Cameron, Illinois facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cameron, Illinois
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 Cameron, Illinois
Location in Illinois
Cameron, Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Warren |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.63 sq mi (1.64 km2) |
| • Land | 0.63 sq mi (1.64 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 774 ft (236 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 188 |
| • Density | 297.00/sq mi (114.76/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
61423
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| Area code(s) | 309 |
| FIPS code | 17-10747 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2804101 |
Cameron is a small place in Warren County, Illinois, United States. It's known as an unincorporated community. This means it's not officially a city or town with its own local government. Instead, it's part of the larger county.
Cameron is about 7 miles (11 km) east-southeast of Monmouth. It has its own post office and a ZIP code of 61423. In 2020, about 188 people lived in Cameron.
Trains and Railroads
Cameron is an important spot for trains! It's where two old railroad lines used to meet. These were the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy and the Santa Fe Railroads. Today, both of these lines are owned by a big company called BNSF.
A Special Connection Track
In 1996, something cool happened in Cameron. The two railroad companies, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, joined together to form BNSF. To make train travel smoother, they built a special connection track in Cameron.
This new track allows trains to switch between different routes. Now, both freight trains (which carry goods) and passenger trains like Amtrak's Southwest Chief can use these tracks. They can travel between Chicago and Galesburg. This route goes through places like Naperville, Princeton, and Mendota.
Before 1996, the Southwest Chief and an older famous train called the Super Chief took a different path to Galesburg. They traveled through Joliet, Streator, and Chillicothe. The new connection in Cameron made train journeys more flexible.
A Strong Community
On July 16, 2015, Cameron experienced a strong tornado. It was an EF2 tornado, which means it was quite powerful. Some houses were damaged, and large grain silos (big storage bins for crops) were knocked over. Even with the damage, it's important to know that no one was hurt or killed during the tornado. The community worked together to recover.
