Shirley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern McLean County, Illinois, United States, just off Interstate 55. It was founded in 1854. As of the 2020 census, the population of the CDP was 135.[3] Shirley is home to the Funk Prairie Home & Rock Museum.
History
The town of Shirley was laid out on September 14, 1866, by John M. Foster (1806 – 1898).[5] Foster was a native of New Hampshire. Before the village was established there was a switch at the location and a few lots had been platted. Foster built a brick house and store south of the railroad.[6] The original town consisted of ten small blocks, mostly on the north side of the St. Louis Chicago and Alton Railroad. In 1874, Foster's home and a store and the station were on the south side of the tracks, and a warehouse and mill were on the north side.[7] In 1895 there was a Methodist church, a Christian church, and a hotel north of the tracks; at that time were about twenty houses scattered on both sides of the railroad.[8]
References
- ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Shirley, Illinois
- ^ "2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Illinois". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ^ a b "P1. Race – Shirley CDP, Illinois: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ^ "Shirley". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
- ^ .Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of McLean County (Edited by Ezra M. Prince and John H. Burnham; 2 vols: Chicago: Munsell, 1908) p. 902. ISBN 1-4035-0026-6
- ^ History of McLean County, Illinois (Chicago: LeBaron 1879) p.616.
- ^ Combined Indexed Atlas 1856-1914, McLean County, Illinois, (Bloomington: McLean County Historical Society and McLean County Genealogical Society, 2006) P.75. ISBN 0-943788-33-1
- ^ Combined Atlas, 2006, 173.
External links
- Shirley, United States Page
- 61772 Zip Code Detailed Profile
- Funk Prairie Home & Rock Museum
- Shirley 'cut' split little town in two back in 1909 - Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois newspaper)
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