9 Tiny Towns In Illinois Where HUGE Things Happened
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Laura
Author
You might think that all newsworthy things happen in Chicago or Springfield. Well, my friends, you would be wrong. Here are 9 tiny Illinois towns that are known for big things.
Ah, yes, the twinkie. The twinkie was invented by James Dewar in River Forest in 1930.
Speaking of huge...the tallest man ever born was born in Alton in 1918. He grew to 8 feet, 11 inches in height.
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Josephine Cochrane, sick of doing dishes by hand, invented the mechanical dishwasher in Shelbyvile in 1885.
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John Deere (yeah, you probably heard of him) invented the cast steel plow in Grand Detour in 1837.
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The wrench was invented in Hutsonville by Albert A. Coon in 1886.
Nauvoo was settled by Joseph Smith in 1840, who moved his people to the town to escape religious persecution.
In 1909, Cherry was the site of the Cherry Mine Disaster, where 259 coal miners were killed.
In 1943, the town of Erie experienced a huge fire, wiping out a good deal of the town.
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In 1913, Cairo experienced incredible flooding. Death and great property damage resulted, and the town really was never quite the same after that.
Do you live in a tiny town with a big claim to fame? Let us know in the comments.
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