Lost Towns of Illinois - Clayville, Illinois.

Clayville was a roadside hamlet (fewer than 100), inhabited from 1824 into the 1850s, located in Cartwright Township, 14 miles northwest of Springfield, Illinois. 

A visual aid.

The settlement was never very large but was firmly centered on a once-thriving tavern on the main road between Springfield, the state capital, and the Illinois River port of Beardstown. The Broadwell Tavern continues to stand on its original foundation today as a reminder of the once-active frontier settlement.

With its heyday in the 1830s and 40s, life in this town centered around a successful tavern that served stagecoach travelers. The town faltered with the rise of railroads. Even when the roads were paved and became Route 125, things continued to go downhill, and the area was abandoned.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.