On June 21, 1970, the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad Company's Train No. 20 derailed in downtown Crescent City. A propane tank car ruptured, and explosions caused fires that destroyed the city center, which included numerous houses and businesses. There were no deaths, although over 60 firefighters and civilians were injured. The disaster would later be featured on episode #124 of the Discovery Channel show Destroyed in Seconds.
Passages that mention Crescent City, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Iroquois County, together with Historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources1880 · page 404Read the page →
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When the post-office was removed here by Mr. Young, the name was changed to Crescent City. He continued postmaster until 1874, when C. E. Barber, the present postmaster, was. appointed. David Scott owned all of section 5, except 80 acres, and Mr. Crumpton, his brother, and Charles E. Allen and his mother, became interested in, or purchasers of, the entire interest which Scott had. The town was laid out and platted in 1869. Fred. March commenced business here next after Young, and J. B. Mires at the same time started the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Crescent City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1944Gilman sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Crescent City.
People over time
Crescent City, census by census
Between 201 and 641 people in every census since 1870.
15 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Crescent City’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Crescent City
Nobody well known was born in Crescent City itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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