Editing Macomb, Illinois (section)

==History==

===Origin===
[[File:Macomb Public Library.JPG|right|thumb| A Carnegie library, Macomb, Illinois]]
First settled in 1829 on a site tentatively named "Washington", the town was officially founded in 1830 as the [[county seat]] of [[McDonough County, Illinois|McDonough County]] and given the name "Macomb" after [[Alexander Macomb (general)|Alexander Macomb]],<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last=Gannett|first=Henry|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|year=1905|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n194 195]}}</ref> a general in the [[War of 1812]]. War veterans were given land grants in the Macomb area, which was part of the [[Military Tract of 1812|"Military Tract"]] set aside by Congress. In 1855 the Northern Cross Railroad, a predecessor to the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]], was constructed through Macomb, leading to a rise in the town's population. On April 24, 1899, the Western Illinois State Normal School, currently [[Western Illinois University]], was founded in Macomb. Representative [[Lawrence Yates Sherman|Lawrence Sherman]] was instrumental in locating the school in Macomb.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hicken |first=Victor |title=The Purple and the Gold: The Story of Western Illinois University |year=1970 |publisher=Western Illinois University Foundation |url=https://archive.org/details/purplegoldstoryo00hick |pages=[https://archive.org/details/purplegoldstoryo00hick/page/5 5]–6, 11–13 |access-date=April 27, 2010}}</ref> In 1903 the [[Macomb and Western Illinois Railway]] was built from Macomb to nearby [[Industry, Illinois|Industry]] and [[Littleton, Illinois|Littleton]] by local financier Charles V. Chandler, though this railroad was abandoned in 1930. In 1918, construction on [[Illinois Route 3]] was begun as a state financed highway from [[Cairo, Illinois|Cairo]] to [[Rock Island, Illinois|Rock Island]] through Macomb; in the late 1920s [[U.S. Route 67]] was extended along this route to [[Dubuque, Iowa]].

===Presidential visits===
Macomb has been visited by several [[President of the United States|US Presidents]] over the years. [[Ulysses S. Grant]], [[Andrew Johnson]], [[Rutherford B. Hayes]], [[William McKinley]], and [[Theodore Roosevelt]] have all made short addresses in Macomb. On two occasions, [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[Barack Obama]] addressed large audiences prior to their election as president. Obama was [[Stump speech|stumping]] for the U.S. Senate at the time, meaning a president or presidential nominee has not visited Macomb in 109 years and counting.<ref>{{cite web |last=Morgan |first=Joanne Scobee |year=2000 |title=McDonough County, Illinois, Reminiscences of a Pioneer: Noted Visitors and Residents |url=https://mcdonough.ilgenweb.net/settlement/notedvisitors.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723154250/https://mcdonough.ilgenweb.net/settlement/notedvisitors.html |archive-date=July 23, 2011 |access-date=December 6, 2010}}</ref>

===St. Louis Rams summer camp===
The WIU campus and its [[Hanson Field|Hanson Field Stadium]] were home to the [[St. Louis Rams]]' [[American football|football]] summer training camp from 1996 to 2004. In 2005, the Rams decided to move summer training to their own facilities in [[St. Louis, MO|St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], ending the nine-year relationship.<ref>Wagoner, Nick. "[https://www.stlouisrams.com/article/48206/ Rams Move Training Camp Back to St. Louis]," April 24, 2005 (accessed January 30, 2007). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927000456/https://www.stlouisrams.com/article/48206/ |date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=3423 |title=St. Louis Rams to Train at Home |date=April 8, 2005 |author=<!--Staff writers, WIU News, Office of University Relations --> |publisher=Western Illinois University |location=Macomb, Illinois |access-date=April 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414043519/https://www.wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=3423 |archive-date=April 14, 2017}}</ref>

=== Colts Drum and Bugle Corp Summer Camp ===
WIU's Hanson Field was home to the [[Colts Drum and Bugle Corps|Colts]]' summer training camp in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=International World Class Finalist and Drum and Bugle Corps to Train at WIU Summer 2023 - WIU News |url=https://www.wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=19268 |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=www.wiu.edu}}</ref> The nine-time [[Drum Corps International]] (DCI) World Class Finalist, from Dubuque, IA are a group of 160 high school- and college-aged musicians, plus 40 staff members and support team members. They train, work, and live on the WIU campus for three weeks. Members live in the residence halls and practice at Hanson Field.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=19268|title=International World Class Finalist and Drum and Bugle Corps to Train at WIU Summer 2023|website=www.wiu.edu|access-date=6 July 2023}}</ref>

===Minor league baseball===
Macomb was home to the [[Macomb Potters]], who played as members of the [[Class D (baseball)|Class D]] level [[Illinois-Missouri League]] in 1909 and 1910. The team also hosted two exhibition games against the [[Chicago Cubs]]. The Potters began play after local fans raised funds to start the team.<ref name="auto3">{{Cite web |title=Macomb Potters – Western Illinois Museum |url=https://www.wimuseum.org/macomb-potters/}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?id=6d0290dc|title=1908 Illinois-Missouri League|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

On Friday, June 18, 1909, the Macomb Potters hosted an exhibition game against the defending World Series Champion Chicago Cubs. The game was scheduled with the agreement that the Cubs would feature their regular lineup. The selected date allowed the Cubs to play in between the Cubs' series with the [[Brooklyn Superbas]]. The game was advertised as “the greatest day in the baseball history of McDonough County,” in a large advertisement placed in the June 17, 1909 Macomb Daily Journal. The teams took infield at 2:30&nbsp;p.m., with the game starting at 3:00&nbsp;p.m. In front of 2,964 fans, the Cubs beat the Potters 6–0. Admission was $1.00 per ticket. After the game, each team split the gate money minus expenses and each club received $971.50.<ref name="auto3"/><ref name="auto4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/article/20120602/NEWS/306029968|title=Voice Vault: The day the Cubs took over Macomb|website=The McDonough County Voice}}</ref>

During the 1910 season, the Macomb Potters and the Chicago Cubs played a second exhibition game in Macomb. The 1910 game was won by the Cubs 5–0.<ref name="auto3"/>