Monee Township is one of 24

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Will County Will County is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county. The county sea ...

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 ...

. As of the 2010 census, its population was 15,669 and it contained 6,182 housing units. Monee Township used to be known as Carcy Township, but the name was changed at an unknown date.

History

Raccoon Reservation

After the 1832 Treaty of Tippecanoe, daughters of Marie Bailly, an

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Their territory long prec ...

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

woman, were granted 1,280 acres of land in Monee Township surrounding the site of today's Raccoon Grove Nature Preserve. The reservation was purchased by

William B. Ogden William Butler Ogden (June 15, 1805 – August 3, 1877) was an American politician and railroad executive who served as the first Mayor of Chicago. He was referred to as "the Astor of Chicago." He was, at one time, the city's richest citizen ...

of Chicago in 1851.

Cyclone of 1917

On May 26, 1917, Monee Township was hit by a devastating cyclone. The cyclone, which appeared to have multiple tornadoes, was visible from neighboring Peatone, and left a two to three mile wide path of destruction as it moved from west to east through

. Crops were damaged, and at least 50 horses and 100 cattle were killed in Monee and Green Garden townships. The cyclone destroyed multiple homes, wrecked an Illinois Central freight train, drove the water out of Monee Reservoir, and made the road through the wooded picnic grounds at Raccoon Grove impassible. Many trees were downed in the village of Monee, but most structures were spared.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of , of which (or 99.80%) is land and (or 0.20%) is water. It includes all of Monee, almost all of University Park as well as a small portion of Park Forest.

Boundaries

Monee Township is bordered by Western Avenue on the east, Steger Road on the north (where Cook County and Will County share a border), Harlem Avenue on the west, and Offner Road on the south.

Cities, towns, villages

* Monee * University Park (vast majority) * Park Forest (small portion) * Frankfort (Small Portion)

Adjacent townships

* Rich Township, Cook County (north) * Bloom Township, Cook County (northeast) * Crete Township (east) * Washington Township (southeast) * Will Township (south) * Peotone Township (southwest) * Green Garden Township (west) * Frankfort Township (northwest)

Cemeteries

The township contains the Saint Paul's United Church of Christ Cemetery.

Major highways

Illinois Route 50 Illinois Route 50 (IL 50) is a north–south state highway in northeastern Illinois. It runs from the junction with U.S. Route 45 (US 45) and U.S. Route 52 (US 52) in West Kankakee north to US 41 in Skokie. In Chicago and t ...

Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in two segments. It runs through Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. I-57 parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route north of Interstate 55, I-55. T ...

Lakes

* Pine Lake

Landmarks

* Raccoon Grove Nature Preserve

Demographics

Political districts

Illinois's 2nd congressional district Illinois's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. It stretches south from Chicago's Kenwood community area through portions of the city's South Side and southern suburbs, extending into several m ...

* State House District 29 * State House District 80 * State Senate District 15 * State Senate District 40

References

External links

Monee Township official websiteTownship Officials of IllinoisWill County official site
{{authority control Townships in Will County, Illinois Townships in Illinois 1849 establishments in Illinois