Townships of Jefferson County Illinois

     Rome township adjoins Grand Prairie on the east and Marion county on the north. Its surface is partly prairie and partly timber and its soil is quite productive. It is traversed by a branch of the Big Muddy and its principal prairie is Jordan's Prairie and the town of Rome (since the railroad came, it is called Dix) is in the north edge of it. The township was supposed to be settled by the Maxwells, Goins, Whitesides, Taylors, M.D. Bruce and Arba Andrews. The last named built the first mill. Orginally this township was included in Grand Prairie precinct, but on the adoption of township organization G. L. Cummings was elected its first supervisor and since then, it has been represented by such men as the Boggs, the Whites, the Telfords, the Caseys the Gastons, the Hawkins, the Maxfields, the Milburns, the Rileys, the Clayborns, the Carpenters, the Wards, and many others we might name.
   The villiage of Rome was laid out in 1849 by Arba Andrews, and lots sold quite readily at small prices and the first business was a grocery by John Bostwick, but other business followed and the town was put on the map to stay. Rome has a history same as Rome of old, but we cannot go into detail.
   A school-house and two new churches were soon built and Rome went into housekeeping at home. It is the voting place and headquarters politically and socially for the township, has villiage incorporation, has several benevolent orders, besides its churches. The township now has its full quota of school-houses and its regulation number of politicians so many in fact that recently another voting place had to be established in the township to give them all a chance to vote.  Politically, however, the parties are about equally divided in the township, but most generally Democratic. The southern (or Air Line) Railroad traverses the township from north to south and it has plenty of roads and bridges. Newton Frost and Henry Posten are old residents here.