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Illinois
Bend Church and Tabernacle
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007 |
History in
a Pecan shell
Illinois Bend was named after homesick settlers from Illinois - who
moved to Texas in 1862 - during the Civil War. Before their arrival
it had been named Wardville after a local landowner - C. M.
Ward. The name was changed to Illinois Bend in 1877 when a post office
was granted for the community. Illinois Bend had a population of 300
by the mid-1880s.
Illinois Bend suffered the death-blow of never having a railroad connection
and the population shrank to a little over 100 persons by 1910. The
Illinois Bend post office closed and after WWII the population declined
to less than 70. |
Former
Illoinois Bend School, now a community center
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007 |
Outdoor
tabernacle in Illoinois Bend
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007 |
A closed
gas station
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007 |
A Personal
Connection to Illinois Bend
Editor's Note:
Judie Hilton Porter, who contributed a photo of the old school at
Bulcher also had ancestors who lived in Illinois Bend. She contributed
the photos used here and the following text is taken from her email.
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The
Hilton Homestead as it appeared in 2002
Photo Courtesy Judie Hilton Porter |
My Hiltons came
to Texas from Minnesota and the part of my family that didn't live
in Bulcher,
lived in Illinois Bend.
You can bet I pretty much know the history of Bulcher and the beautiful
Coker Cemetery. My great-great-grandmother, Hannah Fish, is buried
in the Illinois Bend Cemetery.
[The above photo] is the home my great-grandfather, William H. Hilton,
who built the house sometime before the birth of my grandfather, Fred
N. Hilton, who was born there in 1899. My father remembers people
travelling in wagons that used to stop and rest under the shade of
the large oak tree on the left.
Both my parents went to the Illinois Bend School. I believe the building
is used as a Community Center now.
There is a very well-written book, "Portrait of Bulcher", by Judy
Inman, that is full of pictures and history. Included are photos
of the Bulcher school as it looked in the early 1980's and 1907. My
copy of the book, given to my Grandmother by the author, is one of
my most treasured possessions. - Judie Hilton Porter |
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A view
of the Illinois Bend Cemetery
Photo Courtesy Judie Hilton Porter, 2002 |
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