Editing Urbana, Illinois (section)

==History==
The Urbana area was first settled by Europeans in 1822,<ref name=history>{{Cite web |url=http://history.rays-place.com/il/cham-urbanacity.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130111075704/http://history.rays-place.com/il/cham-urbanacity.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 11, 2013 |title=History of the City of Urbana |access-date=October 13, 2007 }}</ref> when it was called "Big Grove".<ref name=story>McGinty, Alice. [http://www.champaign.org/justkids/homework_help/illinois_champaign/champaign_history/story_of_champaign_urbana.html "The Story of Champaign-Urbana"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214140313/http://www.champaign.org/justkids/homework_help/illinois_champaign/champaign_history/story_of_champaign_urbana.html |date=February 14, 2016}} Champaign Public Library</ref> When the county of [[Champaign County, Illinois|Champaign]] was organized in 1833, the county seat was located on 40 acres of land, 20 acres donated by William T. Webber and 20 acres by M.&nbsp;W. Busey, considered to be the city's founder, and the name "Urbana" was adopted<ref name=history /> after [[Urbana, Ohio]], the hometown of State Senator John W. Vance, who authored the Enabling Act creating Champaign County.<ref>{{Cite web|title=John W. Vance: The "Father of Champaign County" {{!}} Urbana Free Library|url=https://urbanafreelibrary.org/blogs/2017/03/17/john-w-vance-%E2%80%9Cfather-champaign-county%E2%80%9D|access-date=February 9, 2022|website=urbanafreelibrary.org}}</ref> The creation of the new town was celebrated for the first time on July 4, 1833.<ref name=story />

Stores began opening in 1834. The first mills were founded in {{Circa|1838}}-50. The town's first church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the parsonage, was built in 1840 by the Rev. A. Bradshaw, with the Baptist Church following in 1855. The Presbyterian Church was founded in 1856.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://firstpresurbana.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-history/|title=Our History|date=December 22, 2018}}</ref> The city's first school was built in 1854.<ref name=history />

Urbana suffered a setback when the [[Chicago]] branch of the [[Illinois Central Railroad]], which had been expected to pass through town, was instead laid down two miles west, where the land was flatter. The town of West Urbana grew up around the train depot built there in 1854; further, in 1861 its name was changed to [[Champaign, Illinois|Champaign]]. The competition between the two cities provoked Urbana to tear down the ten-year-old County Courthouse and replace it with a much larger and fancier structure, to ensure that the county seat would remain in Urbana.<ref name=story />

Champaign-Urbana was selected as the site for a new state agricultural school, thanks to the efforts of [[Clark Robinson Griggs|Clark Griggs]]. Illinois Industrial University, which would evolve into the [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign]], opened in 1868 with 77 students.<ref name=story />

A number of efforts to merge Urbana and Champaign have failed at the polls.<ref name=story />

On October 9, 1871, a fire burned much of downtown Urbana.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://urbanabusiness.com/explore/history/ |title=History of Urbana - Urbana Business AssociationUrbana Business Association |access-date=October 26, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026232709/http://urbanabusiness.com/explore/history/ |archive-date=October 26, 2014 }}</ref> Children playing with matches started the fire.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.iafflocal1147.org/?zone=%2Funionactive%2Fview_article.cfm&HomeID=74831&page=About20Us |title=IAFF Local 1147 |access-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-date=April 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425154714/http://www.iafflocal1147.org/?zone=%2Funionactive%2Fview_article.cfm&HomeID=74831&page=About20Us |url-status=dead }}</ref> (It is unrelated to the [[Great Chicago Fire]] that started the day before, though both fires occurred during severe drought and were spread by high winds.)