Crime Scene & Biohazard Cleanup Near West Minooka Minooka, IL

Minooka is a village that sprawls across three counties — Grundy, Kendall, and Will — with the center of the village in the northeast corner of Grundy County.

Minooka was established in 1852 when the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was built through the area, and it incorporated as a village on March 27, 1869.

Minooka's name comes from a Potawatomi word meaning 'good earth' or 'maple forest' and was chosen by Dolly Smith, wife of a land agent who knew the Potawatomi language.

Railroad workers first called the settlement 'Summit' because it was the highest point in Illinois on the Rock Island Line.

Surveyor Ransom Gardner bought 500 acres along the proposed railroad route and is credited with bringing the Rock Island Railroad — and the town itself — to Minooka.

Minooka has been one of Illinois' fastest-growing villages, exploding from 3,971 people in 2000 to 10,924 in 2010 and 12,758 in the 2020 census.

Minooka has about 4,126 households according to Census Bureau QuickFacts for 2020-2024, with a large average household size of 3.12 people and a 91.6% owner-occupancy rate.

Minooka Community High School, the only high school in District 111, is split into two campuses — one for juniors and seniors and a newer one for freshmen and sophomores — because of the village's rapid growth.

Minooka's elementary district, Community Consolidated School District 201, operates seven schools serving nearly 4,000 students.

Minooka's first schoolhouse, built on Mondamin Street, burned down in the village's Great Fire of 1887.