Illiana, Illinois

The site of State Line City and Illiana was the western terminus of the Toledo & Wabash railroad. The Great Western, built and owned by another company, and a continuation of the same route to the southwest, about the same time formed a junction here, whereupon the town began immediate growth. State Line City was laid out in the spring of 1857, by Robert Casement, and on the suggestion of A. P. Andrews was christened by its present name. Not long afterward that part of the town lying on the Illinois side was laid out by Parker Dresser and Edward Martin, and designated Illiana - a name formed from the first two syllables of Illinois and the last two syllables of Indiana. Two engine-houses and a passenger depot with a large eating-house attached were at once erected by the railroad companies. Passengers changed cars, and all local freight was trans-shipped here. A large region, embracing the towns of Covington, Perry sville, Eugene, Rossville, Myersville and Marysville, shipped and received freight at this point. About forty railroad hands were kept employed. Some time during that season John Briar and A. P. Andrews, under the firm name of

Passage source: History of Vermilion County, Together with Historic Notes on the Northwest, Gleaned from Early Authors, Old Maps and Manuscripts, Private and Official Correspondence, and Other Authentic, Though, for the Most Part, Out-of-the-way Sources, published 1879.

James Cunningham, State Line City, Warren county, Indiana, was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the 5th of March, 1810, and is a son of William and Mary (Humes) Cunningham. His parents removed with him at an early age to Harrison county, Kentucky. There Wm. Cunningham and his sons, of whom he had seven, cleared one-half of a farm of one hundred and fifty acres. Much of the land in those parts was military land, and the titles were defective. Mr. C. paid for his land twice, when a third man presented himself and his title to the unimproved half (which was now fenced). Declining to buy this claim, he shortly after sold the remainder and removed to Vermilion county, Illinois, settling in Newell township in the fall of 1829. The subject of this sketch was married on the 8th of September, 1833, to Mary Andrews. He was bred to farming, and by hard labor and careful management acquired a good property. He was a member of Col. Moore's regiment during the Sac war. Shortly after his return from this campaign he improved a farm, on which he has always lived until within fourteen years, since which time he has resided in Illiana, doing no business. His son William occupies the old homestead. He is the father of four children : Hannah C, Ambrose F., William (3. and James A. In politics he is a republican. Both Mr. and Mrs. C. are Presbyterians.

Passage source: History of Vermilion County, Together with Historic Notes on the Northwest, Gleaned from Early Authors, Old Maps and Manuscripts, Private and Official Correspondence, and Other Authentic, Though, for the Most Part, Out-of-the-way Sources, published 1879.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Newell Township.