This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2022) |
Ocoya, Illinois | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 40°48′18″N88°41′2″W / 40.80500°N 88.68389°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Illinois |
County | Livingston |
Elevation | 673 ft (205 m) |
Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
ZIP codes | 61764 |
Area code(s) | 815, 779 |
GNIS feature ID | 423031 [1] |
Ocoya is an unincorporated community [1] [2] in Central Illinois, located in southern Livingston County.
Ocoya began as a hamlet containing only a station on the Chicago & Alton Railroad (Now Union Pacific) in 1854. Duff and Cowan, from Pontiac platted it. Its post office opened in 1860 (now closed). [3] The land was purchased by Charles Roadnight, then General Freight Agent of the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad, who soon after erected a small warehouse and depot. Part of the warehouse was used as a store, Alexander Martin generally attending to the business of Agent, Postmaster and storekeeper. [4] April 30, 1870, Ocoya was officially surveyed and platted. In 1871, the first grain elevator was built and the Babtist church a year later. Overshadowed by Chenoa and Pontiac, it remained tiny. At one point, it contained two stores, a gas station, a church and school. It still has a grain elevator owned by Prairie Central Co-op and a few scattered homes and around 30 residents.
As mentioned above, the most notable structure remaining in Ocoya is the grain elevator. The original wood and metal structure was removed many years ago. Later three, 30 foot diameter and one custom cement bins were built in the 1950s. The old wooden elevator was replaced by four, 40 foot diameter bins were built to the north. Between 2009 and 2015, the southern section of the elevator lost a metal grain bin after it burst open. Later on, but within the same range, the north grain site had a new grain leg installed.
Ocoya is located in Eppards Point Township, at an elevation of 673 feet (205 m). [1] Historic Route 66 runs parallel to the community's border. [5] The community is served by the Pontiac post office.
The weather in Ocoya is humid continental. The average temperatures during the summer are a high of 85 °F (29 °C) and a low of 63 °F (17 °C). The average temperatures during the winter are a high of 30 °F (−1 °C) and a low of 17 °F (−8 °C). Annual rainfall is approximately 38 inches (97 cm), and there are an average of 194 sunny days per year. Snowfall is 26 inches (66 cm) per year.
Livingston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 35,815. Its county seat is Pontiac. Livingston County comprises the Pontiac, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is combined with the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan statistical area as the Bloomington-Pontiac, IL Combined Statistical Area in upper portion of Central Illinois.
Dwight is a village located mainly in Livingston County, Illinois, with a small portion in Grundy County. The population was 4,032 at the 2020 census. Dwight contains an original stretch of U.S. Route 66, and from 1892 until 2016 continuously used a railroad station designed in 1891 by Henry Ives Cobb. Interstate 55 bypasses the village to the north and west.
Jerseyville is the largest city in and the county seat of Jersey County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 8,337.
Reddick is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. A small portion of the village extends into Livingston County. The population was 163 at the 2010 census, down from 219 at the 2000 census.
Cullom is a village in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. Cullom is situated twenty miles east of Pontiac which is the county seat, and is one mile west of the Ford County line. The population was 555 at the 2010 census.
Forrest is a village in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,220 at the 2010 census.
Odell is a village in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,046 at the 2010 census.
Pontiac is a city in and the county seat of Livingston County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,150 in the 2020 census. The 1984 movie Grandview, U.S.A. was set in Pontiac.
Lexington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,090 at the 2020 census. There are two theories regarding the etymology of the city name. One says it was named for the Battle of Lexington, where General Gridley's father fought. and the other that it was named for the home town of James Brown, the town's co-founder.
Towanda is a village in McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 431 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Preston is a city and the county seat of Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,325 at the 2010 census. The Root River runs through it, and Mystery Cave State Park is nearby. It bills itself as "America's Trout Capital," with a 20-foot trout placed along Minnesota State Highway 16.
The Peavey–Haglin Experimental Concrete Grain Elevator is the world's first known cylindrical concrete grain elevator. It was built from 1899 to 1900 in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, United States, as an experiment to prove the design was viable. It was an improvement on wooden elevators that were continually at risk of catching fire or even exploding. Its cylindrical concrete design became the industry standard in the United States, revolutionizing grain storage practices. After its initial experiments, the Peavey–Haglin Elevator was never again used to store grain. Since the late 1960s it has been maintained on the grounds of the Nordic Ware company and is painted with their name and logo.
Avoca Township is located in Livingston County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 405 and it contained 149 housing units.
Sunbury Township is located in Livingston County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 229 and it contained 103 housing units.
Pontiac station is an Amtrak train station in Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois, United States. Pontiac station is served by the Illinois-focused Lincoln Service between Chicago Union Station and the Gateway Transportation Center in St. Louis, Missouri and the long-distance Texas Eagle between Chicago and Los Angeles Union Station. Until April 2007, Pontiac was also served by the Ann Rutledge, a train from Chicago to Kansas City Union Station. Pontiac station boasts a single, low-level side platform for trains, along with a station depot for passengers. The station also has a wheelchair lift and handicap-accessibility per the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Cayuga is an unincorporated community in Livingston County, Illinois, United States, and is located northeast of Pontiac. Never that large to begin with, all that remains is an abandoned grain elevator and depot along the Union Pacific.
Armour's Warehouse, also known as the Seneca Grain Elevator or the Hogan's North Elevator, is a historic grain elevator located in the village of Seneca, Illinois, United States. The elevator and two surrounding outbuildings were listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Blackstone is an unincorporated village in section 7 of Sunbury Township, Livingston County, Illinois, United States. Blackstone is 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Streator and 13 miles (21 km) west of Dwight, Illinois. Blackstone has a post office with ZIP code 61313, a grainery complex, and a small rubber-products plant
The Great Northern Elevator was a grain storage facility at 250 Ganson Street in Buffalo, New York. The elevator was located on the City Ship Canal and at the time of its completion in 1897, the elevator was the world's largest. The elevator was the first to employ cylindrical steel bins for grain storage, and also one of the first to run on electricity. The brick curtain wall did not support the bins or the working house and was designed as weatherproofing only.
McDowell is an unincorporated community in Eppards Point Township in Livingston County, Illinois, surrounding the intersection of 1800 East and 1400 North.