Editing Litchfield, Illinois (section)

==History== 
Litchfield was platted in October 1853, and was originally named "Huntsville",<ref name="mcih-story">{{cite web | url = http://history.montgomeryco.com/Archives/History/ID/62/The-Story-of-a-Midwest-Town | title = Litchfield Illinois – The Story of a Midwest Town | first = Walter R. | last = Sanders | date = 2009-06-15 | website = Montgomery County Illinois History | publisher = Historical Society of Montgomery County Illinois | access-date = 2019-05-10 }} Says Litchfield was laid out in "October 1953", presumably a typo of "1853".</ref> 

Earlier, Hardinsburg, about {{convert|2|mi|0}} to the southwest,<ref name="city-history">{{cite web | url = https://www.cityoflitchfieldil.com/news/16-3.html | title = Our History | publisher = City of Litchfield, Illinois | access-date = 2019-05-10 }}</ref> had been founded about 1850.<ref name="mcih-story"/> Both towns were created in anticipation of the [[Terre Haute & Alton Railroad]].<ref name="mcih-story"/> Hardinsburg grew to about 50 people by 1854; but when it became clear that the railroad was going through Huntsville instead of Hardinsburg, many of the buildings in Hardinsburg were pulled across the prairie on runners to Huntsville beginning in January 1854, and most of the residents moved to the new site as well, becoming Litchfield's first residents.<ref name="mcih-story"/> The railroad reached Huntsville in the autumn of 1864,<ref name="city-history"/> and within two more years Hardinsburg had substantially disappeared.<ref name="mcih-story"/>

The new town of Huntsville was renamed in November 1855 after Electus Bachus Litchfield, who with his brothers earlier that year had donated land and convinced the railroad of where to place its shops and terminals.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sanders|first=Walter|url=https://archive.org/details/centennialhistor00litc/page/20/mode/2up|title=The Centennial History of Litchfield, Illinois - The Story of a Midwest Town|year=1953|pages=20|publisher=[Litchfield }}</ref>

The residents of Litchfield first voted to incorporate as a village on April 4, 1856.<ref name="mcih-story"/> However, the village trustees failed to complete the incorporation; the village charter was dissolved in autumn of 1857 and the trustees closed the books for that village government on January 22, 1858.<ref name="mcih-story"/> The state legislature granted a new [[municipal charter]] to Litchfield on February 16, 1859, and the first elections under that charter were held on March 7, 1859.<ref name="mcih-story"/>

Milnot Company, known for its namesake product, Milnot, an evaporated filled milk, was founded in Litchfield in 1912 as the Litchfield Creamery Company by Martin Jensen.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.milnot.com/history|title=Making the Most of Milnot|website=www.milnot.com|access-date=2020-02-17}}</ref> In 1916, a new plant was built at 120 W. St. John St. and operated until 1990. As of 2019, it has been repurposed as an indoor sports training facility.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lsisports.com/home_page.php|title=Litchfield Sports, Indoor Sports Facility|website=lsisports|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-17}}</ref>