The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Bellflower was laid out on August 26, 1871, by George Nelson Black (March 15, 1833 – April 22, 1908) and his wife Louisa J. Black (December 22, 1840 – December 23, 1909). George was born in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and had come to Springfield, Illinois, in 1850, where he became wealthy through manufacturing, mining, and railroads. Bellflower Township had subscribed $30,000 in twenty-year bonds toward the construction of what was then called the Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad. A condition of the funding was that the township would have a station on the railroad. Black purchased 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land, laid 40 acres (160,000 m2) out into town lots and then transferred the title to the railroad. When the railroad became property of the Illinois Central Railroad, town lots in Bellflower were not transferred to that railroad. The name of the town came from the name of…
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Bellflower’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bellflower’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Bellflower, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Bellflower is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Bellflower has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Hazen Bridge in Newcomb, 9.6 miles away.
Bellflower and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.