Manteno, Illinois

Manteno is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population is 9,300 in 2012. It is part of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Chicago–Naperville–Michigan City, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical Area.

History

Origins of village name

Manteno was named after Manteno Bourbonnais, a daughter of Francois Bourbonnais, Jr. (thus her grandfather was the man for whom the city of Bourbonnais was named) and his Potowatami wife. A Potawatomi Indian name, it is a possible anglicization of manito or manitou, a Potawatomi word for spirit.

Oliver W. Barnard, an early settler in this area, spelled her name Mantenau in one of his books. Other 19th century books spell it Mawteno and Manteno.

Because she was a Metis, Manteno (spelled Monteno in the treaty, but considered incorrect, as the clerk also misspelled Bourbonnais) was given a section of land, now part of northeastern Kankakee County, by the treaty of Camp Tippecanoe of December 20, 1832.