RAILROAD TOWNS, GOVERNOR ALTGELD'S HIGHER EDUCATION CASTLES FEATURED IN LATEST HISTORIC ILLINOIS

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Illinois towns established to serve the booming railroad industry, and the university buildings resembling castles that were constructed during Governor Altgeld's administration are featured in the latest issue of Historic Illinois, a publication of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA).

 

            Illinois has been the center of the nation's railroad industry since the 1870s, and towns were established here 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 ten 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 was written by Stanley Changnon, semi-retired professor of geography at the University of Illinois at Urbana, and author of numerous books and articles on railroads.

 

            The castle-like buildings at the University of Illinois and Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Illinois State Universities are the subject of another article.  Many remember Governor John P. Altgeld as the man who pardoned the convicted Haymarket Riot bombers, an act which sealed his fate as a one-term governor, from 1892 - 1896.  However, Altgeld's lasting legacy was to the Illinois higher education system.  A strong supporter of education, Altgeld 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.  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 castle-like design elements.  Many of these buildings are still in use today:  Old Main at Eastern (1896), Altgeld Hall at Southern (1896), Cook Hall at Illinois State (1898), and Altgeld Hall at the U of I (1987).  The article was written by William M. Gatlin, an intern with IHPA's Preservation Services Division.                               

 

Historic Illinois is a bimonthly IHPA publication that features historically significant sites in Illinois.  Subscriptions are $10 per year, which includes six issues of Historic Illinois and one full-color Historic Illinois Calendar.  For more information, call (217) 524-6045, visit www.Illinois-History.gov, or write:

 

                        Historic Illinois