The Kankakee & Seneca Railroad was chartered in 1881 to connect two of the larger regional railroads in the area: the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway (otherwise known as the Big Four). Running between Kankakee and Seneca, Illinois, and operating with its own equipment and crews, it was a joint ownership between the Rock Island and the Big Four.

Abandonment of the line came on February 24, 1933. Today, most of the right-of-way is somewhat easily identified, both on the ground and in satellite imagery, surprising enough given how long it has been abandoned.