Editing Roanoke, Illinois (section)

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2024}}

===Early settlement===
Until about 1850, much of northern Illinois was still frontier land and sparsely populated, which the exception of [[Chicago]] and towns along the rivers. This changed in 1850, when President [[Millard Fillmore]] signed a [[land grant]] for the construction of the [[Illinois Central Railroad]], lobbied for by then-lawyers [[Stephen Douglas]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]]. With the railroad expanding into Central Illinois, new opportunities for settlement by German, Dutch, Irish, Italian, Swedish, and other European immigrants opened up in Woodford County.<ref name=landgrant>{{cite web|url=http://www.landgrant.org/history.html |publisher=landgrant.org|title=Chronology of the Northern Pacific & Related Land Grant Railroads}}</ref>

Roanoke was one of these settlements. On December 17, 1872, Roanoke was mapped out and lots were offered for sale. The plat of Roanoke was composed of 15 blocks and was bounded by Main, Front, Ann and Pleasant Streets. Two years later in 1874, Roanoke officially became a "Village" in the State of Illinois. Building began immediately in Roanoke and by the time the railroad was complete the population had increased to three hundred. On August 15, 1874, the first election was held for the purpose of electing six trustees for the Village of Roanoke. To this day, the Village has continually filled those six positions.<ref name=VillageHistory>''[http://www.roanokeil.org/history.htm Village of Roanoke web page]'', History of the Village of Roanoke</ref>

===Coal mining===
The Roanoke area, like most of Illinois, is underlain by rich veins of coal. The second coal shaft in Woodford County was sunk in Roanoke in 1881. Another shaft started in a westerly direction, but this coal was "flinty", or mixed with rock, and digging was discontinued. The mine at its peak employed around 300 men and hoisted 500 tons of coal a day.<ref name=VillageHistory />

As was the case in most small mining towns, life in the mines could be dangerous. In the June 29th, 1906, four men fell 400 feet down the main shaft to their deaths while performing maintenance and improvements to the main shaft.<ref name=VillageHistory /><ref name=Wayne>''{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20181005151611/http://hinton-gen.com/coal/woodford.html Wayne's World of History and Genealogy]}}'', Woodford County, Illinois History and Genealogy Featuring Coal Mining</ref><ref name=RCM>''[http://genealogytrails.com/ill/woodford/roaMine.html genealogytrails.com]'', Roanoke Coal Mine</ref> After the accident, the coal mine continued to operate until 1940, when it was permanently closed due to safety concerns and maintenance issues. In 1941, due to its state of disrepair, the tipple at the mine head collapsed into the shaft, leaving a crater. The crater was filled in, and the remaining equipment sold as scrap.<ref name=RCM />

Slate, flint, and other non-coal slag from the old mine was collected into a large mound colloquially called the "Jumbo," on the southern side of the village near where the mine was once located. Since before the mine closed, it is estimated that 800,000 tons of slag from the Jumbo has been used in various road and town improvement construction projects.<ref name=RCM /> Although smaller than its original size, the Jumbo still stands at present, topped with an electric star that is illuminated during the Christmas season.

===Railroad closure===
After the Roanoke mine stopped operation in 1940, and with the growing popularity of using [[Semi-trailer trucks]] to move crops from farm to market, the rail line running through Roanoke was eventually retired in the mid-1980s, and was promptly dismantled for scrap. The original Roanoke rail station still stands as a historic building.

===2004 tornado===
{{main|2004 Roanoke tornado}}
On July 13, 2004, an [[Fujita scale|F4 tornado]] demolished several rural houses and properties, and the Parsons Manufacturing Plant approximately {{convert|4|mi|km}} west of downtown Roanoke. While over 200 people were still inside the Parsons plant at the time, the event was notable because there were no serious injuries or fatalities, and also because numerous photos and videos were taken of it.