Blackstone, Illinois facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Blackstone, Illinois
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 Blackstone, Illinois
Location in Illinois
Blackstone, Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Livingston |
| Township | Sunbury |
| Elevation | 735 ft (224 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
61313
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| Area codes | 815 & 779 |
| GNIS feature ID | 404529 |
Blackstone is a small, unincorporated village in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. It's a quiet place where people live, located in Sunbury Township. You can find Blackstone about 10 kilometers (or 6 miles) southeast of Streator and 13 kilometers (or 8 miles) west of Dwight, Illinois. Even though it's small, Blackstone has its own post office with ZIP code 61313. It also has a place where grain is stored and a small factory that makes rubber products.
Contents
History of Blackstone
How Blackstone Got Its Name
Blackstone was named after a very important person from the 1800s: Timothy Blackstone. He was the president of a railroad company called the Alton Railroad. The town got its post office in 1870.
Early Days and Growth
The town of Blackstone was built along the western part of the Chicago & Alton Railroad line. It was almost exactly halfway between the towns of Streator and Dwight. The land where Blackstone is located today first belonged to R. B. Hamilton.
Around the time the railroad was finished, William Shepard bought the land. He asked A. C. Huetson to plan out the town. The town plan was completed on January 6, 1870. The original town area was about 80 acres.
The very first house in the town was built by R. B. Hamilton before the town and railroad arrived. Soon after the town was planned, Frank McIntosh opened a general store. R. B. Hamilton also built a warehouse to store grain. By 1878, the warehouse was not used much. The Kent Brothers had built a new grain elevator, which took over the business.
Community Life and Services
Once Blackstone was established, the post office for Sunbury Township was moved into the new town. Charles A. Holton was Blackstone's first Postmaster. Some of the early settlers in Blackstone included J. L. Colier, Enoch Sherick, R. D. Gregg, J. T. Trainor, and J. A. Fout. J. L. Colier was a blacksmith, someone who works with metal. J. A. Fout was a carpenter, and he built many of the first houses in Blackstone.
In the early years, there were no organized churches in Blackstone. Sunday services for different religious groups were held in the two-room schoolhouse. This schoolhouse was on the north side of the village. The United Methodist Church in Blackstone was built in 1879. It cost $5,000 to build. St. Bernard Catholic Church was located four miles east of Blackstone. It started services in 1880 in a wooden building. A new brick church was built in 1895 for $7,000.
