History · Gifford

Gifford’s history is
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Gifford was laid out in 1876 and named for Benjamin F. Gifford. Along with nearby Penfield, the town had a station on the now-defunct Illinois Central Railroad. On August 9, 1894, a fire originating from the barbershop and billiard hall engulfed the entirety of the business district as well as the grain elevator, destroying both completely.

Gifford was heavily damaged by an EF3 tornado on November 17, 2013. The tornado struck shortly before 1:00 PM, destroying more than 20 homes and damaging 200 others. It took a diagonal path through the center of the village, and nobody was seriously injured.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Before
2000

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