Shermanville was located three miles east of Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area in Will County. It was a single-industry village dependent on rich limestone deposits.
It took multiple sources to figure out the location of Shermanville. It would be at today's address; 6035 North Will Road at West Blodgett Road, Wilmington, Illinois. Town and the quarry were one mile south-south-east of the confluence of the Des Plaines and Kankakee Rivers. 41°22'34.2"N 88°14'56.4"W
What a great way to move tons of heavy limestone. That limestone proved to be laden with iron, and sales plummeted when buildings constructed of Shermanville's quarried rock started to rust from the rain. The town was abandoned faster than it was settled.
Francis Cornwall Sherman owned the property encompassing the limestone quarry, the town, and some surrounding acreage, hence the town's name. Sherman also built and owned the first three Sherman House Hotels in downtown Chicago.
Shermanville is a ghost town; only some crumbling foundations and a small cemetery remain as a reminder of its heyday.
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
My little home was moved out of Shermanville.
ReplyDeleteWhere is your home now?
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