Bybee, Illinois facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bybee, Illinois
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 Bybee, Illinois
Location in Fulton County, Illinois
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| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Fulton |
| Township | Joshua |
| Elevation | 682 ft (208 m) |
Bybee is a ghost town located in Fulton County, Illinois, United States. A ghost town is a place where people used to live and work, but now it's mostly empty. Bybee is about 2.7 miles (4.3 km) southwest of Fairview and 8.3 miles (13.4 km) northwest of Canton.
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The Story of Bybee
Bybee was once a small community that grew up around a special kind of train track. It was started by a person named David Bybee.
The Narrow Gauge Railway
Bybee was built along a narrow gauge railway. This means the train tracks were closer together than regular tracks. The railway was likely the Fulton County Narrow Gauge Railroad. This train line operated from 1880 until the 1920s.
Around 1910, the narrow gauge railway was changed to a standard gauge railway. This made the tracks the same width as most other train tracks.
Life in Bybee
In 1905, two trains passed through Bybee every day. By 1913, only one train came through daily. The community had a school, a store, and a train stop. These were important places for the people living there.
Why Bybee Became a Ghost Town
The train company eventually stopped its service between Galesburg and Fairview. When the trains stopped running, the tracks were removed from the area. Without the railway, the community slowly faded away, becoming a ghost town.
Bybee's Legacy Today
Even though Bybee is no longer a populated place, its name lives on. There is a small cemetery near where the community used to be. This cemetery is a quiet reminder of the people who once lived in Bybee.
The name "Bybee" is also used for several nearby places. These include the original settlement location, a former train station, and two different entries for the cemetery. All these places are located along Cypress Road, just south of Turkey Creek. There is also another cemetery named Bybee about 13.8 miles (22.2 km) east-southeast of the old settlement.
