Editing Dix, Illinois (section)

==History==
Among the first settlers around Dix were two brothers named Andrews (Arba and Nelson?), who came from [[Rome, New York]], around 1830. One of them established a post office called "Jordan's Prairie", the name already given to the grassland to the south. Later he platted out a village, which he called "Rome", after his home town in New York. The post office was moved into the village in 1852, and the name changed.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Hiram Milburn of [[Kell, Illinois]], moved to Rome between 1853 and 1855. Milburn built a storehouse in 1853 and a hotel in 1854. It is said that during the construction of the hotel, a wind blew the structure down into a pile, while two men were on the joists, but nobody was hurt. In 1855 Milburn purchased Leuty's Mill and moved it to Rome.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Although Rome Township still exists, the name of the post office was changed to "Dix" in 1865.<ref name="Adams, James N. 1989">Adams, James N. (1989). Illinois Place Names. Springfield, IL: Illinois State Historical Society. {{ISBN|0-912226-24-2}}</ref> There was and still is another [[Rome, Illinois]], and the Postal Service insisted that the name of this village be changed.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} The community incorporated as the village of Rome in 1873.<ref name="Adams, James N. 1989"/><ref>White, Jesse. (2012). Illinois Secretary of State. http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/ipub11.pdf</ref> The name of the village was not legally changed to Dix until the 1960s.<ref>U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1970, Volume 1, Characteristics of the Population, Part 15, Illinois-Section 1, Table 10, Page 15-52 (1973). Washington, DC:U.S. Government Printing Office</ref>

There are several stories as to the origin of the name "Dix". One is that the town was renamed in honor of General [[John Adams Dix]]. At the outbreak of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], General Dix sent a telegram to his agents in [[New Orleans]] stating: "If any man pulls down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." Although the telegram was intercepted by [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] agents and never reached its intended recipient, the text reached the press, and General Dix became one of the first heroes in the North.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Dix is served by the [[Norfolk Southern Railway]]. This was built around 1890. The rail line comes from the St. Louis area and turns southeast at Dix. It follows the west side of Casey Creek down to Mt. Vernon.