Category: #SmallTownSaturday

#SmallTownSaturday is a social media series produced by the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections. This series highlights the history of small towns in Illinois and how they have contributed to the history of the state, as well as the history of the nation and the world.

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#SmallTownSaturday – Rantoul, IL

Aerial photograph of Chanute Air Force base in the 1920s with the village of Rantoul in the background.

This week we’re landing in Rantoul, IL (pop. 12,815) for our #SmallTownSaturday!

Few settlers inhabited the wooded area north of Urbana until the Illinois Central Railroad arrived in the early 1850s. Robert Rantoul Jr., a U.S. representative from Massachusetts and a director of the Illinois Central Railroad, drafted a charter for a railroad that included tracks running from Urbana to Chicago. The project was completed in 1854 and Rantoul Station was built, named after Robert Rantoul Jr. A town began to form near the station as settlers built homes and set up small businesses. By the time Rantoul received an official charter in 1869, it had 1,634 residents.… Read More