Editing Malta, Illinois (section)

==History==
Malta was founded in 1855, under the name of Milton. Shortly afterwards, the name was changed to Etna, then Malta after the Galena Railway station that served the village. The present name is after the island of [[Malta]].<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=PA97|year=1908|page=97}}</ref>

Malta was the site of the first [[Lincoln Highway#Seedling miles and the ideal section|"seedling mile"]] of concrete pavement for the transcontinental [[Lincoln Highway]] in 1914. Seedling miles were built to demonstrate construction techniques and generate support for the highway. The pavement extended from the Malta cemetery at the west edge of town to near the present location of [[Kishwaukee College]].

Malta struggled financially until the end of [[World War I]], when an influx of new residents to the area arrived. Currently, Malta is a farming community and also supports nearby Kishwaukee College.