Waterford, Tuscumbia & Civer : Three Illinois ghost towns.
Located in West Central Illinois sits Fulton County which has a rich history of coal mines and farming and the county history as a county dates back to around 1818. In the 1800's many towns came and went including these. One location still has a church, township hall and cemetery while the other two the only remaining thing is signs to mark the location. They went out of existance during different times and for various reason. Waterford failed to grow when the Fulton County Narrow Gauge was built at Sepo and people rather lived where a railroad was. This was a part of the decline. Civer couldn't compete with Canton and never really grew. Tuscumbia I imagine people wanted to live in towns that were prospering. The railroads hadn't been built yet when it went out of existence but talks about a railroad had been in the making for quite a few years up until they were built and completed in the 1860's. By that time Tuscumbia was already just a memory. Here are the three Ghost towns.
"Waterford": Waterford was one of the earliest villages in Fulton County. It was laid out on March 24, 1825 by either James Johnson or John Jackson. It's not sure which one did. At one
time the village had a blacksmith shop, two grocery stores, two saloons, a dairy, wagon shop, a ferry, and a number of homes and log cabins. It even had a post office which was established
March 29,1838 and was discontinued October 27, 1852. The post master was Asa Langford who was an early settler in this townshi. sa Langford died April 17,1862 and is buried in the Waterford Cemetery. Pulaski Scovel ( probably a relation to my Scovel relatives) had a saw mill here. The
mill cut all the lumber that was used in the canal finished in 1850. Scovel's mill saed lumber and delivered it to Havana by an Oxen Team. In about 1875 to 1880 Waterford declined when the town of Sepo became established near the Narrow Gauge Railroad one half mile east. The only thing left is the Waterford Church and cemetery where Asa Langford is buried.
"Tuscumbia": was a former town in Bernadotte Township in Fulton County, Illinois.
It was platted by Wade Hampton on March 2, 1837. It consisted of 54 lots. It flourished for a time before being abandoned in 1855. A sign off Bernadotte Blacktop marks the location.
The first school here according to local history books stated the first school had greased paper instead of glass windows and was in a log cabin. This was Isaac Howard's first school.
Last but not least will mention the former town of Civer located three miles west off Canton off the former TP&W ( now KJRY) Railroad line. It was a small community which had a depot
and a store here. It was too close to Canton and never grew. The post office was established in 1869 and discontinued in 1906. There was also a cemetery here but a coal mining company wanted to mine in the area so the bodies and stones were relocated to Shield's Chapel Cemetery a few miles away in Buckheart Township.
"Waterford": Waterford was one of the earliest villages in Fulton County. It was laid out on March 24, 1825 by either James Johnson or John Jackson. It's not sure which one did. At one
time the village had a blacksmith shop, two grocery stores, two saloons, a dairy, wagon shop, a ferry, and a number of homes and log cabins. It even had a post office which was established
March 29,1838 and was discontinued October 27, 1852. The post master was Asa Langford who was an early settler in this townshi. sa Langford died April 17,1862 and is buried in the Waterford Cemetery. Pulaski Scovel ( probably a relation to my Scovel relatives) had a saw mill here. The
mill cut all the lumber that was used in the canal finished in 1850. Scovel's mill saed lumber and delivered it to Havana by an Oxen Team. In about 1875 to 1880 Waterford declined when the town of Sepo became established near the Narrow Gauge Railroad one half mile east. The only thing left is the Waterford Church and cemetery where Asa Langford is buried.
"Tuscumbia": was a former town in Bernadotte Township in Fulton County, Illinois.
It was platted by Wade Hampton on March 2, 1837. It consisted of 54 lots. It flourished for a time before being abandoned in 1855. A sign off Bernadotte Blacktop marks the location.
The first school here according to local history books stated the first school had greased paper instead of glass windows and was in a log cabin. This was Isaac Howard's first school.
Last but not least will mention the former town of Civer located three miles west off Canton off the former TP&W ( now KJRY) Railroad line. It was a small community which had a depot
and a store here. It was too close to Canton and never grew. The post office was established in 1869 and discontinued in 1906. There was also a cemetery here but a coal mining company wanted to mine in the area so the bodies and stones were relocated to Shield's Chapel Cemetery a few miles away in Buckheart Township.
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