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Ind 4-Fish Lake 3752Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Fish Lake

24% of Fish Lake’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1958 on.

0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0

What stands out about Fish Lake’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 Fish Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Fish Lake’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fish Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fish Lake’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Fish Lake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fish Lake.

Read it all →

Before the draining of the Grand Kankakee Marsh, the body of water at Fish Lake was known in French as Lac Tipiconeau. It was then located on the main stream of the Kankakee, just upstream of its confluence with Potato Creek. The lake took its name from the French term for buffalo fish, and this name in turn likely led to the modern English name "Fish Lake".

In 1702, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville noted that following the end of the Beaver Wars a group of Miami people had settled at "Atihipi-Catouy". According to linguist Michael McCafferty this name "appears to be a gnarled form of Miami-Illinois kiteepihkwanonki, 'at the buffalo fish'", referring to Lac Tipiconeau.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Fish Lake, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Library (Fish Lake) 37492021Library (Fish Lake) 3749Library (Fish Lake) 37482021Library (Fish Lake) 3748Library (Fish Lake) 37472021Library (Fish Lake) 3747Ind 4-Fish Lake 37522021Ind 4-Fish Lake 3752Upper and Lower2014Upper and LowerUpper and Lower2014Upper and Lower
On the map

Fish Lake on the map, 1958 to 1974

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

Fish Lake on the 1958 USGS mapFish Lake on the 1974 USGS map1958Stillwell sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Fish Lake

Nobody well known was born in Fish Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Harold UreyAmerican physical chemist · b. 1893
Ashley HinshawAmerican actress · b. 1988
Scott SkilesAmerican basketball coach and former player · b. 1964
Chuck BaldwinAmerican politician · b. 1952
Walter LaFeberAmerican historian · b. 1933
P
Patrick NearyAmerican catholic bishop · b. 1963

Questions about Fish Lake’s history

Memory lane

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

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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.