Editing Stanford, Illinois (section)

===Original town design and development===
The original town of what would soon become Stanford had an unusual L-shaped design, with the leg of the "L" extending to the east along the railroad tracks. The large area in the crook of the "L" was not platted, but remained in the hands of John Armstrong, the town founder, whose residence was near the tracks on the north side of the railroad. Rather than a central square, the original plat of Stanford, like many towns laid out in the 1850s and 1860s, featured two rectangular public areas labeled as "Depot Grounds" which extended along either side of the tracks. The depot itself was on the north side of the tracks and, in 1874, the grain elevator on the south side.<ref>''Combined Indexed Atlas, 1856 – 1914, McLean County, Illinois'' (Bloomington: McLean County Historical Society and McLean County Genealogical Society, 2006) p.59.</ref> As the town developed, most businesses were located south of the tracks. By 1895 these included a hotel, a bank, the Masonic Hall, and several stores. Except for the depot, most of the railroad-related facilities were on the depot ground south of the railroad. These included a stock yard, a lumber yard, and several elevators. This area also held a bandstand. There were two early churches in Stanford: the Christian Church on Boundary Street south of the business district and the Presbyterian Church in the southeastern part of town.<ref>'Combined Atlas, 2009, p.42.</ref>