Illinois Gazetteers

Gazetteers list geographical names such as towns, settlements, villages, districts, rivers, and mountains. They identify these locations and sometimes, give historical and biographical information concerning early residents.

Publications

 * Adams, James N., comp. Illinois Place Names. New ed. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Society, 1989. (Family History Library book ; 1968 edition is fiche (set of 4 fiche). Containing nearly 15,000 entries, this source lists the names and counties of many current and discontinued post offices. It also lists older names for many existing communities.
 * Beck, Lewis Caleb. A Gazetteer of the States of Illinois and Missouri. 1823. Reprint, New York, New York: Arno Press, 1975. This gazetteer is valuable for the historical insights it offers, since many communities listed were only settled a few years before this book was published.
 * Peck, J. M. A Gazetteer of Illinois, in Three Parts: Containing a General View of the State, a General View of Each County, and a Particular Description of Each Town, Settlement, Stream, Prairie, Bottom, Bluff, etc.,Alphabetically Arranged.'Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Grigg &amp; Elliot, 1837.
 * 1864-1865 Bailey, J. C. Illinois State Gazetteer and Business Directory, for the Years 1864-5. Chicago: J.C. W. Bailey, 1864.

How did your migrating ancestor find the correct destination out West? Quite possibly they had a copy of Brown's book:


 * Brown, Samuel R. The Western Gazetteer or Emigrant's Directory, Containing a Geographical Description of the Western States and Territories, viz. The States of Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippi: and the Territories of Illinois, Missouri, Alabama, Michigan, and North-Western. Auburn, N.Y.: H.C. Southwick, 1817. Digital versions at NIU Library Digitization Projects.

For river landings, see:


 * Adams, Louis A. Adam's Directory of Points and Landings on Rivers and Bayous in the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. (includes Tennessee) New Orleans : W.L. Murray, 1877. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Family History Library Collection
Gazetteers can be found on state, county and local levels. Links to county pages appear below. Additional resources for Illinois gazetteers may be found in the Illinois-Gazetteerstopic page of the FamilySearch Catalog. Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Also find Illinois Gazetteer resources available at other libraries (WorldCat). Explore how to search WorldCat and the FamilySearch Catalog.

For more information about Illinois places, see Illinois Maps.

Web Sites

 * http://history.alliancelibrarysystem.com/IllinoisAlive/files/bp/htm7/bp000182.cfm