 |
Illinois |
|
|
Illinois |
Bakersville also known as Cub
Located in Dodds township and named for John Baker, who opened a store on
the East side of the Chicago and Eastern Railroad in 1902. John Baker established
a Post office in his store, June 12, 1902 it was discontinued July 31, 1905
1902 - 1905
Cub Prairie
This was the first Post Office in the area of Bakersville, It was called Cubb Prairie
the Post Office was established on March 26, 1868, the exact location is unknown and it
closed February 12, 1872.
1868 - 1872
Beehive
Located in Field township, G. E. Robinson opened a general store about 1890 and opened
a post office under the name of Beehive May 12, 1892 it closed December 24, 1895. When
the Railroad built in the area it set up a depot in Texico and that was the end of Beehive.
1892 - 1895
Belle Rive
1872 - Present
Photo courtesy of Scott Lee
In 1852, Edmund P. Grant bought about 480 acres of Federal land grants around what was to
become Belle Rive. Grant was a wealthy land speculator from Montgomery County, Tennessee.
Belle Rive was founded in 1871, coinciding with the opening of the St. Louis & Southeastern Railroad.
Belle Rive got its name from Louis St. Ange de Bellerive, who surrendered Illinois
to the British in 1765. It is not clear if he was ever associated with the area near
the village.
Joseph Wall was one of the early settlers of Belle Rive. The Wall farm was to the southeast
of the town. Joseph Wall was married to Edmund P. Grant's niece.
Blissville
1841-1858
Located in Blissville township which was named for August Bliss who built a store and opened
a post office August 4, 1841 Bliss died in 1849 and the post office closed March 15, 1858.
Blue Ridge
1858-1861
A post office was opened February 2, 1858 and closed October 15, 1858, it reopened May 1860
and the name of the post office was changed to Hallock it is unknown exactly when the
post office closed.
*Note* Just a guess Hallock Post Office most likely 1860-1861
Bluford
1888-Date
Photo courtesy of John Warren
Bonnie
1894-Date
Boyd
1887-1905
Boyd, located in Rome township was surveyed for Phineas Boyd. A post office was established
December 1887 and closed May 1905
Bud Town
Located in Rome township, Bud Town consisted of a store and there was a post office located
in the corner of the store. The store was owned by a man named Bud McCormick.
Bumpus
1885-1895
Buzzard Roost
Located in Elk Prairie township near where Nason is located.
Byars
1894-1905
Castlefin
1851-1858
Cosam
1898-1905
Cravat
1899-1911
Located in Grand Prairie township, a post office was established April 5, 1899 and
closed May 31, 1901. The post office was located in a store, coffin shop and undertaking
parlor all under one roof. A post office was reopened in July 1906 and closed May 1911.
Dareville
1871-1907
Located in Elk Prairie township, a store was opened by Curtis Black and a post office
was established in the store on July 10, 1871 it closed January 31, 1907. The town of Nason
absorbed Dareville when the mine came in.
More information about Dareville
Divide
1879-1905
Located in Field township, and was named for the divide in between Casey Fork Creek to the
West and Horse Creek to the East. A general store was opened at the crossroads in the
1870's, and a post office established in the store October 27, 1879 it closed May 31, 1905.
Dix
1865-Date
This town was named for Rome, N.Y., Mr. Andrews, the father of the place came from near Rome, N.Y.
and named it in honor of that place. It was laid out March 14, 1849. When the post office was
established it was called Jordans Prairie Post Office. When Rome was laid out it was moved
to town and it was found that there was another Rome in the State, and another name had to be selected.
Dr. Jones named the post office after Gen. Dix and the Dix Post Office has since remained.
Drivers
1888-1907
Located in Shiloh township. Drivers was surveyed for James R. Drivers in November 1887.
James R. Drivers built a store and established Drivers post office in January 9, 1888 it closed
January 2, 1907 and mail was then sent to Woodlawn.
Dryden
1886-1893
Located in Bald Hill township, the post office was located in the home of Robert Allen,
it was located near the Dryden cemetery also known as Black Jack cemetery. The post office
opened August 1886 and closed September 1893.
East Mt. Vernon
The villiage of East Mt. Vernon grew out of the wiskey contest.Tired of getting along
without any saloons in town, it occured to some that if they had a villiage organization
they might have a saloon. A petition came into county court in due form, an election was
ordered and the result was 26 for and 1 against villiage incorporation. The saloons then
produced their legitimate fruit. Mr. Thomas Caborn in 1880 concluded that he could endure
it no longer so at the May term of the Circuit Court, Keller & Carpenter commenced a
suit People ex rel. Caborn vs. Satterfield, County Clerk and the Villiage of East Mt. Vernon.
It may be well to state that the grounds for ouster were that the villiage never had 300
inhabitants, that some of the petitioners were non-residents, that one was a woman, that the
first election was illegal and the record showed no canvass of the vote. The fall of East Mt.
Vernon brought all the wiskey forces into the city election, and helped carry the wiskey ticket
through.
Echoville
1894-1903
Elk Prairie
1871-1905
Elm Branch
1891-1907
Located in Farrington township, a store was built and a post office established in August 1897
and closed January 1907.
Emmersonville aka Emmerson
1907-1910
Located in Bald Hill township, also called Emmersonville was named for Louis Emmerson,
governor of Illinois 1927 - 1933. A post office was established March 1907 and discontinued
May 1910.
Envelope
1883-1884
Fair Play
1857-1869
Farmington
1821-1823
Farrington
Located in Farrington township. The villiage of Farrington was laid out June 2, 1856,
and was surveyed by A. M. Grant and Jehu J. Maxey. It comprised six acres of ground adjoining
Mr. Johnson's place, and there were two blocks of five lots each.
Fitzgerrell
1874-1906
About 1849, a man by the name of J.J. Fitzgerrell and his wife came from Posey County, Indiana
and settled in Elk Prairie Township and homesteaded several acres of land. A few years
later the villiage of Fitzgerrell was started. The town was four blocks square. The post office
went be the name Fitzgerrell, but the little town took the name of Winfield.
Mrs. Kirby Rogers, Waltonville, Illinois
------History of Jefferson County © 1962
Grand Arm
1875-1876
Located in Blissville township, Grand Arm post office was established in June 1875 and closed
August 1876.
Harmony
Located in Farrington township, it consisted of a store, a church established in 1884,
school and a cemetery.
Harris Grove
1856-1881
Located in Pendleton township, the Harris Grove post office was established in a tavern
April 1854 it closed July 1860, reopened in January 1861 and closed again in August 1869, it
was opened and closed a few more times with last opening December 1876 and the final closing
October 1881.
Hickory Hill
Hook
1888-1895
Located in shiloh township, a post office was established in January 1888 but was known as
Hook. W.C. Webb and W.D. Modglin had land plotted in June 1890, The name of the post office
was changed to Webb in March 1895 it was discontinued June 1900.
Horse Prairie
1840-1849
Located in Elk Prairie township about a mile south of Winfield. The post office was established
July 1840 and closed May 1842. It reopened in 1843 and closed in 1846. It again opened
in September of 1846 and closed for the last time May 1849.
Idlewood
1890-1901
Located in Mt. Vernon township, A depot was built when the Southern Railroad came through,
the station was named Idlewood. A post office was established September 1890 and closed
October 1901.
Ina
1894-Date
Jefferson City
????-1891
Located in Casner township, it was surveyed for Oran Nulen, August 11, 1854 and consisted
of four blocks of twelve lots each covering two acres of ground, it was vacated in March
1891.
Jefferson Courthouse
1820-1829
Jordan's Prairie
1835-1852
Named for Thomas Jordan who settled here very early. On July 20, 1835 the first post office
was established in the home of a Mr. Andrews, and was called Jordans Prairie. An attempt
was made to change the name to Rome, but another post office already had that name. The name
was then changed to Dix.
Kenneth
Kern
1902-1905
George Kern built a store and a post office was located inside the store, the store and
post office were first located inside Kerns home in Marion County, but when he built the
new one across the road from his home it was in Jefferson County.The original post office
was established in July 1902 and moved to the new location March 1905.
King
Knob Prairie
1860-1862
Laur
1871-1892
A post office was established on July 10, 1871 called Laur, on November 11, 1892,
the name of the post office was changed to Williamsburg.
Logansville
1871-1886
Located a little northeast of Farrington, consisted of a Post office and a small store kept
by Dr. Lemuel Gregory. The post office was established in June 1871 and closed May 1879, it was
reopened in March 1881 and closed for the last time February 1886. Loganville named in honor of
Gen. John A. Logan, then a U. S. Senator. Although rejoicing under the high sounding name, there
is no town nor has there been a town laid out here.
Lynchburg
1858-1875
Lynchburg located in Pendelton township was laid out in 1852-1853, by W. H. Lynch. The town was
not recorded until February 1857. The post office opened September 22, 1858 and was discontinued
September 22, 1875.
Marcoe
Located in McClellan township, the town was laid out for Granville W. Laughlin, May 10, 1895,
there was a store owned by Henry Winger and a post office was located inside the store
however, there is no record of a post office ever being established.
Marlow
1882-1932
Located in Webber township, the town was laid out for George W. Evans, December 14, 1881.
Abraham Marlow built grain house and opened a post office in the grain house. Marlow post
office was established April 1882 with Abraham Marlow as the Postmaster the post office was
discontinued in 1932.
Martinsville
Located in Mt. Vernon township, it was laid out for Martin Williams in November 1854.
McGuire
Located in Rome township, McGuire was on the west side of the road and Boyd on the east.
It was surveyed for John McGuire in February 1888.
Meso
1900-1904
Located in Bald Hill township, the Meso post office was established March 1900 and discontinued
July 1904. The town was named for Cornellius Meso/Mezo, who was a Civil War veteran and the oldest
resident in the area at that time.
Mill Town
Located in Blissville township, Eli Gilbert built a mill and a store, mail was dropped at this
store and it became the unofficial post office for Mill Town. Knob Prairie post office
was opened in Gilbert's store in May 1860 it closed July 1862.
Moore's Prairie
1825-1894
A post office with the name Moores Prairie located in Moores Prairie Township, was opened
April 22, 1825 and discontinued January 25, 1894.
Mount Vernon
1829-Date
Photo courtesy of Kevin Bacon
Nason
1923-Date
Located in Elk Prairie township, Nason a coal town was founded southwest of Mt. Vernon in 1922.
The post office was established September 8, 1923, and was discontinued December 12, 1924.
*Note* The Nason Post Office is listed as having closed in 1924 however there is still an address
and zip code listed for Nason.
Nason was built from the ground up in 1923 as a model city centered around the largest coal mine
in the nation. Nason is located 11 miles southwest of Mt. Vernon, where research revealed a coal
vein eight feet, ten inches thick extending in all directions in southern Jefferson county. The
Nason Coal Company owned 30,000 acres (121 kmē) and company president A. J. Nason got the idea
to construct an industrial city in that area. Nason opened June 9, 1923 when real estate was put
on the selling block.
City planners assumed Nason's population would exceed 5,000 people. Wide streets were constructed
for automobiles. The mine was built to handle 10,000 tons of coal per day, and the railroad depot
was located at the west edge of the town. A railroad connected Nason and Mt. Vernon in 1924. Land
was reserved for two parks. Nason thrived and in 1923, the Mt. Vernon Register-News called it "The
Wonder City". The newspaper also said that the growth of the town has been so rapid that it's beyond
belief - "ALL ROADS LEAD TO NASON".
Nason peaked and then declined when the mine closed October 19, 1951. By 1965, the town was a
virtual ghost town.
Rumors of the city's demise were, however, somewhat exaggerated. With the construction of Rend Lake,
the town is now located on a peninsula between the main arms of the Lake, affording excellent
recreational opportunities.
Nason remains incorporated as a city.
Opdyke
1871-Date
A village in the southeastern part of Jefferson County, Illinois. Opdyke was laid out in 1871,
following construction of the St. Louis & Southeastern Railroad. The nearby, earlier town of
Lynchburg was largely abandoned and moved to Opdyke.
Pigeon
1872-1905
Located in Webber township, The Post office of Pigeon opened in October 1872 and closed May 1905.
The post office was later moved to Farrington township but the name remained the same.
Pleasant Grove
1837-1838
Rance or Range
1890-1900
Located in Field township, a post office was established February 1890 and closed May 1900.
Reform
1886-1893
Roachville
Roachville, located on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, was the capital of Casner township,
was about ten miles west of Mt. Vernon. It was laid out April 6, 1870, by John D. Williams, for
David Roach, the owner of the land upon which it is located. The place comprised of four blocks and
forty lots. It once had three stores, a blacksmith shop and a mill and a few dwelling houses. It was
in the south part of the township, but it proved to be too far from Mount Vernon and too close to
Ashley ever to amount to much. Roachville was also known as Roach and Roaches.
Rome
1852-1865
This town was named for Rome, N.Y., Mr. Andrews, the father of the place came from near Rome, N.Y.
and named it in honor of that place. It was laid out March 14, 1849. When the post office was
established it was called Jordans Prairie Post Office. When Rome was laid out it was moved
to town and it was found that there was another Rome in the State, and another name had to be selected.
Dr. Jones named the post office after Gen. Dix and the Dix Post Office has since remained.
Rosewood
1889-1900
Rupe
1888-1901
Ryder
1895-1906
Photo from The Prairie Historian
Located in McClellan township, and built in early 1890's which included, General Store,
U.S. Post Office, Photograph Studio upsatirs, and living quarters in the rear. W. C. W.
Passenger train made daily stops here from Chester to Mt. Vernon and back.
In 1891 Francis Ryder and his wife came to Jefferson county and purchased 140 acres of land,
he built a sawmill, and a store and opened the Ryder post office January 1895 it closed January 1906.
Scheller
1892-Date
Shields
Located in Farrington township, Also known as Paper Town, it consisted of a few homes,
a blacksmith shop, a general store, a feed store, a mill and a school named Shields.
Shirley
Spring Garden
1838-1906
The villiage of Spring Garden was surveyed and laid out by James F. Duncan and John S. Lucas,
October 24, 1848, and is situated about twelve miles nearly south of Mt. Vernon. a post office
was moved from Pleasant Grove, Franklin County, to Spring Garden. The Spring Garden post office
was discontinued February 14, 1906.
Spring Hill
Located in Webber township, it was laid out for William Dale in 1853 the villiage was a quarter
mile west of Bluford.
Stratton
Located in Farrington township, the Illinois Central Railroad had a telegraph station here
and Fred Greenwalt built a store, it also had a feed mill.
Texico
1898-Date
Tilford
????
Wall
1889-1892
Watkins
Located in Casner township, it was about a half mile east of Woodlawn.
Waltonville
1892-Date
Webb
1895-1900
Located in shiloh township, a post office was established in January 1888 but was known as
Hook. W.C. Webb and W.D. Modglin had land plotted in June 1890, The name of the post office
was changed to Webb in March 1895 it was discontinued June 1900.
Williamsburg
1871-1892
Located in Blissville township, Williamsburg was laid out December 1867 in its hey-day the
town had 100 inhabitants. It had two drug stores and two doctors, several stores and
a schoolhouse. A post office was established on July 10, 1871 but was called Laur,
on November 11, 1892, the name of the post office was changed to Williamsburg. About 1892 the
town of Waltonville was established about a mile from Williamsburg, with the usual results
Williamsburgers moved to the Railroad leaving the villiage a ghostown.
Winfield
About 1849, a man by the name of J.J. Fitzgerrell and his wife came from Posey County,
Indiana and settled in Elk Prairie Township and homesteaded several acres of land. A few years
later the villiage of Fitzgerrell was started. The town was four blocks square. The post office
went be the name Fitzgerrell, but the little town took the name of Winfield.
Mrs. Kirby Rogers, Waltonville, Illinois
------History of Jefferson County © 1962
Woodlawn
1870-Date
Submitted By: Cindy Ford
Sources:
Copyright © 2001-2008 by Cindy Ford
All Rights Reserved.