Earlville, Illinois

City: Earlville

County: La Salle

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 41.5833, -88.9167

Charles H. Sutphen and John Dow of Boston settled an area along Indian Creek in north central La Salle County in 1834. Dow returned to Boston the following year while Sutphen remained, purchased a thousand acres in 1839, and became the first postmaster in 1844. Sutphen may have named the area Earlville after his nephew. Additional settlers slowly arrived from the Northeastern U.S. through the early 1850s, including Samuel T. Stilson of New York. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad expanded through town in 1853, allowing for a more rapid influx of new residents. The railroad also enabled residents to ship cattle and grain, boosting the value of Earlville's farmland. As the town grew, Stilson established the first hotel, merchandise store, bank, and grain elevator. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Earlville organized a home guard as well as a company known as the Earl Rifles. The latter company joined the Twenty-Third Illinois Infantry Regiment ("Irish Brigade"). Earlville residents voted to incorporate the town on May 16, 1863.

U. J. Hoffman, History of La Salle County, Illinois (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1906), 103-4, 128, 390-93; Edward Callary, Place Names of Illinois (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2009), 102; Elmer Baldwin, History of La Salle County Illinois (Chicago: Rand, McNally, 1877), 162, 429-30; History of La Salle County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1886), 1:885; Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois (Springfield: Phillips Bros., 1900), 1:218.