Cheneyville was founded in 1871 and platted in 1880. It was named for J. H. Cheney, the vice-president of the Lake Erie and Western Railroad. A telephone system was installed in 1888 and soon had to be expanded due to rising demand.[2]
^Stapp, Katherine; W. I. Bowman (1968). History Under Our Feet: The Story of Vermilion County, Illinois. Danville, Illinois: Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc. p. 45.