Editing Gillespie, Illinois (section)

==History==
The first group of settlers arrived to the area of Gillespie in the late 1820s from Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} The township thrived in the 1830s, increasing in population and businesses. In 1835 the first schoolhouse was built. Gillespie was incorporated as a town in the spring of 1853.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} By 1904, the population rose to 3,100 and there were a number of businesses, churches, and schools. On January 29, 1905, a fire swept through the business district and destroyed most businesses and some homes.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

For years, Gillespie's main source of employment were the multiple coal mines scattered throughout the township operated by the [[Chicago & Northwestern Railway]]. It is said that Gillespie boasted three of the largest coal mines in the world.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Gillespie is named for Judge [[Joseph Gillespie]], who was active in Illinois state politics.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA137 | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=137}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Chicago and North Western Railway Company|title=A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OspBAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA77|year=1908|page=77}}</ref>