Pecatonica Map
Pecatonica, Illinois is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,195 at the 2010 census, up from 1,997 at the 2000 census.
The Village of Pecatonica was incorporated in 1869, built on territory rightfully owned by Indians and previously deeded to the Reed family by President James K. Polk. State of Illinois Civil War records include soldiers from Lysander, as this was the area's common name before incorporation by rail speculators. The word Pecatonica is an anglicization of two Algonquian language words; Bekaa (or Pekaa in some dialects), which means slow and niba, which means water; forming the conjunction Bekaaniba or Slow Water. The Pecatonica River forms the village's northern border. The Chicago & North Western Railroad came through in 1853 from Chicago and continued to Freeport, Illinois. That sparked the town to be the center of commerce for western Winnebago County. An electric street car line known as the Rockford & Interurban ran from Rockford, IL through Winnebago, IL and Pecatonica to Ridott, IL and on to Freeport, IL until the line's eventual abandonment in 1933.
In Pecatonica a small depot building remains standing near Skinner's Auto Body and Forget-Me-Not Floral, just off the 300 block of Main St. For the portion of the rail line between Pecatonica and Winnebago the line often parallels the Pecatonica River. This route has since been reclaimed as a nature trail known as the Prairie Path, and with the exception of small portions of private property near Winnebago (there are roads to avoid this portion) it is possible to walk or bike this route today. C.W. Knowlton opened his first bank here in 1882 and built a beautiful Victorian home on Main Street on the hill overlooking the business district. It has been restored by the Ed Smith Family from 1983 until the family moved out of the home. It now stands as one of the finest Victorian home restorations in the northern Illinois region.
Nearby cities include Leaf River, Byron, Freeport, Rockford, Cedarville.