Editing Spring Valley, Illinois (section)

===Name===
Spring Valley lies in the valley of Spring Creek.   The hills on either side of this valley were, and are to some extent today, laced with springs that still feed Spring Creek.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

There were numerous springs in the town itself.  One in the vicinity of the once Hunter-Doherty Lumber yard was so large and fast-flowing that the indigenous people from that area had an encampment there.  Remains of this encampment were visible in the early days of the town.  There was a large spring that flowed from the side of the hill between East St. Paul Street and East Devlin Street, down a gully into Spring Creek.  Springs still feed the pond of water at the foot of Number One slag dump on East St. Paul Street.  This area is now the "Coal Mine Park" owned by Spring Valley PRIDE.  The first drinking water supply was piped from large springs on North Sixth Street.

So, with the springs and valleys, it was easy to conceive the name Spring Valley.  There is a record that the Indians called this territory, "The Valley of the Springs."

The fact that Spring Valley is located at the point in the river valley where the high bluffs, which contains the famous stream, are closer together than anywhere else in the grain belt and that there is a minimum flood plain has made this point most attractive for the location of grain elevators.  It has become the fulcrum of the grain handling industry of the upper section of the [[Illinois River]].