thumb|Downtown of Momence

Momence is a city in Momence Township, Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 3,117 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kankakee–Bradley metropolitan statistical area.

History

First known as "Lower Crossing", Momence was named after a local Potawatomi, Isadore Moness. Momence was first platted by Dr. Hiram Todd in 1846. It is located on the Kankakee River. In July, 1893, a crew paid for by an appropriation from the neighboring State of Indiana cut a shallow channel not quite a meter deep through a limestone ledge running just east of Momence, which had for millennia partially blocked and restricted the flow of the Kankakee River, making up to that point the Grand Kankakee Marsh, then the nation's largest inland wetland, possible. The increased river flow, while doing little for the citizens of Illinois, drained thousands of acres of Indiana wetlands, permitting them to be profitably farmed, while destroying most of the marsh.

Geography

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Image:Kankakee River at Momence.jpg|Fishing on the Kankakee River at Momence.

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According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Momence has a total area of , of which (or 5.82%) is covered by water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Momence had a population of 3,117. There were 1,182 households and 598 families in the city.

Of all households, 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. 42.3% were married-couple households, 19.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

  • Don Bacon, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Nebraska
  • Eddie Condon, jazz musician, was raised in Momence
  • William Crook (1925–1997), US ambassador to Australia
  • Orbert Davis, jazz trumpeter and bandleader
  • Janet Hubert, actress, appeared in the original Broadway cast of Cats
  • Ted Petersen, offensive lineman for various teams
  • Malcolm Ross, atmospheric scientist, and balloonist, born in Momence
  • John D. Zeglis, president of AT&T and the chairman and CEO of AT&T Wireless

Transportation

SHOW Bus provides bus service between Momence and Kankakee on weekdays.

Pop culture

  • Downtown Momence served as a setting for scenes in the 2002 movie, Road to Perdition.
  • Momence's downtown and neighborhood also served as the setting for the fourth season of Fargo, starring Chris Rock.
  • Significant filming location in the third season of Netflix's Monster, which tackled on the Serial Killer Ed Gein

.References

  • City of Momence