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Illinois has been the
center of the nation's railroad industry since the 1870s, and towns
were established to service the railroad's needs. Called railroad
towns, these communities sprang up so railroads would have places to
service steam engines, repair cars, store equipment and house
employees. These communities were located from 90 to 150 miles apart
along rail lines -- the distance trains could travel before they
needed maintenance, fuel or water. They were also places for crew
changes, as federal laws and union rules limited the number of hours
anyone could work on a train to 10 hours per day. Some communities
became district headquarters where more railroad facilities were
built and more employees located. As railroads consolidated and
more transportation needs were being met by highways, railroad
activity in these towns diminished; however, there are still very
active rail yards and facilities in Galesburg, Champaign, Centralia,
Danville, Decatur, Beardstown, Bloomington, Freeport, Springfield
and Villa Grove.
The article on railroad towns was written by Stanley Changnon,
semiretired professor of geography at the University of Illinois at
Urbana and author of numerous books and articles on railroads.
* * *
The castlelike buildings at the University of Illinois and
Northern, Southern, Eastern and Illinois State universities are the
subject of another article.
Many remember Gov. John P. Altgeld as the man who pardoned the
convicted Haymarket Riot bombers, an act that sealed his fate as a
one-term governor, from 1892 to 1896. However, Altgeld's lasting
legacy was to the Illinois higher education system. A strong
supporter of education, he pushed through increased appropriations
to greatly expand the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and
what later became known as Illinois State University in Bloomington,
Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Northern Illinois
University in DeKalb and Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
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 New buildings at these schools reflected Altgeld's strong ideas
about public architecture -- the structures should be "commanding"
and "impressive," reflecting a Tudor-Gothic style with towers,
battlements and other design elements typical of castles. Many of
these buildings are still in use today: Old Main at Eastern,
completed in 1896; Altgeld Hall at Southern, 1896; Altgeld Hall at
the U of I, 1897; and Cook Hall at Illinois State, 1898.
The article was written by William M. Gatlin, an intern with the
Preservation Services Division of the Illinois Historic Preservation
Agency.
* * *
Historic Illinois is a bimonthly publication that features
historically significant sites in Illinois. Subscriptions are $10
per year, which includes six issues of Historic Illinois and one
full-color calendar. For more information, call (217) 524-6045,
visit
www.Illinois-History.gov or write to Historic Illinois, Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency, 1 Old State Capitol Plaza,
Springfield, IL 62701-1507.
[Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency news release]
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