Ford county, formed in 1859 from part of Vermilion County in east central Illinois just east of the Bloomington metro area, is the youngest of all Illinois' 102 counties. It is named after Thomas Ford, the eighth Governor of Illinois and uses Paxton as its county seat. The county was the temporary home of Augustana College, having moved from Chicago in 1863 and it remained until 1875. Today the college calls Rock Island home. There is a large Scandanavian influence in the area, having first been settled by the Swedish and then by Norwegians. As an interesting anecdote, the town of Sibley was noted in Ripley's Believe It Or Not as having the "World's Largest Corn Crib." The county population on July 1, 1999, was 14,045, a decrease of 230 over the 1990 census.
Location:
Paxton Illinois
Other Illinois Counties nearby:
(Urbana) Champaign County
(Clinton) De Witt County
(Paxton) Ford County
(Watseka) Iroquois County
(Pontiac) Livingston County
(Bloomington) McLean County
|
01/10 Coming to The Paxton area
Earth Day Indiana Festival Indianapolis IN April27 On the final Saturday of every April, thousands of Hoosiers head to downtown Indianapolis to attend one of the nation's largest Earth Day festivals. The Earth Day Indiana Festival combines 140 environmental and conservation exhibits with live music, special activities for kids and good food.
Redbud Trail Rendezvous Rochester IN April27-28 See living history of frontier Midwest America, historic camps, music and dance of the period, traditional crafts, food cooked over wood fires, blanket trading, tomahawk and muzzle-loading shooting contests. The village has 40 wooden booths, traditional crafts, blanket trading and muzzle loading shooting matches.
Lilac Time Art and Craft Fair Lombard IL May5 The Lilac Time Art and Craft Fair is held annually on St. Charles Road between Main and Elizabeth in downtown Lombard. All of the proceeds received from the craft booth rentals are donated to local charities. Features 140 craft exhibitors and 4000 attendees throughout the day.
Lotus World Music and Arts Festival Bloomington IN May10 The annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival celebrates the diversity, beauty, and joy of music and arts from cultures around the world.
Peoria Heights Art Fair Peoria Heights IL May11 A great weekend is planned; the show coincides with the Race for the Cure and the Illinois Art League members show at the Village Hall. A hospitality tent will be open throughout the Art Fair with coffee and donuts in the morning and water and fruit during the day .
West Chicago Blooming Fest West Chicago IL May18 The City of West Chicago presents another colorful Blooming Fest, an annual downtown garden festival. It combines the West Chicago Garden Club's popular plant sale, with a craft show, children's activities, music, food and fun. Downtown merchants and restaurants get into the act with special promotions, in-store specials and sidewalk sales.
|
|