Editing Sandoval, Illinois (section)

==History==
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In the early days, this area was the crossroads of well traveled Indian trails. A man with the name of Sandoval was the first to establish a  trading post. In 1859 the town of Sandoval was incorporated.

Many civil war soldiers passed through Sandoval, which was also a point for enlistment. The 40th Illinois Infantry was accepted May 25, 1861, and went into camp here August 5. With 700 strong, orders were given to proceed to Illinois Town (East St. Louis), then across the river to Jefferson Barracks. Joined with other troops they went on to Savannah, Tennessee and a permanent camp at Pittsburg Landing. More than ½ the regiment was killed or wounded. This regiment, after other engagements, was with Sherman on his march to the Sea and took part in the Grand Review at Washington D.C.. General Ambrose E. Burnside and his troops were also camped here while on their way to aid General Grant.

Sandoval had two major railroads that crossed through the town. The B & O, running east–west, and the Illinois Central running north–south.

Sandoval is located at the junction of US Highways 50 and 51. At the time the US Highways were numbered, this was the meeting point of the central north–south route with the central east–west route, an equal number of highways being numbered to the north, south, east and west.

US Highway 50 is an extension of the Mason-Dixon line that divided the North from "Dixie".

Sandoval was the population center of the United States for a considerable portion of the 20th century.

Sandoval's central location in the United States was recognized early on. The town was originally platted as a replacement for Washington, D.C., with space reserved for the White House and other branches of government.

In the 1890s, Sandoval was a [[sundown town]], prohibiting [[African Americans]] from entering or living in the town.<ref>{{cite news |work=The Ohio Democrat |location=Logan, Ohio |date=August 26, 1898 |page=6 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87075048/1893-08-26/ed-1/seq-6/ |via=[[Chronicling America]] |quote=The citizens of Sandoval, Ill., will not allow any negro to live in their town. Several weeks ago two strange negroes were employed by a new carpenter who was not acquainted with the color-line law of the place, but it did not take him long to learn it when seventy-five of the 'best people' of the town waiting upon him and threatened to lynch the negroes if they did not leave at once. |title=The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. &#91;Ohio&#93;) 1886-1906, August 26, 1893, Image 6 |access-date=February 18, 2019 |archive-date=February 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218081851/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87075048/1893-08-26/ed-1/seq-6/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=And This in Illinois |work=[[The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus|Rock Island Daily Argus]] |location=Rock Island, Illinois |date=July 17, 1893 |page=4 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn92053945/1893-07-17/ed-1/seq-4/ |via=[[Chronicling America]] |quote=At Sandoval, thirteen miles east of here, owing to the scarcity of labor, two strange negroes were engaged by some carpenters to help finish a house. Negroes are not allowed to live in that place, consequently a party of seventy-five waited upon them, threatening to lynch them if they did not move at once. Things were finally compromised, the men agreeing to leave town as soon as the building is finished. |access-date=February 18, 2019 |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405011632/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn92053945/1893-07-17/ed-1/seq-4/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{stack|{{US Census population
|align=right
|1880= 564
|1890= 834
|1900= 1258
|1910= 1563
|1920= 1768
|1930= 1264
|1940= 1796
|1950= 1531
|1960= 1356
|1970= 1332
|1980= 1734
|1990= 1535
|2000= 1434
|2010= 1274
|2020= 1157
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015|archive-date=September 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922131601/https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
}}

{{clear left}}