Editing Campus, Illinois (section)

==History==
Campus was laid out and platted by Charles William Sheldon (1839–1911) in April 1880, along the [[Wabash Railroad]] on his farm of {{convert|640|acre}}. The town was named "Campus" because the many trees reminded of a college campus.<ref name=Cardiff>''Cardiff: Ghost Town of the Prairie'' (2006)</ref>{{rp|168}} <ref name=HistEncy>''Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Livingston County'' (1909), p. 824</ref>

Sheldon was a farmer and he owned the first business in town, Campus Brick & Tile Co. He later sold the company, which passed through several owners before closing in 1952. Over the years the tile company produced millions of feet of drain tile and was one of the principal industries in the town.<ref name=Cardiff/>{{rp|168}}

Thomas Feehery (1839–1926) built the first store and post office in Campus. The Chariton brothers built the second store in town. In 1896, the first hotel was built. Other businesses at that time included Ole Nelson and Thomas Connors' livery stable.<ref name=Cardiff/>{{rp|168}}

Campus had a water system by 1894. The town also had street lights, cement sidewalks, an electric light plant and tile drains, which were great improvements for such an isolated rural town in those early years.<ref name=Cardiff/>{{rp|168}}

The town had a disastrous fire in 1897 that destroyed three of the business houses. A brick building was built on the ruins.<ref name=HistEncy/> 

Sacred Heart Catholic Church was the first brick structure in the village. The Catholic Church had its start in the area in the 1870s when a small church was built in Broughton Township a mile south of Campus. The building was later moved into town.<ref name=Cardiff/>{{rp|170}} [[Joseph Zeller]] (1918–2018), Pennsylvania businessman and state legislator, was born in Campus.<ref>[https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/BiosHistory/MemBio.cfm?ID=621&body=H Pennsylvania House of Representatives-Joseph R. Zeller]</ref>

The present brick building on Elm Street was begun in June 1983 and completed a year later. A rectory was built next to the church. A convent school was built in 1898 on the other side of Elm Street. The school closed in 1930 and was vacant for several years. It later served as a vocation center and home for priests.<ref name=Cardiff/>{{rp|170}}

By the 1970s the former school building had become a rooming house and laundromat. The beautiful building later became vacant and in disrepair.<ref name=Cardiff/>{{rp|170}}

In 2024 the village was awarded $1.3 million from the [[USDA]] and U.S. Representative [[Robin Kelly]] for water system improvements.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-10 |title=ICYMI: US Rep. Robin Kelly presented Village of Campus with $1.3 million for water improvement project {{!}} Congresswoman Robin Kelly |url=http://robinkelly.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/icymi-us-rep-robin-kelly-presented-village-campus-13-million-water |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=robinkelly.house.gov |language=en}}</ref>