This town was named after W. A. Rankin, a wealthy landowner in the area. In 1872, there was a dispute between him and W. H. Pells (who was on the board of directors of the Lake Erie and Western Railroad) over the location of a railroad station. Ultimately, over the course of several years, Rankin won out over Pellsville, which was located a mile and a half to the west. There were railroad maintenance shops in Rankin until 1932 when they were moved to Frankfort, Indiana, and some of the residents of Rankin followed.
In 1972 the town celebrated its centennial, and a small commemorative volume was issued with brief articles on many of the town's families.
Passages that mention Rankin, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Vermilion County, Illinois1930 · page 764Read the page →
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The boyhood of John Frederick was spent at Rankin. He attended the public schools and following his graduation from Rankin High School engaged in farming for six years. He then went to Hoopeston with the Vermilion Malleable Iron Company and in 1925 took charge of the bulk station of the Standard Oil Company at Rankin. He has been interested in the garage business since 1927 and in 1929 became associated with Honas Grecht. They are
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History of Vermilion County, together with historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources1879 · page 1010Read the page →
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It is now just passing into the hands of the new company, and the old question is likely to come up like a chancery case for final hearing nearly ten years after its inception. The village of Rankin was laid out in June, 1872, by A. Bowman, county surveyor, and J. R. Bowers, making twenty-four blocks, each of which were 240 x 250 feet. The streets are eighty-five feet wide. It was laid out one-half on the land of D. and W. A. Rankin, in section 12, and one-quarter on each of the lands of George Guthrie and Mrs. Johnson. The Guthrie portion was
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History of Vermilion County, Illinois1930 · page 750Read the page →
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1, 1927, Mr. Whitham became vice president of the Rankin- Whitham State Bank, at Rankin, and at the death of his father in April, 1928, was elected president. He is also a director of the Rankin Mutual Building and Loan Association, and chairman of the executive committee of the Rankin Chamber of Commerce.
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History of Vermilion County, together with historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources1879 · page 1009Read the page →
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The pleasant little village of Rankin, which to-day is as quiet as a May morning, was brought into being amid a war of location, which must be remembered by those who were participators in it as long as they remember anything. The "war" was long, exhaustive of patience, and expensive, finally making it cost each party all its results were worth, and resulted in a drawn battle. The captains-general who marshaled the hosts were W. A. Rankin and W. H. Pells, the former proprietor of a large landed interest, amounting to five thousand acres,
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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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
