Frankfort, Illinois

Name

The name "Frankfort" was taken from Frankfort Township designated by the Will County governing board. 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 German city Frankfurt.

History

First inhabited by Native Americans, including the Potawatomi and Sac and Fox tribes, Frankfort was used as a conduit between the Des Plaines and St. Joseph rivers. The area was part of the Virginia Territory until 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.

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 colonies, were mostly of English and Scottish descent, German immigrants made the village of Frankfort a reality in the 1840s. They had fled harsh conditions in their homeland and were industrious and experienced farmers, soon buying most of the fertile farmland 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. In 1850, the county adopted the township form of government. Frederick Cappel named Frankfort Township after his native city, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In 1855 the Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad built a line through an area linking Joliet, Illinois, with Lake Station, Indiana. The J&NI Railroad was leased to the Michigan Central Railroad, 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 23 acre in March 1855 and named it Frankfort after the township. It was commonly called "Frankfort Station" because of the railroad depot there, but when the village was incorporated, "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 new administration's first undertakings was the institution of land use policies. Early recorded plans indicate a traditional grid pattern with residential uses surrounding the business district and railroad line and additional land for schools and public open spaces.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, it has an area of 15.79 sqmi, all land.

Frankfort is in the Chicago metropolitan area, about 28 miles south of downtown.

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

|align-fn=center 2010 2020

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 for the village was $51,278. About 2.3% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, 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 it is in Illinois's 1st congressional district, but 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 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 state championships in boys' gymnastics (2011) and Summer League baseball (2011).

Notable people

• 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
• George E. Sangmeister (1931–2007), member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois.

References

References

1. (28 September 2018). "Candidate Questionnaire: Keith Ogle".
2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
3. {{GNIS. 2398915
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7. Official plat of Frankfort, dated March 3, 1855
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11. "Gazetteer Files".
12. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". [[US Census Bureau]].
13. "Explore Census Data".
14. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Frankfort village, Illinois".
15. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Frankfort village, Illinois".
16. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Frankfort village, Illinois".
17. "[http://www.dist159.com/pages/Elementary_SD_159/About_Our_District About Our District] {{Webarchive. link. (2017-01-09 ." [[Elementary School District 159]]. Retrieved on January 9, 2017.)
18. "Super Bowl Winners and Results - Super Bowl History - National Football League - ESPN".
19. "Lou Boudreau Obituary". ChicagoTribune.
20. "Jason Vander Laan Stats".
21. (October 1, 2018). "Erika Lauren's Real World".
22. Slife, Erika. (October 9, 2007). "George E. Sangmeister: 1931 - 2007". [[Chicago Tribune]].