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History · Saybrook

Saybrook’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold just one old photo of Saybrook. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1856established
1old images & papers
1need a date

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Saybrook was laid out March 4, 1856, by Isaac M. Polk (c.1814–?). Little is known about Polk as he was born in Indiana and did not live in McLean County for very long. In 1860 and 1870, he was in neighboring Livingston County.

FoundingOriginal town plan and developmentBending the railroadAfter the railroad

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Saybrook’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Saybrook’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🗓️Date a photo1 archive item has no date+2 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from SaybrookWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Saybrook.Meet them →
By decade

Saybrook, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Date
unknown1 item
Village of Saybrook, McLean County, Illinois : floodplain management reconnaissance studyBookDate?Village of Saybrook, McLean County, Illinois : floodplain m…
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Saybrook is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Saybrook has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Alfred Phillips House in Gibson City, 8.7 miles away.

Saybrook and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Saybrook. Tap a dot.
Alfred Phillips HouseLeRoy Commercial Historic DistrictHazen BridgeBenjaminville Friends Meetinghouse and Burial GroundPatton, John, Log CabinDavid Hyatt Van Dolah House

Closest to Saybrook

Alfred Phillips HouseGibson City · Built 19038.7miLeRoy Commercial Historic DistrictEmpire · District13miHazen BridgeNewcomb · Structure14.3miBenjaminville Friends Meetinghouse and Burial GroundDawson · Building15.1miPatton, John, Log CabinLexington · Building20.2mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Alfred Phillips House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Saybrook?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Saybrook’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Cheney's Grove📜 Arrowsmith📜 Arrowsmith📜 Bellflower

From Wikimedia Commons (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

We left the porch light on

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