Editing Gifford, Illinois (section)

==History==
Gifford was laid out in 1876 and named for Benjamin F. Gifford.{{Sfn|Stewart|1918|p=206}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/origincertainpl00ganngoog|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|author=Gannett|first=Henry|publisher=[[U.S. Government Printing Office]]|year=1905|pages=[https://archive.org/details/origincertainpl00ganngoog/page/n143 137]}}</ref> Along with nearby [[Penfield, Illinois|Penfield]], the town had a station on the now-defunct [[Illinois Central Railroad]].{{Sfn|Stewart|1918|p=521}} 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.<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 10, 1894|title=Gifford's Mishap: An Account of the Fire of Thursday Morning|volume=43|page=2|work=Champaign County Gazette|issue=49|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88570557/giffords-mishap/|access-date=November 8, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

Gifford was heavily damaged by an [[Tornado outbreak of November 17, 2013|EF3 tornado on November 17, 2013]]. The tornado struck shortly before 1:00 PM, destroying more than 20 homes and damaging 200 others.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.news-gazette.com/news/gifford-heavily-damaged-by-tornado/article_a17c0a1e-3e59-5307-b37f-d18f93fd8b7f.html|title=Gifford heavily damaged by tornado|date=November 17, 2013|work=[[The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana)|The News-Gazette]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206140055/http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-11-17/gifford-heavily-damaged-tornado.html|archive-date=December 6, 2017|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Wurth|first=Julie|date=November 18, 2013|title=Live from Gifford|work=[[The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana)|The News-Gazette]]|url=https://www.news-gazette.com/news/live-from-gifford/article_06d30f92-e499-5a97-9ce7-2f51ed710e44.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105213322/https://www.news-gazette.com/news/live-from-gifford/article_06d30f92-e499-5a97-9ce7-2f51ed710e44.html|archive-date=November 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Wurth|first=Julie|date=November 19, 2021|title=Knocked flat by tornadoes, Gifford starts to fight back (w/video)|work=[[The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana)|The News-Gazette]]|url=https://www.news-gazette.com/news/knocked-flat-by-tornadoes-gifford-starts-to-fight-back-w-video/article_436d8768-8583-5d89-b113-a04570d1a40c.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105213253/https://www.news-gazette.com/news/knocked-flat-by-tornadoes-gifford-starts-to-fight-back-w-video/article_436d8768-8583-5d89-b113-a04570d1a40c.html|archive-date=November 5, 2021}}</ref> It took a diagonal path through the center of the village, and nobody was seriously injured.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kaclch|first=Tom|date=November 16, 2015|title=Two years after tornado, Gifford blossoming anew|work=[[The News-Gazette (Champaign–Urbana)|The News-Gazette]]|url=https://www.news-gazette.com/news/two-years-after-tornado-gifford-blossoming-anew/article_3e8d67a3-1939-5f90-a617-e54d67487ace.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105214302/https://www.news-gazette.com/news/two-years-after-tornado-gifford-blossoming-anew/article_3e8d67a3-1939-5f90-a617-e54d67487ace.html|archive-date=November 5, 2021}}</ref>