Odell, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Odell, Illinois
Village
Location in Livingston County, Illinois
Location of Illinois in the United States
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Livingston
Township	Odell
Area
• Total	1.09 sq mi (2.83 km2)
• Land	1.08 sq mi (2.79 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.04 km2)
Elevation	712 ft (217 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,003
• Density	931/sq mi (360/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP code	60460
Area codes	815 & 779
FIPS code	17-55171
GNIS feature ID	2399558
Wikimedia Commons	Odell, Illinois

The Standard Oil Gasoline Station was a typical gas station along U.S. Route 66.

Odell is a small town located in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. In 2020, about 1,003 people lived there.

Odell on TV: Food Network Feature

In October 2006, Odell was shown on the USA Food Network. The show was called "Riding Old Route 66". It featured the historic Standard Oil gas station in Odell.

Where is Odell? Geography and Location

Odell is in the northern part of Livingston County. It is part of Odell Township.

Major Roads and Travel

Interstate 55 (I-55) runs north and west of the village. You can get to Odell from Exit 209.

• I-55 goes northeast about 9 miles (14 km) to Dwight.
• It continues about 87 miles (140 km) to downtown Chicago.
• To the southwest, I-55 leads about 11 miles (18 km) to Pontiac. Pontiac is the main town in Livingston County.
• It also goes about 48 miles (77 km) to Bloomington.

The famous historic US 66 also passes through the northwest side of Odell. This part of Route 66 was built before I-55.

Land and Water Area

According to the 2010 census, Odell covers about 1.13 square miles (2.93 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 1.11 square miles (2.87 square kilometers), is land. A small part, about 0.016 square miles (0.041 square kilometers), is water.

Odell's Past: A Look at its History

How Odell Began: Founding the Town

Odell was officially planned on August 10, 1856. Two civil engineers, Sydney S. Morgan and Henry A. Gardner, created the town. They both worked on building the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Sydney S. Morgan later moved to Odell and helped the town grow. Henry A. Gardner was not a resident of Odell.

The town was planned because the railroad was going to pass through land owned by Morgan and Gardner. The railroad was first called the Chicago and Mississippi. It later became the Chicago, Alton and St. Louis, and then the Chicago and Alton. The first train ran through Odell on July 4, 1854. Regular train service started in August 1854.

Before the railroad, the land where Odell is now was empty. Between 1852 and 1855, many people bought land in the area. Farms quickly started to develop.

Original Town Design

Thomas F. Norton, a surveyor for Livingston County, designed Odell. The railroad had a 100-foot-wide (30 m) path going through the town. To solve this, the town's streets were lined up with the train tracks. This was a common way to design towns along railroads back then.

The railroad also made its property wider in town. It added 100 yards (91 m) on both sides of the tracks. This created "railroad grounds." The train station in Odell was on the north side of the tracks. The first two grain elevators were on the south side. The original town plan had 24 blocks. Each block had up to 20 lots. There was no main public square. This original design is still mostly the same today.

Early Growth and Development

The first signs of activity in Odell were a train siding and a water tank. For the first year, only railroad workers lived there. Daniel Smith was the first station master.

Slowly, a few shopkeepers came to the town. David Williams opened a small grocery store. The railroad built a warehouse that was used as another grocery store. Sydney S. Morgan built the first house in Odell for Thomas Lyon. Morgan also started buying grain from local farmers.

In the fall of 1857, a small hotel was built. A grain elevator and a school were also built that year. By the spring of 1858, about 100 people lived in Odell. On February 8, 1867, the town of Odell officially became an organized village.

From Railroad Town to Highway Town

In its early days, Odell was a railroad town. It was a place where farmers brought their grain to be shipped. The land around Odell was very rich for farming. By the late 1870s, over 1.5 million bushels of grain were shipped from Odell. In 1877, a local newspaper called the Odell Herald started.

In May 1886, a strong tornado destroyed several buildings in Odell. By 1900, about 1,000 people lived in the town. The population has stayed around that number since then.

The biggest change for Odell was in transportation. It went from being a railroad town to a highway town.

• In 1921, a new highway was built through Odell. It was first called the "Chicago-Springfield East St. Louis Road."
• Paving through Odell was finished in 1922.
• The road's name changed to Route 4.
• In 1926, this road became Route 66.

At first, these roads went right through the middle of Odell. By 1933, it was hard for people to cross the road. So, the town built a special tunnel under the highway for people to walk through. In 1946, a bypass was built around the town. This helped with traffic.

In 1932, Patrick O'Donnell built the Standard Oil and Gasoline Station. This station served cars traveling on the highway. Today, this building has been carefully restored. It is a popular stop for people visiting Route 66. The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

In 1964, the first part of Interstate 55 was completed past Odell. It was improved in the 1970s. This highway runs mostly parallel to the old roads and the original railroad route.

Odell's People: Population Facts

According to the 2020 United States Census, Odell had 1,003 people.

Households and Families

In 2010, there were 417 households in Odell.

• About 32.4% of these households had children under 18 living with them.
• About 50.1% were married couples living together.
• About 9.8% had a female head of household with children, but no husband.
• About 30.5% of all households were made up of people living alone.
• About 28.1% had someone aged 65 or older living alone.

Age and Gender

In 2010, about 73.4% of the population was over 18 years old. About 14.5% were 65 years or older. The average age was 40.9 years. There were slightly more males (50.3%) than females (49.7%).

Famous People from Odell

• Leslie Allen, a racing car driver.
• Bernard Jean Bettelheim, a missionary and pharmacist.
• Bud Clancy, a baseball player for teams like the Chicago White Sox.
• Kenneth Raisbeck, a writer for plays and movies.
• Mac Speedie, an NFL player and coach, was born in Odell.

See also

In Spanish: Odell (Illinois) para niños