Timeline of Vermilion County, Illinois history

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

19th century

1800s

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 – Salt Springs, at the mouth of the North Fork of the Vermilion River, is made the county seat.
  • 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

1860s

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

1890s

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

1920s

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

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

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

References
  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.
  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.

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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