Tonti, Illinois facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tonti, Illinois
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 Tonti, Illinois
Location in Illinois
Tonti, Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Marion |
| Elevation | 577 ft (176 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| GNIS ID | 423249 |
Tonti is a small, quiet place in Illinois, United States. It's not a big city or town, but what's called an "unincorporated community." This means it doesn't have its own local government like a city does. Today, Tonti is mostly known as a spot where the Illinois Central Railroad tracks cross Interstate 57. You might just see a sign and a bend in the road there.
A Look Back at Tonti
How Tonti Got Its Name
Tonti was named after a brave explorer named Henri de Tonti. He was an Italian-French adventurer who explored parts of Illinois a long time ago. It's cool that a small community still remembers him!
The 1971 Train Derailment
On June 10, 1971, something big happened near Tonti. A passenger train called the City of New Orleans, run by Amtrak, went off its tracks. This kind of accident is called a derailment.
This event is sometimes called the "Tonti derailment." Experts from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated what happened. They found that the derailment was caused by a problem with one of the train's wheels. A part of the wheel called a "false flange" formed because of a "flat wheel" and a stuck axle bearing.
Sadly, 11 people lost their lives in the crash, and 163 others were hurt. This was also the very first train crash for Amtrak, which is a major passenger train company in the United States.
