Editing St. Elmo, Illinois (section)

==History==
A bill to fund the [[National Road]] was signed in 1806 by President [[Thomas Jefferson]]. The highway ran from [[Cumberland, Maryland]] west to the [[Mississippi River]]. The road was designed as a route for pioneers to settle the region. [[U.S. Route 40]] follows the course of the National Road through the state of Illinois. A hamlet known as Howard's Point was established on the National Road at the current location. Later, the name was changed to St. Elmo when a north–south railroad was planned in 1882 to terminate at the settlement. By 1895, the planned railroad bypassed the town, but an east–west railroad was constructed that connected with [[Vandalia, Illinois|Vandalia]]. The town constructed a rail link to the Chicago, Paducah and Memphis Railroad.{{sfn|Voigt|Jones|2021}}

Smith Aviation Field was built in 1926 on the west side of town, and it became popular for stunt flying, wing walkers, and parachute jumping. [[Charles Lindbergh]] was a regular visitor. A local oil boom in the late 1930s caused St. Elmo to be known as "Little Tulsa" and oil company executives often flew into Smith Aviation Field, which is now abandoned.{{sfn|Voigt|Jones|2021}}