Complex sentence: A town site was at one time projected by Aquilla Davis but nothing definite was done in that direction until the Alton & Sangamon (now the Chicago & Alton) railroad came in 1853.
Split into simpler sentences: A town site was at one time projected by Aquilla Davis. But nothing definite was done in that direction until the Alton & Sangamon (now the Chicago & Alton) railroad came through in 1853.