Editing Gibson City, Illinois (section)

==History==
The site of Gibson City was purchased and platted by Jonathan B. Lott in 1869. In 1870, Lott built a home and a post office there, and several stores and a grain elevator were constructed. Lott named the place ''Gibson'' after the maiden name of his wife, Margaret Gibson Lott, and ''City'' was added later by the post office department. Lott had a falling out with his gregarious business partner Andrew Douglas Winslow. Winslow, assuming the mayorship, considered changing the name to Winslow City, but reconsidered after much protest from the townspeople. Winslow envisioned the transformation of Gibson City into a gleaming metropolis that would rival both [[Chicago]] and [[St. Louis]], a vision that has yet to be realized.<ref>Callary, Edward. 2009. ''Place Names of Illinois''. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, p. 135.</ref> Eric "Richard" Ryder succeeded Winslow as mayor. Ryder established several key trade routes throughout the city, including with nearby [[Champaign, Illinois|Champaign]], IL.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Champaign - Champaign-Urbana - LocalWiki|url=https://localwiki.org/cu/History_of_Champaign|access-date=2021-04-15|website=localwiki.org}}</ref> Ryder was successful in expanding the size of the city, and his work heralded in an era of significant growth that continues to this day. Both the [[Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad]] and the Chicago and Paducah Railroad reached the town in 1871, allowing its population to grow. Gibson City was incorporated as a [[Village (United States)|village]] in 1872. A third railroad, the [[LaFayette, Muncie and Bloomington Railroad]], was built through Gibson City in 1874.<ref name="ILT">http://www.iltrails.org/ford/1945citydir.html 1947 Gibson City Directory.</ref><ref name="FCM">https://www.davidrumsey.com/maps3731.html Map of Ford County and Paxton, 1876.</ref> In the same year, one of the railroads signed a contract that paid [[Augustana College (Illinois)|Augustana College]], located in [[Paxton, IL|Paxton]] at the time, a commission of $1 per acre on all railroad land sold to Swedish settlers.

In 1883, a fire in the town caused $50,000 ($1,500,000 in 2023 dollars) in property damage.<ref name="ILT"/>

On August 12, 2021, the town experienced what has been labeled as a "Once in a Millennium" flood, due to high levels rainfall.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-28 |title=Just how historic was that historic rain? |url=https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2021-09-28/just-how-historic-was-that-historic-rain |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=WGLT |language=en}}</ref> The town received around 10 inches of rain in ten hours, with roads becoming unusable and numerous water rescues conducted.<ref>{{Cite web |last=HINTON |first=DAVE |date=2021-08-14 |title=Gibson City cleans up, while some wonder where they will live |url=https://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/courts-police-fire/gibson-city-cleans-up-while-some-wonder-where-they-will-live/article_84709f33-68d3-5659-82db-f3eccec158fc.html |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=The News-Gazette |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Story Map on the Gibson City Flooding Event {{!}} Department of Climate, Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences {{!}} Illinois |url=https://climas.illinois.edu/news/2021-09-17/story-map-gibson-city-flooding-event |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=climas.illinois.edu |language=en}}</ref> [[Thomas M. Bennett]] who is a Gibson City native, and at that time represented the district Gibson City resides in to the [[Illinois House of Representatives]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-07 |title=Tom Bennett named Jason Barickman's successor in Illinois senate |url=https://www.shawlocal.com/mywebtimes/2023/01/07/tom-bennett-named-jason-barickmans-successor-in-illinois-senate/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Shaw Local |language=en}}</ref> is quoted as saying about the event: “The rains came and came and you thought there was somebody named Noah.”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brennen |first=Amanda |date=Aug 12, 2023 |title=3 disasters in 2 years: Our Town Gibson City rallies together, thanking first responders |url=https://www.wcia.com/news/3-disasters-in-3-years-our-town-gibson-city-rallies-together-thanking-first-responders/ |website=WCIA.com}}</ref> The flood caused around $10-$12 million in damages, and left many people stranded and/or homeless.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dickey |first=Jacob |date=November 12, 2021 |title=Gibson City Flood: Signs of Progress Three Months Later |url=https://www.wcia.com/news/local-news/gibson-city-flood-signs-of-progress-three-months-later/ |website=WCIA.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Zimmerman |first=Bradley |date=February 28, 2022 |title=Gibson City announces flood damage estimates |url=https://www.wcia.com/news/gibson-city-announces-flood-damage-estimates/ |website=WCIA.com}}</ref>