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.13% Native American, 3.25% Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 1.30% from other races, and 5.70% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 5.38% of the population. There were 6,072 households, out of which 44.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79.83% were married couples living together, 5.58% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.63% were non-families. 12.48% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.88% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.42 and the average family size was 3.13. The village's age distribution consisted of 29.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 16.7% from 25 to 44, 30.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males. The median income for a household in the village was $140,731, and the median income for a family was $151,518. Males had a median income of $86,382 versus $52,719 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the village was $51,278. About 2.3% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 1.2% of those age 65 or over.


Government

Frankfort is divided between two congressional districts. Most of the village is in Illinois's 1st congressional district, while the small portion in Cook County is in the 2nd district.


Transportation


Roads

( La Grange Road) major north–south thoroughfare passes through the middle of Frankfort, and shares an intersection with Lincoln Highway.
( Lincoln Highway) major east–west thoroughfare passes through the middle of Frankfort.
(Laraway Road) east-west county highway passes through the southern portion of Frankfort.


Education

Frankfort School District 157C and Summit Hill District 161 serve residents of Frankfort. As of 2018 the former district's middle school "Hickory Creek" is ranked 5th in the state. Frankfort is home to Lincoln-Way East High School. Lincoln-Way East High School has won state championships in Football (2005, 2017, 2019), Girls Softball (2002), Boys Gymnastics (2006, 2011), Girls Track & Field (2014, 2015, 2016), Girls Cheerleading (2014, 2015, 2017), Summer League Baseball, and Marching Band (2007, 2008). Lincoln-Way North has a state championship in Boys Gymnastics (2011) and Summer League Baseball (2011).


Notable residents

* Nick Allegretti, guard for the Kansas City Chiefs * Lou Boudreau, Hall of Fame baseball player * Dennis DeYoung, former lead singer of the rock band Styx * Dan Giordano, former linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals * Jason Vander Laan, football tight end for the Carolina Panthers * Erika Lauren, member of MTV's '' The Real World: D.C.'' cast and former radio personality on ''The Alan Cox Show'' WMMS (100.7 FM) in Cleveland, Ohio * George E. Sangmeister (1931–2007), member of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from Illinois. He was a childhood resident of Frankfort, where his father was the mayor.


References


External links


Village website

Frankfort local news
{{Authority control Villages in Will County, Illinois Villages in Cook County, Illinois Chicago metropolitan area Populated places established in 1879 1879 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois