Dick Durbin: “150 years ago--on May 4, 1864, to be exact--the Village of Ramsey, IL, was incorporated. The village was named after an…”

“150 years ago--on May 4, 1864, to be exact--the Village of Ramsey, IL, was incorporated. The village was named after an early settler named William Ramsey, who built his home on what is now known as Ramsey Creek. Ramsey was just getting started when Abraham Lincoln was traveling from his home in Springfield to Vandalia, which was then the State Capital where Lincoln was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. The Illinois Central Railroad, completed on January 1, 1855, made Ramsey a local trading and shipping point for nearby townships. To put the anniversary of Ramsey's incorporation in perspective, think about what the Midwest was like in 1864. The Civil War was coming to an end and a new America was being born. It was long before planes and cars--and trains were not yet common. By 1878, the people of Ramsey could support six dry goods and grocery stores, a drug store, a hardware store, two saloons, a boot shop, a hotel, and a harness factory. It was the second largest town in Fayette County. Ramsey even had its own newspaper in the 1880s, The Ramsey Democrat. Another publication, the Ramsey News-Journal, started in 1911. It was purchased in 1912 by Julius Mueller and remained with that family for 100 years. The first women to vote in Illinois cast their vote in Ramsey. Mrs. Athilla Stoddard was the first female in the State to vote publicly. She was 83 years old when she voted in Ramsey on July 10, 1891.…”