The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-09-01
The LOST CITIES OF ILLINOIS
NOON ron W THtT NIGHT HuF
BEEN IHIC taos.
Places Eounirsi Ia the Pioneer Days %, or
which the Germ Now s.rOws tine ssosi-
less community, That Was pra, Ell Into
Nbit, Ion = lkowlinS Green's PASSING.

Scarcely a township in Illinois but con-
tains the site of what was once thought "a
be n future great" city, and this State
has the unique distinction IF Possessing
more lnstances Of disappointed hopes
relative TO boom towns than any other in
! the lnion.
Illinois was settled more rapidly during
the pioneer era than any other State Of the
middle West and hundreds Of villages were
founded which We're believed 10y their en-
thuslastic progenit ors 10 bid fair 10 become
the metropolis of the West. Now the
plough CRATES upon the forgotten stones
Of their foundation, says the Chicago DAILY
Ncrs.
One of the most interesting cases Of de-
parted greatness applies to Post vile.
which in 1871 was made the county seat
of Logan county. In 1913 h Legislature
changed the county seat to Mount Pulaski,
and when suit was brought the various
courts, from the lowest to the highest.
decided against Postville, all holding that
"a conveyance Of land to a county in con-
sideration If the location of the county
seat does not deprive the Legislature Of
the right to remove it when the public
good shall require "A change. In 1851 the
county seat was again changed, this time
To Lincoln, and Pos Vile, a few miles dis
tant, packed up and moved TO Lincoln.
Had the Legislature not interfered Post
vile would now be the leading city Of Logan
county instead of Lincoln
Recently the post office AZ flmore was
discontinued. due 10 the advent of rural
free del very. This place has also been
known as Rochester, IL was at one time
the principal rival of Peoria. Now II has
been officially dropped from the map and
will he heard from no more.
The village of Richmond. in Livingston
county was once "A rival of Pontiac. IL
was laid out in 1851. and with prospects of
the Chicago and Alton Railroad going
through IL IL doomed and became one of
the most important towns Of Livingston
county. TIT railroad instead PASSED two
miles 10 the east and there ~ ne trace of
the once populous and thriving village,
cleveland another rival of Peoria on the
Tazewell county side of the Illinois River.
is also only a memory. II wac lald out IN
1898. Extensive wharVoS were constructed
and many steamboat touched there. For
some reason the people prci"rrci Peoria
and Pekin, and Cleveland slowly sank into
ruins. Now the site is farm land
In 1898 the town of Blo~uminglalc, six
miles southwest Of Atlanta. logan county.
wis launched. II was founded 10y he
so-called "Smithleld Emigratlng, Agrl-
cultural and Milling Association" Of Rhode
Island. This association purCha|l 10000
acres of land and sold them ~ small par
GELS lo Young I''', 'l w I"'7' NV sum
&C SlW buying eighty acr"s and a Ia; in
tie village. The Srhcm" worked well
for a timc, Tut most Of the purchasers We're
stricken with aglr aud other Diseases and
the colony dissolved most ,f a." mc'nl era
returning 10 the Fi.et The village was
heard ot NO NOR"
Ia, county was The ~cci" ~ three pronIs-
ing Corvurs IONS. Grand htour DlysNillc,
Leo Ccntrr aud Dixon also -hould be m"n-
toned. az the four DIXON alone rose to
,mportnncc aud i- credited with killing oil
the ilirr" oilCI-.
In Macon county the toNn Of Madison
wss laid IVA ~ 1886 aal II LAle ialy " w