Essex, IL

Essex is a small farming town of about 1,000 people in Kankakee County, roughly an hour south of Chicago via I-55. Take Exit 241 to Route 113 west to reach the town center. The area sits in flat prairie country along the Kankakee River valley, surrounded by corn and soybean fields. Essex's historic 1917 grain elevator still towers over the town as one of the tallest structures in the county.