Timeline of Vermilion County, Illinois history

Last updated May 31, 2023

This article is a timeline of Vermilion County, Illinois history.

19th century

1800s

1809 – The Illinois Territory is formed.

1810s

1818 December 3 – Illinois is admitted to the Union.
1819 November – Salt Springs becomes the first European settlement in what is to become Vermilion County.

1820s

1826 January 18 – Vermilion County is created.
1826 March – The county is divided into two townships, Carroll in the south and Ripley in the north.
1826 – James Haworth plats the town of Georgetown.
1827 January – The Salt Works, on the Salt River the west of the mouth of the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River, is the first settlement. Lottie Jones VC History
1827 January 31 – The future site of Danville is identified as the new county seat.
1827 April 10 – Lots in the new town of Danville go on sale.
1827 May – Post office at Danville opens in the home of Amos Williams.
1828 – Post office at Georgetown opens.

1830s

1833 – Champaign County is founded to the west, taking a strip ten miles wide from the west side of Vermilion County.
1833 – Iroquois County is founded to the north, and Vermilion County is extended by 6 miles on the north side.
1835 – Daniel Beckwith (after whom Danville was named) dies of pneumonia following a horseback ride from Washington.
1837 – The town of Franklin is founded near the future site of Bismarck, but only lasts a few years.
1838 September 17–20 – The Potawatomi Trail of Death camps at Sandusky Point near what became the town of Catlin.
1839 – Post office at the future site of Rossville opens.

1840s

1843 – The town of Myersville is founded near the future site of Bismarck.

1850s

1851 – Vermilion County is divided into eight townships: Danville, Georgetown, Elwood, Carroll, Ross, Middlefork, Newell (first called Richland), and Pilot.
1851 – B. E. Conkey founds Conkeytown.
1856 – Blount Township is created.
1857 – Mann's Chapel is constructed south of the future site of Rossville.
1858 – Catlin Township is created.
1858 – Abraham Lincoln gives a speech in Danville at the home of Dr. William Fithian (now the Vermilion County Museum) while campaigning for U.S. Senator against Stephen A. Douglas.
1859 – Ford County is created from an unorganized territory that had been attached to Vermilion County.

1860s

1862 – Grant Township is created.
1862 – The town of Rossville is founded.
1864 – Butler Township is created.
1866 – Vance Township is created.
1866 – Josiah Hunt and Guy Merrill plat the town of Catlin.
1867 – Sidell Township is created.
1868 – Oakwood Township is created.

1870s

1870 September – Danville High School is established.
1871 – The town of Hoopeston is founded.
1872 – Construction on the Pumpkin Vine Railroad begins, to carry coal from south of Covington, Indiana to the Bismarck area.
1872 – The town of Gilbert is founded south of the future site of Alvin.
c. 1873 – The town of Bismarck is founded.
1873 – William P. and E. A. West lay out the town of Westville.
1875 – The town of Alvin is founded at a new railroad intersection just north of Gilbert, supplanting the earlier town.

1880s

1883 – The Danville Public Library is formed.
1884 – The Grand Opera House (later the Fischer Theatre) opens.^[1]

1890s

1894 – The Danville Training School for Nurses (later Lakeview College of Nursing) opens.
1897 – An Old Soldiers' Home is established on the southeast side of Danville.
1899 – Jamaica Township is created.

20th century

1900s

1900 August 2 – Helen Morgan is born in Vermilion County.
1902 – Love Township is created.
1904 November 7 – Danville's Carnegie Library opens.^[2]
1905 January – Hoopeston's Carnegie Library is dedicated.^[3]

1910s

1912 – McKendree Township is created.
1919 – The first Grab It Here grocery store opens.

1920s

1924 – Danville High School moves to the current building.
1924 September 15 – Bobby Short is born in Danville.
1925 December 13 – Dick Van Dyke is born in West Plains, Missouri.
1927 – South Ross Township is created.

1930s

1931 July 27 – Jerry Van Dyke is born in Danville.

1940s

1942 March 16 – The town of Alvin is hit by a tornado at 11:40 AM, killing six people and causing much destruction.
1946 – The University of Illinois establishes an extension center at Danville High School.
1949 – The University of Illinois extension becomes Danville Community College.

1950s

1950 January 21 – Joseph R. Tanner is born in Danville.
1951 – Danville Community College is renamed Danville Junior College.

1960s

1965 – Danville Junior College moves to buildings acquired from the Veterans Administration at 2000 East Main Street.
1966 – Danville Junior College becomes an independent two-year college.

1970s

1979 – Danville Junior College is renamed Danville Area Community College.

1980s

1980 September 20 Danville's David S. Palmer Civic Center opens.^[4]
1988 – Lakeview College of Nursing becomes a separate entity when the hospital changes hands.

1990s

1994 November 3 – Joe Tanner flies aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-66.
1995 November 7 – The new Danville Public Library building opens.^[2]
1997 February 11 – Joe Tanner flies aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-82, performing two space walks.

21st century

2000s

2000 November 30 – Joe Tanner flies aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-97, performing three space walks.
2004 February – Several historic buildings in downtown Rossville are destroyed by fire.^[5]
2005 March 21 – Bobby Short dies at the age of 80.
2006 August 26 – Chittick's Family Eye Care is destroyed by fire.^[6]
2006 September 9 – Joe Tanner flies aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-115, performing a space walk.

2010s

2017 September 30, October 1 – Vermilion Regional Airport hosts its first air show since 1987.^[7]
2018 January 5 – Jerry Van Dyke dies at age 86.

Related Research Articles

Vermilion County is a county in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois, between the Indiana border and Champaign County. It was established in 1826 and was the 45th of Illinois' 102 counties. According to the 2010 United States census, it had a population of 81,625, a decrease of 2.7% in 2000. It contains 21 incorporated settlements; the county seat and largest city is Danville.

Alvin is a village in South Ross Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 316 at the 2000 census. The U.S. Post Office uses the name Alvin, however the village is also known by the alternate spelling Alvan.

Bismarck is a village in Newell Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 579 at the 2010 census.

Catlin is a village in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,040 at the 2010 census, and 1,952 in 2018. Catlin is the hometown of Illinois State Representative Chad Hays, who represents the 104th Representative District of Illinois.

Hoopeston is a city in Grant Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 4,915.

Rossville is a village in Ross Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,221. It is part of the Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Joseph Richard Tanner is an American instructor at the University of Colorado Boulder, mechanical engineer, a former naval officer and aviator, and a former NASA astronaut. He was born in Danville, Illinois. He is unusual among astronauts as he did not have a background in flight test nor did he earn any advanced academic degrees. Typically those who did not do military flight test have an M.D. or Ph.D., if not a master's, whereas Tanner's path to becoming an astronaut followed operational military flying and then into NASA for operational jet training before being selected into the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1992, following an unsuccessful application in 1987.

Danville Area Community College (DACC) is a community college in Danville, Illinois. It was founded in 1946 as an extension of the University of Illinois; it has grown into an independent college offering courses in 76 areas of study. These include college transfer, occupational degrees and certificates, re-training, skill development, customized training and areas of special interest. As of May 2012, there were 1305 full-time and 3142 part-time students enrolled at the college.

Illinois Route 1 (IL 1) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Illinois. Running parallel to the Indiana border, the highway starts at the free ferry crossing to Kentucky at Cave-in-Rock on the Ohio River and runs north to the south side of Chicago as Halsted Street at an intersection with Interstate 57. This is a distance of 325.59 miles (523.99 km).

Blount Township is a township in Vermilion County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,428 and it contained 1,475 housing units.

Butler Township is a township in Vermilion County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 992 and it contained 459 housing units.

Catlin Township is a township in Vermilion County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,300 and it contained 1,342 housing units.

Danville Township is a township in Vermilion County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 32,113 and it contained 13,913 housing units. Danville Area Community College and the Illinois Department Of Corrections Danville Correctional Facility are in this township.

Jamaica Township is a township in Vermilion County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 202 and it contained 87 housing units.

Oakwood Township is a township in Vermilion County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,507 and it contained 1,518 housing units.

Bismarck Henning High School or BHHS is a high school located in Bismarck, Illinois, and is currently hosting students from Rossville, Alvin, Bismarck, Henning, and parts of Danville. The school's demographics currently consist of 98% white students. The 2007 graduation rate was 86.2%. The drop-out rate in 2007 was about 1%, compared to the state average of 4%. As of 2007, the school has 380 enrolled students and is one of the biggest schools in Vermilion County aside from Danville High School.

Cheneyville is an unincorporated community in Grant Township, Vermilion County, Illinois.

The Prisoner of War Camp in Hoopeston, Illinois, was one of 21 such camps in Illinois created to house German prisoners of war in the United States during World War II.

Danville is a city in and the county seat of Vermilion County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 33,027. As of 2019, the population was an estimated 30,479.

The Vermilion Valley Conference is a high school conference in east-central Illinois, in the United States. The conference participates in athletics and activities in the Illinois High School Association. The conference comprises 13 small public high schools and one small private school, with enrollments between 100 and 400 students in Edgar, Iroquois and Vermilion counties.

References

↑ Stapp, Katherine; W. I. Bowman (1968). History Under Our Feet: The Story of Vermilion County, Illinois. Danville, Illinois: Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc. p. 134.
1 2 "About Danville Public Library" . Retrieved 2007-10-09.
↑ "Hoopeston Public Library History". Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
↑ "David S. Palmer Arena History". Archived from the original on 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
↑ "Rossville in Flames". freelists.org. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
↑ "Fire consumes Chittick's Family Eye Care". Commercial-News. Archived from the original on 2013-01-20. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
↑ "Danville's first air show in more than 30 years set to take flight". News-Gazette. Retrieved 2018-01-15.

Unless otherwise cited, much of the information from the 19th century and first half of the 20th century is drawn from these works:

Stapp, Katherine; W. I. Bowman (1968). History Under Our Feet: The Story of Vermilion County, Illinois. Danville, Illinois: Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc.
Jones, Lottie E. (1911). History of Vermilion County, Illinois (volumes 1 and 2). Chicago, Illinois: Pioneer Publishing Company.

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[Stapp-1] Stapp, Katherine; W. I. Bowman (1968). History Under Our Feet: The Story of Vermilion County, Illinois. Danville, Illinois: Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc. p. 134.

[dpl-2] 1 2 "About Danville Public Library" . Retrieved 2007-10-09.

[3] "Hoopeston Public Library History". Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2007-10-09.

[4] "David S. Palmer Arena History". Archived from the original on 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2007-10-08.

[5] "Rossville in Flames". freelists.org. Retrieved 2007-10-08.

[6] "Fire consumes Chittick's Family Eye Care". Commercial-News. Archived from the original on 2013-01-20. Retrieved 2007-10-08.

[7] "Danville's first air show in more than 30 years set to take flight". News-Gazette. Retrieved 2018-01-15.

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