Saunders Road is Sanders Road in Cook County. But Why?

NORTHBROOK, IL - It’s been one of the North Shore’s biggest mysteries for decades.

Drivers in both the Cook County and Lake County portions of the region have noticed that Sanders Road and the similarly named Saunders Road are actually the same street.

South of Lake Cook Road in Northbrook, it’s Sanders Road. But head north into Deerfield and Riverwoods and it’s Saunders Road.

There must be some connection, right?

Well, maybe not.

“Nobody has the answer,” said Judy Hughes, president of the Northbrook Historical Society. “We’ve been asked and we’ve looked and looked and looked.”

Hughes does know that Sanders Road in Northbrook is named for the “Sander” family who owned a large farm in the area many years ago.

“It was at one point called Sander Road and then eventually became Sanders Road,” said Hughes, who could not pinpoint when or why the name ‘Saunders’ got mixed in.

“It may have been one of those things that a map maker or planner decided to do, but no one has found any documentation on that,” she said. “I know other historical societies in Deerfield and Lake County have tried to find the answer as well, but no one has been successful.”

Streets and roads changing names when crossing into a different municipality is common.

On the border between the city of Chicago and Evanston, every street has a different name based on whether it is north or south of the Howard Street dividing line. Western Avenue in Chicago is Asbury Avenue in Evanston and California Avenue in Chicago is Dodge Avenue in Evanston.

But those are clearly different names. Sanders and Saunders? Only one letter separates those two.

“It could be a coincidence...or maybe there was a Saunders family who owned a farm in Lake County and that’s why it’s named that there,” Hughes said.

So, we don’t know. Do you?

If so, call the Northbrook Historical Society at 847-498-3404.

They’ve been trying to find out for years.