Meriden, Illinois facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Meriden, Illinois
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 Meriden, Illinois
Location in Illinois
Meriden, Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | LaSalle |
| Township | Meriden |
| Elevation | 724 ft (221 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Meriden is a small, quiet place in LaSalle County, Illinois. It's known as an "unincorporated community." This means it's a group of homes and businesses that don't have their own local government, like a city or town. Instead, it's part of the larger county. Meriden is located just east of a town called Mendota.
Discovering Meriden, Illinois
Meriden is in the state of Illinois, within LaSalle County. You can find it a little bit east of the city of Mendota. The community has a main road, East 7th Street, which runs north and south. Another road, North 44th Street, meets East 7th Street to the south of Meriden. A larger road, U.S. Highway 34, is also very close by, running just a short distance south of Meriden. The area is part of Meriden Township.
Early Settlers and Meriden's Beginnings
In the year 1836, the area that would become Meriden was mostly wide-open prairie. There was a small group of trees called Four-Mile Grove. A few families decided to make their homes near this grove, becoming the very first settlers of Meriden.
Here are some of the first people who settled in Meriden:
- John Haight arrived in Meriden in 1836. He had first settled near a place called Peru.
- David Peck came from Albany County, New York, in 1836. He settled on a piece of land known as Section 6.
- Lyman Alger also came from Albany County, New York, in 1836.
- O. W. Bryant moved to Peru from Maine in 1837, and then to Meriden in 1842.
- Benjamin Furman arrived from Tioga County, Pennsylvania, in 1838. He also settled on Section 6.
- George Wilkinson came from the same place as Benjamin Furman and settled on the same section at the same time.
- Benjamin Birdsall moved to Meriden from New York in 1839.
- E. R. Wicks settled in the area in 1848.
- David Holden arrived in 1849.
- Ira Bailey came in 1848.
Other important pioneers included John Rose from Scotland, James Cunningham, Hiram Cristler, John Weisner, and Thomas Eager. These brave people started the big job of turning the wild prairie into useful farms. Thanks to their hard work and the help of many others who came later, Meriden became a place with many successful farms and a thriving community.
