Waukegan, Illinois
city in and county seat of Lake County, Illinois, United States
Waukegan ( wə-KEE-ghən) is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located 36 miles (58 km) north of Chicago, Waukegan is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. Its population was 89,321 at the 2020 census.
Waukegan is the most populous city in Lake County, the seventh-most populous city within the Chicago metropolitan area, and the 10th-most populous city in Illinois. Waukegan has historically been more industrial in comparison to neighboring wealthy North Shore suburbs; it has long been classified by the Illinois state government as "socioeconomically distressed" despite having some middle class inhabitants.
History
Founding and 19th century
The site of present-day Waukegan was recorded as Rivière du Vieux Fort ("Old Fort River") and Wakaygagh on a 1778 map by Thomas Hutchins. By the 1820s, the French name had become "Small Fort River" in English, and the settlement was known as "Little Fort". The name "Waukegance" and then "Waukegan" (meaning "little fort"; cf. Potawatomi wakaigin "fort" or "fortress") was created by John H. Kinzie and Solomon Juneau, and the new name was adopted on March 31, 1849.
Waukegan had an abolitionist community dating to these early days.
The public source identifies “Waukegan, Illinois” as city in and county seat of Lake County, Illinois, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Waukegan, Illinois and city.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Waukegan, Illinois”, the useful work is to connect “city in and county seat of Lake County, Illinois, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q578289. VIAF identifies the subject as 141728202. The Library of Congress control number is n50023748. Authority coordinates are 42.364, -87.845. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1778 and 1849.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Waukegan, Illinois”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Waukegan, Illinois primary sources, Waukegan, Illinois archive and Waukegan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Waukegan, Illinois”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Waukegan, Illinois” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.