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Fulton County’s communities are all small town communities with the largest being Canton with a population of approximately 16,000. Fulton County’s communities are surrounded by farmland, woodlands, or wetlands. All of the Fulton County’s communities have the small town atmosphere filled with the most friendliest people you’ll ever meet. 
Spoon River Scenic Drive Bus touring the Astoria 61501 It was organized by special charter January 24, 1839. Astoria is one of only nine municipalities in the state to retain its special charter, granted prior to 1872. The shady park in the middle of town has an old fashion band stand. It is located on U W West 24. There is plenty of free parking, camping facilities are available. Main Street has a variety of retail shops and a restaurant. Sept. 15-18 2004, Astoria’s Homecoming Contact 309 329 2768 - Y Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive - First two weekends of October - Y Horse Creek Trails - R
Avon 61415 Avon was settled by the Woods family from New York in 1837. It is worth the drive to see the many beautiful old homes surrounded by beautiful old trees. I has been the home to the Avon Fat Steer Show for many years. It is located in the northwest part of Fulton County on Route 41. It has several small stores and a restaurant, along with gas station, golf course and RV camping with hookups. A restored Train Depot in Avcon Park. Avon Depot - AVCOM Park 309-293-4961 Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive - First two weekends of October - Y
Babylon
Banner 61520
Bernadotte Blyton Breeds Brereton Canton 61520 Canton
Cuba
61427
Cuba is located in the center of Fulton County and is easily reached from any direction (Rts 97 & 95). It offers central park or “square” with a bandstand and grassy area for visiting. A mural of life in the Cuba area is on display in the Masonic Hall on the west side of the Square. The mural was painted by Harold Kee Welch, a Chicago commercial artist who returned with his family to his boyhood home of Smithfield. Coal mining was an imp9rtant industry in the Cuba area until the 1980’s. The Strip mining history began south of town in the 1920’s and grew until Cuba was called the strip mine center of Fulton County. Today Puman Township Park is the location of the first strip mine in Fulton County. The park is equipped with playground equipment, picnic tables, shelters and lakes for fishing. Five large oak trees (over 200 years old) may be viewed at the south end of 4th and 5th streets. Under these trees, Douglas and Lincoln debated. Several business are located in or near the park. 1st Hospital in Fulton County - H September - Abate Fun Run Contact 309 789 6639 - Y Cuba Christian Church, Founded in 1832, Building 1895 ~ 309- 785-2831 - H Sinnett Chapel, Northwest of Cuba Built 1884 - H Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive - First two weekends of October - Y
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700 East Oak, Room 301, Canton, IL 61520 Please let us know of any historical sites, recreation, arts & culture, or yearly events, that should be added to the individual communities by e-mailing fultontourism@aol.com or info@fultoncountytourism.org Astoria
Avon Babylon
Banner Bernadotte
Blyton Breeds
Brereton Bryant
Canton Checkrow
Cuba Duncan
Mills Dunfermline
Ellisville Enion
Fairview
Farmington Fiatt
Ipava Leesburg
Lewistown Little
America Liverpool
H - Historic Site
R - Recreation
Duncan Mills
This area was once known as the Southern Gateway to Fulton County via the Illinois and Spoon Rivers. It is located in Isabell Township, the 1892 Town Hall has been kept in good repair through the years and still has many pictures and items of interest in it. The Helms Park on the banks of Spoon River has a shelter house with picnic tables. There is a replica of a covered bridge by the park. In 1835 a part of the Duncan family and the Isaiah Wallace family left Philadelphia to settle in Illinois and in the spring they ferried across the Illinois River and up the Spoon River to a bend in the river, which George Duncan decided would be the spot where he would build his mill. In the spring of 1836 he built the first mill on this spot. Duncan Mills is located near the junctions of 24, 100 and 136. Three miles south of Duncan Mills on Rte. 24 is the Isabel Church which is still being used for Sunday Services. Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive - First two weekends of October - Y Isabell
Township, the 1892 Town Hall Ellisville 61431
Ellisville Library Smallest Library in Illinois ~ 309-293-4783 - H Opera House restored to turn-of-century ~ 309-293-2088 - H Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive - First two weekends of October - Y Ellisville’s Old Post Office Converted into a Museum - H Ellisville's Spoon River Scenic Drive Scarecrow Contest Application - Y Ellisville's Spoon River Scenic Drive Scarecrow Examples -Y Ellisville during the Spoon Scenic River Drive -Y
Fairview 61432
The Village of Fairview is the site of the oldest Dutch Reformed Church west of the Allegheny Mountains. The Fairview Dutch Reformed Church, was built in 1838. Visitors are invited to worship there whenever they are visiting the Fairview area. Fairview is rare among many small rural towns and villages withmany active businesses still operating in the old and picturesque business district. There is a restaurant, small grocery and butcher shop, library, insurance office, an accent and decor shop and a large antique store. The unusual design of the octagon-shaped Fairview Village Hall can be seen by visitors to Fairview when visiting Fairview. Reformed Church, oldest Reformed
Church West of the Alleghenies - H Spoon
River Drive Sleigh - H
Farmington 61531
http://www.farmingtonil.com/
Farmington, along with Lewistown, rounds out the three largest towns of Fulton County. Farmington has a number of fine stores and shops to provide shopping and services for its residents and visitors. Farmington played a major role in the Underground Railroad in the mid-eighteen hundreds. Click on the picture of Farmington’s Reed Park below to link to the Farmington Chamber of Commerce/ Farmington Betterment Association website for more Farmington information. Farmington Carnegie Library
309-245-2175
Fiatt
61433
Burr Oak Tree, Hwy 9, 300 years old - H Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive - First two weekends of October - Y Ipava
61441
Camp Ellis, between Bernadotte, Table Grove & Ipava -WWII Base - H Sept. 10 & 11, 2004, Ipava’s Homecoming Camp Ellis Days Parade, food, music and more. Contact 309 753 8605 Presbyterian Church Built in 1874 - H Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive - First two weekends of October - Y Lewistown
61542
Lewistown is the county seat of Fulton County and is located in the east-central area of the county at the intersection of U.S. Route 24 and Illinois Route 97. The Fulton County Courthouse, built in 1897, is pictured to the right. The home of Edgar Lee Masters is a historical site in Lewistown; it is, however, not open to the public. The Lewistown Society for Historical Preservation continues to maintain the Rasmussen Museum and Original Blacksmith and Wagon Shop. The Shop is one of the few blacksmith shops left in a state of nearly original condition. Call (309) 547-2596 for information about public tours of the shop and museum. The Lewistown Society also has a continuing project of restoring the old Fulton County Railroad Narrow Gauge Railroad Station located one block west of the Northwest corner of the public square in Lewistown. The Oak Hill Cemetery which is located west of Illinois Highway 97 in the north part of Lewistown is another visitor attraction located in Lewistown. Oak Hill Cemetery is located relatively near the Masters Home and was undoubtedly a major influence on his Spoon River Anthology. Lewistown achieved several “firsts” in the State of Illinois including the first American Legion Post, the first Volunteer Fire Protection District and Central Illinois’s first newspaper, the Fulton Democrat. Lewistown offers a number of stores and shops to provide area residents and visitors shopping opportunities. While in Lewistown visit our two museums.
The Rasmussen Blacksmith Shop is an authentic preservation of a turn of the century working shop. Nels Rasmussen an emigrate ttom Denmark started the shop in 1893 on Main Street near the downtown business area of Lewistown. After Nels death the shop was then operated by his son Don until his death in 1969 and was the oldest operating proprietorship owned by the same family in Lewistown. The shop was then acquired by the Society to preserve this part of early craftsmanship. During the operation of the shop buggy making, wheels and as steel wheel were produced along with the horse shoeing and other forge and anvil work. The pulleys and shafts are still overhead that powered the grinders, buffers and other equipment of the shop. The Rasmussen Blacksmith Shop appears today much as it did the last day of operation by the Rasmussen's—an unchanged look at a trade and technology of bygone days.
The Fulton County Narrow Gauge Railroad museum building is the last reminder of this railroad system. The depot is located on the comer of Washington and Jefferson in Lewistown. The narrow gauge railroad ran ttom 1878 to 1905. The route extended for 61 miles ttom Galesburg to West Havana with stops at Levingston, DeLong, London Mills, Oak Mound, Fairview, Bybee, Fiatt, Put Creek, Cuba, Phillips, Lewistown, Sepo and Havana. The site as an added attraction is the home of a caboose which is available for tours. Fulton
County Courthouse - H
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Pictures by Bill Burnham
Flag Waving Day at Esthers Place 470 Church St Dickson Mounds State
Museum is just a few mile east of Little America on Fishing
the Illinois River London Mills 61544 Ross Hotel Museum 309-486-3707 - H Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive - First two weekends of October - Y
Monterey Norris St. David 61563
Seville Smithfield 61477 Buckeye Church, North of Smithfield built 1868 309-783-3283 Red Brick School -7838 E State Street Route 95 - Community Center Used for dinners, receptions sporting activities for area young people senior center and many more community related activities. -309-783-3283 - A&C Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive - First two weekends of October - Y Welch Art Studio (restored) - 309-783-3121 - A&C Smithfield High School (Red Brick School) 1917 -H
Summum
Table Grove
61482 The 2000 census population of Table Grove was 396; a great turn downward from those days of yyesteryear when it was over twice that figure. Table Grove is incorporated as an Illinois village and is governed by a Village Board of Trustees and Village President. The Village of Table Grove lies in the V.I.T. School District which also includes the Villages of Ipava and Vermont along with the community of Bernadotte which is on the Spoon River. The Village population consists of a large number of retired persons and a large number of working people who commute to Macomb, Peoria or Beardstown to work at various jobs. The Village owns and maintains a spacious and beautiful Village Park lying at the west edge of the Village. The Table Grove Community Church, on the National Register of Historic Places, serves as a center of focus for the community’s religious and social activities. The church is pictured to the right. The businesses which still operate in Table Grove are few; the bank, an insurance agency, a beauty shop, the Post Office, a dog kennel, a tire and farm store and a convenience store are the community’s businesses. The Table Grove community is serviced by Mid-Century Telephone Cooperative which provides a full range of telephone and communications services including DSL internet connections. The building and operation of Camp Ellis during World
War II produced an exciting chapter in the history of Table Grove. Camp
Ellis changed the community drastically and very quickly as the area
made its contribution to our Nation’s war efforts in the 1940’s.
In the history pages of this site, some of the information and history
related to Camp Ellis may be Vermont 61484 Vermont Cemetery Civil War Monument - H
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