Lowell is an unincorporated community in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. Lowell is located on Illinois Route 178, 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Oglesby. The town was laid out around 1830 by William Seeley. It once thrived due its location on the Peoria-Chicago Stagecoach Route, the waterpower of the Vermilion River and the coal outcroppings along the river bluffs. It developed several stores and taverns, a mill and a brick factory and a railroad spur that connected to the Burlington Railroad.[2] Its most famous resident was Benjamin Lundy, a fiery Quaker abolitionist who came to Illinois to be the successor of Elijah Lovejoy, recently murdered for his anti-slavery beliefs. Lundy published the paper, Genius of Universal Emancipation from Lowell.[3] The town declined and today offers river rafting.[4]
References
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ Bell Spitzer, Amanda (1991). LaSalle County: The Rivers and the Prairies.
- ^ "The History of Lowell, LaSalle County, IL". genealogytrails.com. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- ^ "Vermillion River Rafting".
Municipalities and communities of LaSalle County, Illinois, United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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