Editing Maroa, Illinois (section)

==History==
The city was named after the [[Illinois Confederation|Maroa people]].<ref>{{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/n199 200]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Illinois Central Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3WI3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PT49|year=1922|publisher=Illinois Central Railroad Company|page=44}}</ref>

The first settler of the township was James Pettyjohn, who came from [[Kentucky]] and settled in 1839.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} The next group of settlers came from Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee. The first schoolhouse was built in 1852. Maroa at one time was the second largest township, besides [[county seat]] Decatur, as it sat at the junction of both the Illinois Central Railroad and the Midland Railroad Company.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

Maroa was officially incorporated as a town on March 7, 1867.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}