Editing Roodhouse, Illinois (section)

==History==
Roodhouse was founded in the 1850s by John Roodhouse. The community was originally known as "The Crossroads" for its position on two major highways, though it was later renamed for its founder. In 1860, John Rawlins convinced the [[Chicago and Alton Railway]] to open a station in the community by promising to secure local funds for the depot and warehouse. The railway built its Louisiana branch from Roodhouse in 1871, and the city became a major junction point, boosting its population and economy. Roodhouse was legally incorporated as a city in 1880. Passenger railroad service to Roodhouse ended in the 1950s, causing a local economic downturn which persisted over the following decades.<ref>{{cite web| last1=Kamhi| first1=Victoria D.| title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Hotel Roodhouse| url=http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/pdfs/201167.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819083808/http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/pdfs/201167.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-date=August 19, 2014| publisher=[[National Park Service]]| access-date=August 16, 2014| date=August 4, 1995}}</ref>

The [[Hotel Roodhouse]], the city's only surviving hotel from the railroad era, is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{NRISref|2010a}}</ref>