Lost Towns of Illnois - Bayville, Illinois.

Bayville was a village in Pike County, Illinois that flourished on Bay Creek about a mile southeast of the present site of Pleasant Hill, Illinois. 

Bayville had several stores, a mill, a smithy, and a plow factory. Dr. Hezekiah Dodge was the area's first doctor. The village had a cemetery, and the business district had a lot of activity. The area's first school was built. 

The Collard family had twelve children who all became teachers, most in the south Pike area. Most prominent was John J. Collard, an outstanding teacher and two-time county clerk. 

Bayville faded in the 19th century, leaving only the cemetery and the school as evidence that a town with people had been there.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Lost Towns of Illnois - Montezuma, Illinois.

The Illinois River port of the Village of Montezuma is located in Pike County, Illinois.

In 1880 Montezuma had a population around 100. The town was highly developed and riverboats routinely stopped there. Montezuma flourished as a riverport through the 19th century. The town had a church, a school, a warehouses, a general store, a grain elevator, a blacksmith shop, a photograph studio, and a saloon or two. 

The railroad and trucks brought big changes. 

A railroad was built through the Pearl area, skipping both Montezuma and its inland partner, Milton. Livestock was still shipped to market by boat, but starting in the mid-1920s most livestock was shipped in trucks. Montezuma rapidly faded. Although some vestiges of the town remain, the town plat, which projected a town three-quarters of a mile long, was not needed. 

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.