Honoring the rich history of rural western Illinois, and examining the problems we currently face
FULTON COUNTY Population: 34,844 (2020 Census, named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat). County Seat: Lewistown Key Cities and Towns Canton (Population: 15,703) History & Industry: Founded in 1825, Canton thrived as a factory town due to railroads, coal, and proximity to the Illinois River. Once a major cigar producer and home to P&O …
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CASS COUNTY Population Current estimate: 13,042 (as of 2023). Key Cities Beardstown: Population: 5,951. Known for its rich history and diverse community, largely due to its large pork-processing facility, which has attracted immigrant populations from Mexico, Central America, and West Africa. Notable events include Abraham Lincoln’s defense in the famous Almanac Trial and the delivery …
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CALHOUN COUNTY Calhoun County, Illinois Population and Demographics Population: Approximately 4,437, making it the third-least populated county in Illinois. Demographics: Predominantly rural, with a close-knit community spread across several small towns and unincorporated areas. The population faces challenges typical of rural America, such as aging residents and limited infrastructure, but retains a strong cultural identity. …
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BROWN COUNTY Population and Demographics: As of 2023, Brown County has an estimated population of 6,294. The racial composition is primarily White (76.1%), with African American residents comprising 18.5%. The Hispanic or Latino community accounts for 5.8%. The median household income is $38,696, and approximately 12% of the population lives below the poverty line . …
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We've explored a number of topics revolving around social problems we face in rural America, but just because we're studying problems in rural America doesn't mean everyone is miserable. Rural places are awesome places to live and there's endless amounts of great things going on. But here´s our essential question today - can one make …
From January 2016 to January 2017, the region known as Forgottonia lost approximately 2,775 jobs. To learn why, we sat down with Dr. Trenton Ellis, a rural sociologist from Black Hills St. University. Although he lives in Spearfish, South Dakota, Ellis is a native of Forgottonia growing up in Canton, IL and graduating from Spoon River College in 2005. After SRC, Ellis completed undergraduate and master’s degrees from Western Illinois University in Macomb. In 2009 he matriculated to South Dakota State University’s Department of Sociology and Rural Studies where he graduated with a PhD in sociology in 2015. In 2016 he was awarded an outstanding Teaching Award at BHSU.
On this episode we wanted to share a cool experience we recently had in our psychology class. We were visited by the lovely Mrs. Karen Hahn a social worker from Psychology Specialists in Canton, IL. Karen’s visit is definitely consistent with our objective to examine the social problems we face in our own context of rural America; specifically these 16 counties in western IL referred to by many as Forgottonia. In fact if we want firsthand insights of what exactly the issues are and what it takes to overcome them, I’m not sure there’s anybody better to talk to then a social worker like Karen.
The following is an excerpt from our initial episode about the Neil Gamm and the history of Forgottonia. Our guest for this episode was Mr. Larry Eskridge from the Canton Daily Ledger. Our essential questions ask "What was the Forgottonia movement about and how is it similar and different today?" ENJOY!
The Forgottonia Project 