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B−History
History · St. Anne

St. Anne dates to 1851, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1880.

1851founded
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How St. Anne began

When was St. Anne founded?

1851

St. Anne dates its founding to 1851 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 412 in 18802020 census: 1,161175 years

How historic is St. Anne?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1854.
History grade

What drives St. Anne’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Anne is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Anne’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194038.5% of homes (±11.1) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so St. Anne’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.1 points). Two sources give 1851.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about St. Anne’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of St. Anne are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of St. Anne’s homes were built before 1949.On the map since 19223 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1973. Watch St. Anne change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Anne’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Anne’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

St. Anne, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of St. Anne yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

St. Anne (sometimes spelled Saint Anne) is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,161 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kankakee–Bourbonnais–Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was founded in 1851 by Charles Chiniquy, a French-Canadian Catholic priest and law client of the 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who was excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1856. He later converted to Protestant Christianity, becoming a Presbyterian Evangelical minister and a well-known temperance activist in Canada and the United States.

St. Anne was established in 1851. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,257 to 1,161 (-8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

On the map

St. Anne on the map, 1922 to 1973

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Anne. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

St. Anne on the 1922 USGS mapSt. Anne on the 1964 USGS mapSt. Anne on the 1973 USGS map1922Momence sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of St. Anne.

Timeline

St. Anne, 1851 to 1954

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingSt. Anne is established
  3. 1854Post officeThe Saint Anne post office opens
  4. 1886Born hereJoseph M. Pallissard is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1917Born herePaul DuCharme is born here
  7. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1954Born hereMick Hubert is born here
By decade

St. Anne, decade by decade

Today6 recent
St Anne Church (1872) P10302992009St Anne Church (1872) P1030299Nave P1030308 St Annes2009Nave P1030308 St AnnesNave P1030301 St Annes2009Nave P1030301 St AnnesMain Door P10303162009Main Door P1030316Interior P1030309 St Annes2009Interior P1030309 St AnnesBelfrey P10303152009Belfrey P1030315
People over time

St. Anne, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,421

Between 412 and 1,421 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on St. Anne’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in St. Anne

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Joseph M. PallissardAmerican aviator · b. 1886
Mick HubertAmerican sports announcer · b. 1954
P
Paul DuCharmeAmerican basketball player · b. 1917
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Anne

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about St. Anne’s history

What year was St. Anne founded?

In 1851, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. St. Anne’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1880 counted 412 people here.

How does St. Anne rank for history?

St. Anne is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in St. Anne?

39% of St. Anne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1949.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.