Twenty-Five Uniquely-Named Illinois Towns-- Part 5: Industry, Joy, Mineral and Lost Nation

21.  INDUSTRY  (Central)    2000 population 540

22.  JOY   (Northern)  2000 population 373

23.  MINERAL  ( Northern)   2010 population 237.    Lots of coal discovered in the area, hence the name.

24.  LOST NATION  (Northern)  2010 population 708.  There is another town by this name 96 miles away in Iowa.

25.  OTHER ILLINOIS TOWNS WITH UNIQUE NOUNS FOR NAMES Besides Sandwich:  Bath, Diamond, Energy, Flora, Justice, Liberty, Magnolia and Pearl.

--RoadDog

Twenty-Five Uniquely-Named Illinois Towns-- Part 3: Wyoming

11.  WYOMING  (Northern)  Founded in 1836 by General  Samuel Thomas, a War of 1812 veteran.  he and others came from Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania.

12.  GOLF   (Chicagoland)  Primarily residential.

13.  BOODY  (Central)   2010 census 276 people.

14.  MECHANICSBURG  (Central)  2000 Census 456.

15.  HOMETOWN  (Chicagoland)  Developed after World War II to attract returning GIs.

--RoadGolf

Twenty-Five Uniquely-Named Illinois Towns-- Part 2: Muddy, Sandwich, Ransom, Standard and Cairo

6.  MUDDY  (Southern)   Built as a coal-mining town.  Until 2002, it had the smallest post office in the U.S.  Population in 2000 was 78.

7.  SANDWICH  (Northern)  Named by politician "Long John" Wentworth who named it after his hometown of Sandwich, New Hampshire.  Has one of the oldest county fairs in Illinois (1888).  Daily crowds of 100,000 and top days attracting 200,000.

8.  RANSOM  (Northern)   Planned community from 1876.  named for Civil War General Thomas E.G. Ransom.  He was born in Vermont, but lived in Illinois as a young man.

9.  STANDARD (Northern)  2010 population 220.  Started as a mining town.

10.  CAIRO    (Southernmost city in state)   People who love there pronounce it care-o.  Outsiders like Egypt's capital.  At confluence of Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

--RoadDog

Twenty-Five Uniquely-Named Illinois Towns-- Part 1: Goofy Ridge, Normal, Birds, Oblong and Beardstown

From the Feb. 3, 2021, Neighbor "The 24 most unique town names in Illinois."

(where in the state it is located)

1.  GOOFY RIDGE   (Central)  Originally just called the Ridge, but a real good story about how the word "Goofy" was added.  Something about a walnut and a .22.

2.  NORMAL   (Central)  Originally named North Bloomington.  Named after the state normal school for training teachers located there, Illinois State University now).

3.  BIRDS  (Southern)     Something about the Reggie Redbird mascot of Illinois State University.

4.  OBLONG  (Southern)  Named after a rectangular prairie outside the village.

5.  BEARDSTOWN    (Central)   First settled by Thomas Beard in 1819.  On the Illinois River.  Site of one of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates.

--RoadDog

The Most Beautiful and Charming Towns in Illinois-- Part 2

6.  NAUVOO--  Mormons

7.  SYCAMORE--  Quaint downtown and courthouse plus 200 homes of architectural interest and the huge annual Pumpkin Festival.  The town next to DeKalb, home of NIU.

8.  WOODSTOCK--  The Square and filming site of "Groundhog Day."

9.  LEBANON--  Historical downtown.

10.  ELSAH--  A river town that looks like it did back then.  (I am not familiar with these last two towns.)

--RoadDog

The Most Beautiful and Charming Towns in Illinois-- Part 1

From the Only in Your State site "Here Are the Most Beautiful, Charming Small Towns in Illinois" by Laura Meli.  More information and pictures accompany her article.

1.  GALENA--"The Town That History Forgot."  Liz and I had our honeymoon there back in August '73.  A perfect choice for #1.

2.  MOUNT CARROLL--  "The New England of the Midwest"

3.  FULTON--  Dutch roots.  Windmill on the levee.  Lincoln Highway and Mississippi River.

4.  MORRIS--  Illinois River, the I&M Canal,  Illinois Highway 47.  This is our preferred road to avoid the Chicago hassle so we go through town often.

5.  GREENVILLE--  One of the state's oldest communities.  On the National Road.

--RoadDog