Editing Bellflower, Illinois (section)

==History==

===Founding===
Bellflower was laid out on August 26, 1871, by George Nelson Black (March 15, 1833 – April 22, 1908) and his wife Louisa J. Black (December 22, 1840 – December 23, 1909). George was born in [[Berkshire County, Massachusetts]], and had come to [[Springfield, Illinois]], in 1850, where he became wealthy through manufacturing, mining, and railroads.<ref>''Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of McLean County'' (Edited by Ezra M. Prince and John H. Burnham; 2 Vols; Chicago: Munsell, 1908) p. 2:902.</ref> Bellflower Township had subscribed $30,000 in twenty-year bonds toward the construction of what was then called the [[Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad]]. A condition of the funding was that the township would have a station on the railroad. Black purchased {{convert|100|acre|km2}} of land, laid {{convert|40|acre|m2}} out into town lots and then transferred the title to the railroad. When the railroad became property of the [[Illinois Central Railroad]], town lots in Bellflower were not transferred to that railroad. The name of the town came from the name of the township and was selected by Jesse Richards, who was particularly fond of the [[Bellflower apple]]. It is perhaps the only town in Illinois named for an apple. In the 1870s it was often spelled "Belle Flower" or "Belle-Flower".<ref>''History of Mclean County, Illinois'' (Chicago: LeBaron 1879) p.738.</ref>

===Original plan and growth===
The original plan of the town consisted of two square blocks of land. Most of the western square was divided into sixteen blocks, each usually containing twelve lots, and this part of the town was split diagonally by the {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} path of the railroad. Unlike many towns found in the 1870s, there was no depot ground. The eastern square of land and a strip along the north edge of the western square was divided into out lots, each of which were several times the size the lots in the western square. The combination of in lots and out lots was fairly common in central Illinois and may be found, for example, at [[Hudson, Illinois|Hudson]] and [[Chenoa, Illinois|Chenoa]]. The small triangle of land cut off by the railroad from the remainder of block ten became the location of the town jail. The station was located on the south side of the tracks, and the two early elevators were on railroad land. By 1895 both in lots and out lots held residences.<ref>''Combined Indexed Atlas 1856 - 1914, McLean County, Illinois'' (Bloomington: McLean County Historical Society and McLean County Genealogical Society, 2006) p. 106, 155.</ref> R. E. Moreland established the first business. Bellflower quickly became a major [[grain trade|grain shipping]] center serving the fertile surrounding land. By 1879 it was shipping over 350,000 bushels of grain a year.<ref>''History of McLean County'', 1879, p. 739.</ref> In 1900 the population was 356, nearly the same as today.