Abandoned Record
About Tracy
Tracy is a ghost town in Essex Township, Kankakee County, Illinois. Tracy was a relatively small settlement, amounting to possibly a dozen buildings, which housed coal miners exploiting a nearby coal seam in the 1800s; and it disappeared quickly around 1900, when the seam ran out.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Tracy, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where Tracy is
Historic maps
7 historic USGS maps cover Tracy
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1923 Herscher sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1925 Herscher sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1958 Aurora sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1961 Aurora sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1973 Essex sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1985 Ottawa sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1991 Ottawa sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Nearby
Other sites near Tracy
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Illinois index.
Sources
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Tracy, Illinois": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q18353797.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).