The City of Momence
Momence is the oldest town in northeastern Illinois, celebrating its sesquicentennial in 1984. Nearly 200 years ago when fur trader Gurdon Saltenstall Hubbard first ventured into the region to establish trading posts, most of the state was still wilderness-praire, woodland and marsh. This area in particular was home to the Native American Pottawatomi, whose chief, Momenza, inspired the name "Momence."
The trail Hubbard established to transport fur between Chicago, then known as Fort Dearborn, and Vincennes, Indiana, was later used by pioneers from Canada and the East, who made their homes at the first settlement of Momence, the Upper Crossing on the banks of the Kankakee River, Sections of Hubbard's Trace Later became the Dixie Highway, which bisects the town, as well as the Vincennes Trail.
Early settlers dubbed Momence the "Border Town" to describe its position between 1800s civilization and the American frontier.
With the clearing of the rich land for farming, the construction of mills and treaties with the Pottawatomi, the town moved one mile downstream to its current location. Much of the original nineteenth century business district, surrounded by graceful Victorian neighborhoods, remains intact today, evidence of the devotion residents have to the town's rich heritage.
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