In 1833, Thomas Dixon became the first settler in the area that would later become Kappa. Over the next few years, additional settlers arrived, and the Illinois Central Railroad built a line through the community. Rail service and a post office commenced in the early 1850s. The first postmaster, William Jones, proposed the name Montrose, but the Illinois Central Railroad favored Kappa. The name Roxan was used between May 1852 and December 1853 before Kappa was officially adopted.
A folk etymology claims Kappa is named for the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet, as it was supposedly the tenth town between Dunleith (now East Dubuque) and Bloomington. The true origin, however, is a corruption of Quapaw, a Native American people of the region.
Passages that mention Kappa, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The Past and present of Woodford County, Illinois1878 · page 410Read the page →
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The first post office in El Paso Township was kept by Caleb Horn, at his own house, some two or three miles from the village of Kappa. The mail was carried on horseback from Bloomington to Ottawa twice a week. The first store in the township was opened in Kappa by a man who came from Canada, about the time the Illinois Central Railroad was built through the town. The first mill was built by Ives, at the city of El Paso, and mentioned in that part of this history.
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The Past and present of Woodford County, Illinois1878 · page 411Read the page →
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Gregg, who lived at Hudson, in McLean County, and was preached in the depot building of the Illinois Central Railroad at Kappa. The township has no churches but what are located in the city of El Paso and the village of Kappa, where they are more fully noticed.
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Prior to the establishment of the present village of Kappa in 1854, there was a postoffice located a short distance south of the town as it is now located. This was on a mail route between Ottawa and Bloomington, and deliveries -were made there twice a week. The first postmaster was Caleb Horn. When the Illinois Central railroad was built thru the lownship, the village was established where it now stands.
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Kappa was an important grain market before many of the otlier towns were founded. It was no unusual occurrence for a hundred teams to be there with grain in a day. Probably tile first dealer was Fred Niergarth, who had a small warehouse there, but a number of men bought grain at different times. There was, however, no elevator there. The Illinois Central built a large store house, which was later turned into an elevator by William Casenwinkle. This was
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Kappa, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1893
2016
