Mira, Illinois | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 40°05′02″N88°09′44″W / 40.08389°N 88.16222°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Illinois |
County | Champaign |
Elevation | 692 ft (211 m) |
Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Area code | 217 |
GNIS feature ID | 422989 [1] |
Mira (or Myra Station) is an unincorporated community in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. It was formerly a stop on a branch of the Wabash Railroad with a grain elevator, but the elevator was removed in 1986, leaving the name behind but no train station. It was named for a 'prominent resident of [the] vicinity', Myra Silver; one contemporary newspaper article states she was killed by a train at the station. [2]
Myra Station elevator (Section 22, Urbana Township) was built along the Wabash—Norfolk Southern railroad spur running between Urbana and Sidney 1881−1990. The elevator was operated by Jacob G. Holterman until December 1903 when it was taken over by Alfred Edmond Silver as Silver Elevator Company. The concrete elevator at the intersection of Illinois Route 130 and East Windsor Road was demolished in 1986. Myra Station depot on the opposite side of the tracks was named for Myra Silver (1834−1903) who owned a farm south of the depot in Section 26. On 30 November 1903 she was killed by a train approaching from the southeast as she was crossing the tracks to board at the station. The accident was described in some detail by one of the local newspapers. [3] The railroad spur was abandoned and the tracks taken up in the 1990s.
The variant spelling Mira first appeared on maps of Champaign County in the early 1900s and has persisted on some maps and highway signs, although it is not justified by local usage. In addition to a memorial to Myra Silver set up by a resident near the intersection, there is a Myra Ridge subdivision nearby.
Recently as of 2023 it was found out that “Mira” was a spelling error that never got corrected.
Champaign County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 205,865, making it the 10th-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Urbana.
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is included in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area.
Urbana is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It is included in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area.
The Monon Railroad, also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1971, and much of the former Monon right of way is owned today by CSX Transportation. In 1970, it operated 540 miles (870 km) of road on 792 miles (1,275 km) of track; that year it reported 1320 million ton-miles of revenue freight and zero passenger-miles.
Chappaqua station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line, located in Chappaqua, New York, United States, within the town of New Castle.
The Champaign–Urbana Mass Transit District is a mass transit system that operates in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area in eastern Illinois. MTD is headquartered in Urbana and operates its primary hub at the intermodal Illinois Terminal in downtown Champaign. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 7,797,100, or about 21,900 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2023.
The Illini and Saluki are a pair of passenger trains operated by Amtrak along a 310-mile (500 km) route between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois. They are part of Amtrak's Illinois Service and are primarily funded by the state of Illinois. The route is coextensive with the far northern leg of the long-distance City of New Orleans. The Illini has operated since 1973; a previous version operated in 1971–1972 between Chicago and Champaign. The Saluki debuted in 2006.
The Illinois Terminal Railroad Company, known as the Illinois Traction System until 1937, was a heavy duty interurban electric railroad with extensive passenger and freight business in central and southern Illinois from 1896 to 1956. When Depression era Illinois Traction was in financial distress and had to reorganize, the Illinois Terminal name was adopted to reflect the line's primary money making role as a freight interchange link to major steam railroads at its terminal ends, Peoria, Danville, and St. Louis. Interurban passenger service slowly was reduced, ending in 1956. Freight operation continued but was hobbled by tight street running in some towns requiring very sharp radius turns. In 1956, ITC was absorbed by a consortium of connecting railroads.
The Illinois Terminal is an intermodal passenger transport center located at 45 East University Avenue in Champaign, Illinois, United States. The facility opened in January 1999 and provides Amtrak train service and various bus services to the Champaign-Urbana area.
Boneyard Creek is a 3.3-mile-long (5.3 km) waterway that drains much of the cities of Champaign and Urbana, Illinois, United States. It is a tributary of the Saline Branch of the Salt Fork Vermilion River, which is a tributary of the south-flowing Vermilion River and the Wabash River. The creek flows through the northern sections of the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The newsletter of the university's ACM chapter is Banks of the Boneyard, named after the creek.
Illinois Route 130 is a north–south state highway in eastern Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 1 in Grayville north to Interstate 74 in Urbana. This is a distance of 135.87 miles (218.66 km). Illinois 130 is the main north–south highway through Charleston, the home of Eastern Illinois University.
The Monticello Railway Museum is a non-profit railroad museum located in Monticello, Illinois, about 18 miles west of Champaign, IL. It is home to over 100 pieces of railroad equipment, including several restored diesel locomotives and cars.
Champaign Township is a township in Champaign County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,264 and it contained 5,091 housing units.
Sidney Township is a township in Champaign County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,709 and it contained 723 housing units.
Urbana Township is a township in Champaign County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,556 and it contained 3,463 housing units.
Carbondale station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. The southern terminus of Amtrak's Illini and Saluki routes, it is also served by the City of New Orleans. Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach service between Carbondale and St. Louis, Missouri connects with the City of New Orleans. Carbondale is the southernmost Amtrak station in Illinois.
Uptown Station is an intermodal transportation center in Normal, Illinois, United States. It is served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system, and is the major intercity rail station in north-central Illinois. It appears on Amtrak timetables as Bloomington–Normal.
Block is an unincorporated community in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. Block is located along the Union Pacific railroad line northeast of Villa Grove. Block was created in 1903-1904 when the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad built a line from Villa Grove to Woodland. The community was named after the landowner who plotted out the village.
Deers is an unincorporated community southeast of Urbana in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. There are only two houses in Deers. There is a sign on a utility pole reading "Deers: Pop – Few".
Mortimer is a ghost town in Osage Township, Labette County, Kansas, United States.