Champaign County Genealogy and History
Champaign County is representative of all that is best in American life. To the state and the country at large it is chiefly known for its extraordinary agricultural capacity and for the great University which has been planted in its midst, and which has drawn to its territory thousands of able and inspiring men and women. Many have remained to become a part of its higher life, both in intellectual and moral endeavors. Those who know Champaign County more intimately, natives or old-time residents, also appreciate the solidity of its material wealth and the sturdy fiber of its sons and daughters. There is no county in the United States which has been more faithfully cultivated and the richness of whose soil has been conserved in a more intelligent and scientific manner. The grains, the fruits and the live stock of the county, the artificial drainage, and the various auxiliaries to wholesome and prosperous living, are of the same high grade as its men and women.
One of the richest, most prosperous and progressive counties in southern
Illinois, Champaign also represents a nucleus of mental activity and culture,
national, even international, in its scope. The cities of Champaign and Urbana,
virtually one municipal community, although separately incorporated, are of
unique character in that their prosperity has been largely stimulated by the
activities of what has become a great university; that their material growth
still is invigorated by its membership; that they are practically without
industries, and yet that they thrive and expand and possess a vigorous and
developing life seldom enjoyed by a university town, and certainly by no other
like municipality in the United States.
In 1918 Champaign County had two cities and seventeen incorporated villages
within its limits. It was divided into twenty-eight townships, was bisected by
the fortieth degree of north latitude, which crosses it about four miles south
of the courthouse at Urbana, and was about thirty-six miles from north to south
and twenty-eight east and west.
What's New
French Influence
The grand march of French exploration and discovery up the valley of the St
Lawrence, through Cartier and Champlain; around the fringes of the upper Great
Lakes and gradually into the outlying country by the same far-seeing, brave and
patriotic Champlain; the wonderful combination of Church and State, which
penetrated the wilderness, subdued its savages both by the mysteries of
Catholicism, gentle and brotherly offices and the pageantry of a gorgeous
government all these successive steps leading to the voyages of Marquette and
Joliet which drove the wedge into the very center of the American continent and
commenced to let in the light of the world, have been so often told that they
comprise the common knowledge of the reading universe.
Agriculture of Champaign County, Illinois
The friable soil and the equable climate of Champaign County are adapted to the
raising of fruits, and its horticultural society has been maintained for many
years. Despite the advantages of soil and climate and the best efforts of the
birds, however, the insect pest has been most aggressive of late years, and the
cereals have almost superseded the fruits.
Geography of Champaign County, Illinois
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Champaign county has a total area of 2,584
km˛ (998 mi˛). 2,582 km˛ (997 mi˛) of it is land and 2 km˛ (1 mi˛) of it (0.07%)
is water.
Biographies of Champaign County, Illinois
The 475 biographies from this section were extracted from the Standard History
of Champaign County, Illinois written by J. R. Stewart. They are a cross
reference of the residents of Champaign County, and most were alive during 1918.
Source: A Standard History of Champaign County, Illinois, by J. R. Stewart, published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago And New York, 1918.