A common comment is why isn't [insert town name] on this list? As I mention at the beginning, this is a list of the 10 smallest INCORPORATED towns. Most of the time the towns in question are unincorporated or too large.
I live in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Southwest burb of Chicago. Population about 72,000. Bolingbrook is in DuPage and Will counties. I'm in Will county. About 90% is in Will county. Very informative video. Thank you.
I'm from downstate Illinois. If you want to know anything about the town, if theres an old person sitting outside on their porch just ask them and they'll bring you out something to drink and talk your ears off. You'll walk away knowing more than you even wanted to know! 😆
Finished this video and it was wonderful. Illinois holds a very special place in my heart. Thank you for the respectful way you presented these little towns in Illinois.
I'm from the Philippines but I really enjoy watching your videos and learning more about small town America. Thank you for your great work. I have never been to the states so this is such a delight to find your channel and learn more how small town America looks like. Each town has very interesting story and vibe. 🌺😍
Glad to see Wiseguy has such a wide audience and you are watching all the way from the Philippines. If there is a Philippines version of the Wiseguy I'd love to watch some of those videos and learn about about it.
Another great video capturing the small town feeling of Illinois. As always, informative narrative, beautiful drone footage, interesting cemetery, buildings /houses/ churches are same yet different. …….from one of the armchair traveler!
Lovely video of rural Illinois! I'm from Pinckneyville, IL, in Perry County. We have several thousand in population (about doubled due to the prison), and I was/am unaware of some of these tiny towns in my state. Good job -- really well done!
That was a nice video of Illinois small towns. Very interesting and so pretty in all those areas. Lots of trees and neat little towns. It was nice to see the countryside of Illinois instead of Chicago, which is all most people talk about. Looking forward to your next adventure.
Loved Florence but most of the towns had enough draw to have bigger populations. Great places to live all. Love exploring the old buildings and studying the history of them. Thanks for taking the time from your trip to make this 👍 Stay safe and GOD bless
Valley City the last you presented. The white building behind you was the Sleepy Jack Tavern. The bar didn’t shut down even when the river was up. They would take boats over to the 2nd floor and attend bar up stairs. The metal building he shown was where the Tate Cheese Factory stood. It was the last cheese factory in Pike Co.
@ 8:58 the Volkswagen turned into a flower bed in Phillipstown with the sign that says "Fahrvergnügen" (driving pleasure in German) is the cutest thing. How adorable that whole little setup is, love those folks. The doggos at the end made me laugh. Kaskaskia will be a fun rabbit hole. Thanks, John.
Hey Coach, I would have to say Kaskaskia was my favorite small town in this video. I have been there before. My wife and I rode our CanAm Spyder there just to check it out. It is a beautiful place to visit. I love the history of the town. You told me things that I was not aware of about Kaskaskia, thanks for that. Drive safe and God Bless
Having grown up in a small town in IL I found this fascinating. And the southern part of the state is so vastly different from northern IL, especially the chicago metro area. Well done and produced video.
Hey that town Wenonah although very small is very pretty so I’m really well kept nice small houses there. I noticed one of the houses is covered in solar panels and I have not seen that before in the other small towns just by the way of note. Looks really nice I think. Cheers 🇦🇺
John, you were just down the road from me! I cross the Florence bridge to go to work every day in Detroit! Many years ago I worked at the tavern in Florence . It was called Ed & Woodie's. Past Ed & Woodies up the road is Central Stone, which is also a rock quarry. Keep this footage because there is going to be a new bridge built over the Illinois river. Cargill is the grain elevator. Route 106 is about to become very busy once they start shelling corn. Valley City is a few miles upstream as the crow flies from Florence. The building behind you was a tavern. In fact there used to be 2 taverns in Valley City. There was Tate Cheese and the rock quarry. Back up the hill west is Griggsville and it is supposed to be the purple martin capital. I better stop before you are bored to tears. 😊 Thanks for being in my neck of the woods!
I used to be in a Jeep club based in Pittsfield in the late 90's through the late 2000's. Hamer and Jenny Tate, owners of Tate Cheese were also members. Some great folks in Pike County.
I vaguely remember “sandbagging” on dry farmland because of a flood around Kaskaskia in the early 1970’s when I was a student at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. The university asked for students to volunteer and drove us on buses to where we hopped on a small barge with floodlights that landed on dry farmland. They fed us coffee and donuts. And now at 72 I’m preparing to leave Illinois for a rural piece of land near Mountain Home, Arkansas. Life moves on. Nice channel!
What your doing is so Cool!😎. You show places that most of us would never have known of. I comment and always give the thumbs up👍hoping that it really does help your channel. Great stuff!🫡
I’m from Griggsville and I loved seeing this video! My great grandma, my uncle and both my grandparents resided in Valley City and I spent my childhood running and fishing down along the river. My family moved out in 2010 after my grandparents passed and I only have my father and an aunt living in Griggsville now. Years ago my grandparents hosted a “Valley City Reunion” every year and as a child I loved hearing the stories from all the folks who grew up there. Thanks so much for sharing. 🥰
What a pleasure to continue to visit small town America through your videos. It must have been much easier years ago to change the name of a city, such as the former Liberty. Interesting how simple those times were in comparison to now. Thank you for another wonderful journey! Be safe out there, and God bless!
I’ve never seen you before accidentally stumbling upon this video. But as someone who has lived my whole life in small town southern Illinois I found this to be wildly fascinating. Thank you for making this!
I’m going to be in Springfield in a couple weeks. Valley City is about an hour away. It would be cool to take a little detour to see it I’m from the Detroit area (the one in Michigan) and saw that the next town to the west of Florence is Detroit (not the one in Michigan). That would be awesome for me to see, too.
Check out Alton Illinois with it's connection to the underground railroad. Hauntings, plagues and more. If you have never saw a bald eagle you can in Alton in January where they settle
Macoupin County Illinois is littered with towns which have less than 100 people. Womac, Atwater, Dorchester, Wilsonville, Sawyerville, Eagarville, Henderson, Mount Claire, Hornsby
I lived in valley city in 1976. The house I lived in was next to the building featured in your video. It was a saloon at that time. I went kindergarten in Griggsville. Loved the video
Just got back from Hollowayville, went to Tony’s Butt Shack for my youngest son’s birthday! Had a great time, he attempted the Butt Buster Food Challenge and failed but a great trip!
This video somewhat hits close to home as a lot of these are nearly surrounding the county I live in (Madison)! I've driven through nearly half of them and admittingly I did not know Rockwood was a legit town. Glad you got to experience the nice drive on Route 3 (Great River road). I did a video on Kaskaskia Island three years ago and it looks like nothing has changed (laughs) except for the Lafayette's Tour marker. Glad you made it out to that town as I found it up your alley. What I found most surprising was there were no towns from Calhoun County on the list (hope to do a video there sometime down the road - it is the self-proclaimed least crowded county in Illinois). Anyways, great job as always and thanks for coming to the Land of Lincoln and showing its good side.
Hi John. I think Kaskaskia was my favorite too. It’s amazing that people still live in these little towns. I didn’t see any houses in the last town. This was such an interesting video. Thanks.
Hey Coach. My best one is Kaskaskia. There are some peaceful places out there.That ride machine runs smooth as silk, I'm looking @ a 7.9 if I ever saw one.
Just found you, what a good video. I've lived in Illinois all my life, born and raised in Aurora. I have lived in many towns: Plano, Sandwich, Peoria, Pontiac etc. None this small though. Currently I am down in Mattoon, I'll have to check out some of these little towns in the south. Thanks.
Ha dang worked for the salami factory one season in hollowayville i live 45 min away from there though. The owner Joe and his family are good people. And the original victoria Illinois is about 25 or 30 min away from where i live, Theres tons of small towns near me. Maybe i speak for myself but i think its cool when people see how illinois really is. All you hear about is chicago so this is awesome.
Hey, another..... really nice Merry-go-Round. That one will spin for a long time. Really nice video (seriously). We used to fish in Illinois (I never caught jack squat there). Be good, be safe !!
I love your videos and always look forward to learning more about these small towns. I watched TH-cam about dust storms in the early 30s and they explained those ghost towns in central states. Said along with Great Depression and these horrible storms, people packed up every thing they could and leave everything else behind. Thank you for you info!!
My kin came from Maryland to union county KY. My lineage moved just across the river to philpstown, and the next generation moved to burnt prairie. Lots buried in both.
There is a small "building" visible on your video on the bridge at Florence, it is manned 24 hours a day to raise the centered , grated span up for barges! Also a house up on telephone poles on the south end of the town due to flooding, cool ! Had a farm near there👍
You missed Bolivia Ill pop about 30 has a historical wooden bridge, grew up there, then right down road is Roby Ill. pop. approx 40, last but not least is Moonshine pop 2 down by Effingham Ill have a old store where they grill Hamburgers at 12 p.m. sharp grill is shut down. I love exploring old towns. thanks for doing our state.👏👏
Thank you for the info but all of those are unincorporated and thus not eligible for this list. It’s only official “towns”. Much appreciated for watching and commenting!
My parents grew up around Macedonia, so it was part of my childhood. On the north side of the intersection there was a store on each corner. I remember going to the store on the NE corner. I also remember when the post office was built in the 60's! It was also affected by the oil boom in the area. It has sidewalks, too.
Great video. I took a little road trip through rural Illinois into Missouri in 2002. Beautiful area. I will say it started getting redundant in those small towns. It was a similar story of decline due to flooding or mine/factory closure. I can only look at so many abandoned buildings. I wish more towns had historical markers or information.
The quarry in between Florence and valley city is still very active. I work on barges and Florence rock pit is one of the docks we load at quite regularly.
Hi John!Loved your video and am now subscribed!😊I'd also like to add another little interesting tidbit in Kaskaskia's history, a Peoria Native American, name unknown ,murdered Chief Pontiac and left him in the gutter outside a Kaskaskia business (possibly a tavern) very early 1800s or even late 1700s.Worth a look!Thanks!
Not gonna lie, man. I grew up all over southern IL. From Benton to Woodington to Marion and even Thompsonville... But the smallest town I knew always brought the warmest memories; Equality. My great grandma lived in Equality, on the tallest hill in town. There was a custom laser engraved rock outside that read Frohock Hill. My great uncle was a volunteer fireman for over 20 years in the town, my great grandfather was incredibly dedicated to his community, building and helping install the cross on the water tower every holiday season... There's something about these small towns that just feel like home to me now. A place I will always long to return to.
@evanorthcliff2782 Oh, definitely not to live, but for a relaxing day with family? It's beautiful. The Red Onion is opening back up last I heard! In terms of how people live there; low property taxes, and most work in either Eldorado or Harrisburg. That, or they're retired lol
Grew up on my Great Grandfather’s farm just north of Goldengate (Between Fairfield and Albion) My wife is from Bone Gap. They used to have a mayor and counsel. Not sure if they do today. Scottsville is a crossroad like Black Store near Samsville. Lots of these places… Great Video!!
I've been through Rockwood & Kaskaskia many of a trip. Headed to St. Louis via Chester and up through Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, we would always drive through Kaskaskia. Really enjoyed the video. Now, do one of the 10 smallest villages of Illinois.
found this by accident, interesting! Hollowayville was probably 40 minute drive from my home town in Bureau County, there are so many small villages in IL., but you found some I never heard of.
The quarry you speak of is owned by Callendar Construction in Pittsfield Illinois. That quarry is very much still active. In fact my brother worked at that quarry while I worked at the quarry further down the river on Hillview Rd. There was also a large cheese factory there called Tate cheese for many years.
I actually live in the Rockwood address. Not within the city limits but within a few miles. My best friend’s whole family came from Kaskaskia as well. Cool video.
Cool video. My mother's family is from rural IL town. All unincorporated, I suspect. Dongola is off the interstate, but they lived in unincorporated Wetaug. The only public buildings in Wetaug were churches.
Good trip, John. Speaking of Kaskaskia, there's a town in Miami County Ks called Paola and it has a street named Kaskadkia. Paola was named after a indian cheif named Baptiste Peoria. It seems he lived in the area in the 1800s. And left but his wife stayed in the area. This is the town i go to grocery shop and my brother's daughter and family live and work in Paola. I must say the town of Kaskaskia is sure interesting place to visit. Though this is the closest I get to the town. I did have a friend who had moved to Illinois many years ago near Chicago though she worked in Chicago. She moved back, about 20 yrs ago, to Lenexa Ks our home town and unfortunately she died of cancer in 2006. Thanks for the trip and happy trails to you and God bless.
My 4 X Great Grandparents John and Elizabeth Funkhouser built the 1st brick house in White County Illinois just out side of Burnt Prairie. John was born in 1785 and Elizabeth in 1792. John Funkhouser is listed in the 1818 Illinois Census. I visited their house in 1973 and it was still standing. It can't be seen from the country road so we hopped a fence and had to walk a way back to find it. It is a 2 story brick home and John & Elizabeth's graves are close to the house. There were 2 elderly Funkhouser sisters living in Burnt Prairie that we visited who were probably in their 80's in 1973. There was also a Stuart/Stewart family living in Burnt Prairie that we are supposed to be related to.
A common comment is why isn't [insert town name] on this list? As I mention at the beginning, this is a list of the 10 smallest INCORPORATED towns. Most of the time the towns in question are unincorporated or too large.
I live in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Southwest burb of Chicago. Population about 72,000. Bolingbrook is in DuPage and Will counties. I'm in Will county. About 90% is in Will county. Very informative video. Thank you.
Newmansville il in menard county look it up outside of historic Petersburg il its the real smallest incorporated town
Why isn't big Nick Illinois on that list
I'm from downstate Illinois. If you want to know anything about the town, if theres an old person sitting outside on their porch just ask them and they'll bring you out something to drink and talk your ears off. You'll walk away knowing more than you even wanted to know! 😆
I had a few of those chats on this trip 😊
Finished this video and it was wonderful. Illinois holds a very special place in my heart. Thank you for the respectful way you presented these little towns in Illinois.
Glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate the nice comment 😊
I'm from the Philippines but I really enjoy watching your videos and learning more about small town America. Thank you for your great work. I have never been to the states so this is such a delight to find your channel and learn more how small town America looks like. Each town has very interesting story and vibe. 🌺😍
Glad to see Wiseguy has such a wide audience and you are watching all the way from the Philippines. If there is a Philippines version of the Wiseguy I'd love to watch some of those videos and learn about about it.
Thank you for watching! Much appreciated!
i live south of kaskaski i just found out about the fort myself in the last 10 yrs and i grew up here
Thanks for visiting our state i live in a small town here in Franklin County zeigler Illinois @@TravelwithaWiseguy
The Illinois small towns video was very well done. It must take a lot of work. job well done
Thanks! It was but I enjoyed it!
Another great video capturing the small town feeling of Illinois. As always, informative narrative, beautiful drone footage, interesting cemetery, buildings /houses/ churches are same yet different. …….from one of the armchair traveler!
Thank you very much!
9:00 what a lovely setup!
Lovely video of rural Illinois! I'm from Pinckneyville, IL, in Perry County. We have several thousand in population (about doubled due to the prison), and I was/am unaware of some of these tiny towns in my state. Good job -- really well done!
Thank you! It was a fun trip to do!
Sesser IL here ✌️🤍
Former Sparta and Baldwin resident. My Sister lives in Pinckneyville. Her husband was the chief of police till he retired around 7-8 years ago.
From that area as well except from Sparta
@@itsjordanleggans199 Awesome! If you know anybody named Hawkins, those are my cousins.
That was a nice video of Illinois small towns. Very interesting and so pretty in all those areas. Lots of trees and neat little towns. It was nice to see the countryside of Illinois instead of Chicago, which is all most people talk about. Looking forward to your next adventure.
Thanks! I agree, Illinois has a lot of beautiful areas to check out besides Chicago :)
Thanks again for a good Sunday. I really liked the trip.
Glad to hear it!
Loved Florence but most of the towns had enough draw to have bigger populations. Great places to live all. Love exploring the old buildings and studying the history of them. Thanks for taking the time from your trip to make this 👍 Stay safe and GOD bless
I think that is so cool with the dogs come up to greet you.They love to be petted. They loved the Coach!
Very friendly 🐕 🐶
Valley City the last you presented. The white building behind you was the Sleepy Jack Tavern. The bar didn’t shut down even when the river was up. They would take boats over to the 2nd floor and attend bar up stairs. The metal building he shown was where the Tate Cheese Factory stood. It was the last cheese factory in Pike Co.
Thanks for the info!
@ 8:58 the Volkswagen turned into a flower bed in Phillipstown with the sign that says "Fahrvergnügen" (driving pleasure in German) is the cutest thing. How adorable that whole little setup is, love those folks. The doggos at the end made me laugh. Kaskaskia will be a fun rabbit hole. Thanks, John.
I agree that was a very cool Volkswagen!
Very interesting and enjoyable tour. Kaskaskia looks like and interesting little place to visit
Thank you!
You should check out the little town Bigneck Illinois it’s got 3 people I think 2 houses. It had a store an a TV repair shop and TV & stereo store
Great video keep exploring beautiful places thanks for the tour
Thank you, I will try 😊
I really enjoyed your video. Nicely done with good information and the proper level of respect.
Much appreciated! Thanks 😊
I enjoyed watching this. Thanks for posting this
Glad you enjoyed it - my pleasure!
Hey Coach, I would have to say Kaskaskia was my favorite small town in this video. I have been there before. My wife and I rode our CanAm Spyder there just to check it out. It is a beautiful place to visit. I love the history of the town. You told me things that I was not aware of about Kaskaskia, thanks for that.
Drive safe and God Bless
Thanks! Glad you were able to visit - such a cool place!
Having grown up in a small town in IL I found this fascinating. And the southern part of the state is so vastly different from northern IL, especially the chicago metro area. Well done and produced video.
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes Illinois is very different from top to bottom and East to west!
I am a proud Illinoisan and I love this! Thank you.
Keep up the great work, Mr Wise 💯
Much appreciated!
This is the only video, of yours, that I have watched. I'm from South central Illinois, and I really enjoyed it.
Awesome! Thank you!
Hey that town Wenonah although very small is very pretty so I’m really well kept nice small houses there. I noticed one of the houses is covered in solar panels and I have not seen that before in the other small towns just by the way of note. Looks really nice I think. Cheers 🇦🇺
Kaskaskia has fascinated me for decades. Glad you covered it. I may drive down there this fall to see it again
You should!
John, you were just down the road from me! I cross the Florence bridge to go to work every day in Detroit! Many years ago I worked at the tavern in Florence . It was called Ed & Woodie's. Past Ed & Woodies up the road is Central Stone, which is also a rock quarry. Keep this footage because there is going to be a new bridge built over the Illinois river. Cargill is the grain elevator. Route 106 is about to become very busy once they start shelling corn. Valley City is a few miles upstream as the crow flies from Florence. The building behind you was a tavern. In fact there used to be 2 taverns in Valley City. There was Tate Cheese and the rock quarry. Back up the hill west is Griggsville and it is supposed to be the purple martin capital. I better stop before you are bored to tears. 😊 Thanks for being in my neck of the woods!
Awesome! Thanks for the info - very interesting area!
How can ot be Detroit when illinois doesn't touch Michigan
@AkeoT9 it is a small town of 100 people between the Illinois River and Pittsfield on route 106.
I used to be in a Jeep club based in Pittsfield in the late 90's through the late 2000's. Hamer and Jenny Tate, owners of Tate Cheese were also members. Some great folks in Pike County.
I vaguely remember “sandbagging” on dry farmland because of a flood around Kaskaskia in the early 1970’s when I was a student at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. The university asked for students to volunteer and drove us on buses to where we hopped on a small barge with floodlights that landed on dry farmland. They fed us coffee and donuts. And now at 72 I’m preparing to leave Illinois for a rural piece of land near Mountain Home, Arkansas. Life moves on. Nice channel!
We always flood around around there that's where I had vocational School when in highschool I got out years ago to Kentucky
Another winner! Very interesting. Keep ‘em coming. 😊
Thank you! Will do!
This is a nice, well thought out video and appreciated. I hope more people watch and appreciate small town America more!
Love this content. I love small town IL
😊
Great video brother! Keep these up I love these videos 🎉❤
Thanks!
What your doing is so Cool!😎. You show places that most of us would never have known of. I comment and always give the thumbs up👍hoping that it really does help your channel.
Great stuff!🫡
👍👍
Thanks! I appreciate the support each week 😊
I love content like this. I find the history of small towns fascinating. Thank for sharing!
You’re welcome!
So interesting - Thank you for sharing the info. Im looking forward to more videos
Much appreciated!
kaskaskia is my favorite you are awesome love love love this stuff thanks for sharing and taking the time to put this all together
Much appreciated thank you!
I’m from Griggsville and I loved seeing this video! My great grandma, my uncle and both my grandparents resided in Valley City and I spent my childhood running and fishing down along the river. My family moved out in 2010 after my grandparents passed and I only have my father and an aunt living in Griggsville now.
Years ago my grandparents hosted a “Valley City Reunion” every year and as a child I loved hearing the stories from all the folks who grew up there. Thanks so much for sharing. 🥰
Thank you for the comment - much appreciated!
My dad coached boys and girls basketball at Bluffs and Winchester IL. I believe those teams played Griggsville during the regular season. Small world!
I’m from Northern Illinois, really enjoyed this video. I enjoy your videos keep up the good work
Awesome! Thank you!
this is so great to see fantastic and great drone footage
Very awesome video
What a pleasure to continue to visit small town America through your videos. It must have been much easier years ago to change the name of a city, such as the former Liberty. Interesting how simple those times were in comparison to now. Thank you for another wonderful journey! Be safe out there, and God bless!
I always think about the process of how they eventually determined the town names. Very simple times!
Very interesting. Good job.
Thank you!
I’ve never seen you before accidentally stumbling upon this video. But as someone who has lived my whole life in small town southern Illinois I found this to be wildly fascinating. Thank you for making this!
That's awesome! Thank you very much!
I’m going to be in Springfield in a couple weeks. Valley City is about an hour away. It would be cool to take a little detour to see it
I’m from the Detroit area (the one in Michigan) and saw that the next town to the west of Florence is Detroit (not the one in Michigan). That would be awesome for me to see, too.
Nice! I think it would be worth it 😊
Check out Alton Illinois with it's connection to the underground railroad. Hauntings, plagues and more. If you have never saw a bald eagle you can in Alton in January where they settle
Macoupin County Illinois is littered with towns which have less than 100 people. Womac, Atwater, Dorchester, Wilsonville, Sawyerville, Eagarville, Henderson, Mount Claire, Hornsby
I lived in valley city in 1976. The house I lived in was next to the building featured in your video. It was a saloon at that time. I went kindergarten in Griggsville. Loved the video
Awesome 😎
Great vid, lots of history out there. Thanks!
Thank you!
Just got back from Hollowayville, went to Tony’s Butt Shack for my youngest son’s birthday! Had a great time, he attempted the Butt Buster Food Challenge and failed but a great trip!
This video somewhat hits close to home as a lot of these are nearly surrounding the county I live in (Madison)! I've driven through nearly half of them and admittingly I did not know Rockwood was a legit town. Glad you got to experience the nice drive on Route 3 (Great River road). I did a video on Kaskaskia Island three years ago and it looks like nothing has changed (laughs) except for the Lafayette's Tour marker. Glad you made it out to that town as I found it up your alley. What I found most surprising was there were no towns from Calhoun County on the list (hope to do a video there sometime down the road - it is the self-proclaimed least crowded county in Illinois). Anyways, great job as always and thanks for coming to the Land of Lincoln and showing its good side.
Thank you! I’ll have to go check out your Kaskaskia video - such a fascinating place! Would definitely love to explore Calhoun County someday 😊
@@TravelwithaWiseguy The peach capital of Illinois!
I am from pike county, Illinois. When I was younger there was also three other incorporated towns in pike county - time, montezuma, and martinsburg
Yep l reckon it’s the nicest towns l have seen so far. Really like the whole area!
I'm from Illinois. We have tons of small towns.
Hi John. I think Kaskaskia was my favorite too. It’s amazing that people still live in these little towns. I didn’t see any houses in the last town. This was such an interesting video. Thanks.
Thanks! There were a few houses behind trees in the area 😊
Hey Coach. My best one is Kaskaskia. There are some peaceful places out there.That ride machine runs smooth as silk, I'm looking @ a 7.9 if I ever saw one.
Right on 😊
Love your videos❤ thanks for sharing
You are so welcome!
So glad to have found you. Very interesting. Really enjoyed watching. I have subscribed.😊
Awesome! Thank you! 😊
What a wonderful trip thru Illinois.
In Holowayville, those are grave yards at the churches.
Just found you, what a good video. I've lived in Illinois all my life, born and raised in Aurora. I have lived in many towns: Plano, Sandwich, Peoria, Pontiac etc. None this small though. Currently I am down in Mattoon, I'll have to check out some of these little towns in the south. Thanks.
Thank you very much!
Just drove though hollowayville to get to Princeton. I seen the population sign but didn’t believe it. Crazy.
Ha dang worked for the salami factory one season in hollowayville i live 45 min away from there though. The owner Joe and his family are good people. And the original victoria Illinois is about 25 or 30 min away from where i live, Theres tons of small towns near me. Maybe i speak for myself but i think its cool when people see how illinois really is. All you hear about is chicago so this is awesome.
Some very beautiful small towns out there. I liked Kaskaskia best, I think. Thanks!
Thank you 😊
Hey, another..... really nice Merry-go-Round. That one will spin for a long time. Really nice video (seriously). We used to fish in Illinois (I never caught jack squat there). Be good, be safe !!
Thanks! Yeah that one might still be spinning 😵💫
There is a Florence unincorporated just south of Freeport Illinois too. Nora, Illinois is also a very small town. Has a bar and post office!
Been there a many times with my grandma when she used to sell for friendly homes parties
Bellflower Illinois here 😊
I love your videos and always look forward to learning more about these small towns. I watched TH-cam about dust storms in the early 30s and they explained those ghost towns in central states. Said along with Great Depression and these horrible storms, people packed up every thing they could and leave everything else behind. Thank you for you info!!
Thank you for the nice message!
My kin came from Maryland to union county KY. My lineage moved just across the river to philpstown, and the next generation moved to burnt prairie. Lots buried in both.
Most interesting! ❤Thanks!
There is a small "building" visible on your video on the bridge at Florence, it is manned 24 hours a day to raise the centered , grated span up for barges! Also a house up on telephone poles on the south end of the town due to flooding, cool ! Had a farm near there👍
Thanks for the info! 😊
Beautifully quaint towns. Great find John. Enjoyed this video. By the way, I love the state of Kansas ❤❤
Awesome! Thank you! 😊
You missed Bolivia Ill pop about 30 has a historical wooden bridge, grew up there, then right down road is Roby Ill. pop. approx 40, last but not least is Moonshine pop 2 down by Effingham Ill have a old store where they grill Hamburgers at 12 p.m. sharp grill is shut down. I love exploring old towns. thanks for doing our state.👏👏
Thank you for the info but all of those are unincorporated and thus not eligible for this list. It’s only official “towns”. Much appreciated for watching and commenting!
@@TravelwithaWiseguy Thank you for letting me know.. Did sub can't wait to watch more.🤩
My parents grew up around Macedonia, so it was part of my childhood. On the north side of the intersection there was a store on each corner. I remember going to the store on the NE corner.
I also remember when the post office was built in the 60's!
It was also affected by the oil boom in the area. It has sidewalks, too.
Thanks for the info!
Great video. I took a little road trip through rural Illinois into Missouri in 2002. Beautiful area. I will say it started getting redundant in those small towns. It was a similar story of decline due to flooding or mine/factory closure. I can only look at so many abandoned buildings. I wish more towns had historical markers or information.
Thank you for watching!
The quarry in between Florence and valley city is still very active. I work on barges and Florence rock pit is one of the docks we load at quite regularly.
Hi John!Loved your video and am now subscribed!😊I'd also like to add another little interesting tidbit in Kaskaskia's history, a Peoria Native American, name unknown ,murdered Chief Pontiac and left him in the gutter outside a Kaskaskia business (possibly a tavern) very early 1800s or even late 1700s.Worth a look!Thanks!
Such a fascinating little town! Thanks!
I am Illinois. On and raised. Fun video!
Very cool! Thank you!
You're good! I'm glad I subscribed.
Much appreciated!
I liked hearing about Kaskasneah (sp) I found you by accident. So glad I did and I look forward to oty
Awesome thanks!
Not gonna lie, man. I grew up all over southern IL. From Benton to Woodington to Marion and even Thompsonville... But the smallest town I knew always brought the warmest memories; Equality.
My great grandma lived in Equality, on the tallest hill in town. There was a custom laser engraved rock outside that read Frohock Hill. My great uncle was a volunteer fireman for over 20 years in the town, my great grandfather was incredibly dedicated to his community, building and helping install the cross on the water tower every holiday season... There's something about these small towns that just feel like home to me now. A place I will always long to return to.
I wouldn't mind going there maybe not to live. Don't know how they live there.
@evanorthcliff2782 Oh, definitely not to live, but for a relaxing day with family? It's beautiful. The Red Onion is opening back up last I heard!
In terms of how people live there; low property taxes, and most work in either Eldorado or Harrisburg. That, or they're retired lol
@TurtleCakesArts I think I drive through Equality when going to the Garden of the Gods...sounds familiar anyway 😂
The smallest I know is Crossville one store town go thru 4 way your leaving town. You know they small if they don't have a restaurant or a DG😅
There is actually quite a bit of traffic on Bluff Road through fults
Grew up on my Great Grandfather’s farm just north of Goldengate (Between Fairfield and Albion) My wife is from Bone Gap. They used to have a mayor and counsel. Not sure if they do today. Scottsville is a crossroad like Black Store near Samsville. Lots of these places… Great Video!!
Love your 4 Sixes shirt!
Thanks!
Hi john interesting towns an i can see why some are growing again so much to gain being out in the country. Thanks alot cheers mate🇦🇺
Thank you 😊
I've been through Rockwood & Kaskaskia many of a trip. Headed to St. Louis via Chester and up through Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, we would always drive through Kaskaskia. Really enjoyed the video. Now, do one of the 10 smallest villages of Illinois.
Would be interesting 🤔
Thank you! Interesting.
Pisgah,Illinois? It has a grain elevator and a few houses. Might be unincorporated though.
Yep unincorporated 👍🏼
found this by accident, interesting! Hollowayville was probably 40 minute drive from my home town in Bureau County, there are so many small villages in IL., but you found some I never heard of.
The quarry you speak of is owned by Callendar Construction in Pittsfield Illinois. That quarry is very much still active. In fact my brother worked at that quarry while I worked at the quarry further down the river on Hillview Rd. There was also a large cheese factory there called Tate cheese for many years.
Thanks for the info!
I actually live in the Rockwood address. Not within the city limits but within a few miles. My best friend’s whole family came from Kaskaskia as well. Cool video.
That is awesome! Thank you 😊
Lived in Illinois all my life and learned a lot watching this video, thank you.
Very cool!
Cool video. Towns are nice and all, but I would have to live in a town with a watering hole. I'm from Le Roy il. pop. around 3500 and about 6 bars.
Hi neighbor. Foosland
My Great great Gpa lived in Burnt Prairie back around 1880s
Loved the video. I am more Wise for having watched it.
😂😂
You forgot L’Erable. Iroquois county and pitwood
My father is from Burnt Prairie, my great grandparents are buried there, stil have family there!
Cool video. My mother's family is from rural IL town. All unincorporated, I suspect. Dongola is off the interstate, but they lived in unincorporated Wetaug. The only public buildings in Wetaug were churches.
N route 1 outta Crossville to the I-64 west 2 miles is called Golden Gate, there's a rest stop there
Good trip, John. Speaking of Kaskaskia, there's a town in Miami County Ks called Paola and it has a street named Kaskadkia. Paola was named after a indian cheif named Baptiste Peoria. It seems he lived in the area in the 1800s. And left but his wife stayed in the area. This is the town i go to grocery shop and my brother's daughter and family live and work in Paola. I must say the town of Kaskaskia is sure interesting place to visit. Though this is the closest I get to the town. I did have a friend who had moved to Illinois many years ago near Chicago though she worked in Chicago. She moved back, about 20 yrs ago, to Lenexa Ks our home town and unfortunately she died of cancer in 2006. Thanks for the trip and happy trails to you and God bless.
Interesting info! Thanks for sharing!
@@TravelwithaWiseguy You're welcome. Have a great day. Happy trails to you and God bless.
My 4 X Great Grandparents John and Elizabeth Funkhouser built the 1st brick house in White County Illinois just out side of Burnt Prairie. John was born in 1785 and Elizabeth in 1792. John Funkhouser is listed in the 1818 Illinois Census. I visited their house in 1973 and it was still standing. It can't be seen from the country road so we hopped a fence and had to walk a way back to find it. It is a 2 story brick home and John & Elizabeth's graves are close to the house. There were 2 elderly Funkhouser sisters living in Burnt Prairie that we visited who were probably in their 80's in 1973. There was also a Stuart/Stewart family living in Burnt Prairie that we are supposed to be related to.
I think somewhere back in y family there are Funkhouser's, my name is Edwards but also related to Files and Duckworths!
Lots of nice places.
Very!
Great video, as always. If those buildings in Valley City could talk.
Absolutely 👍🏼