Odell was laid out by Sydney S. Morgan (1823 – 1884) and Henry A. Gardner (1816 – 1875) on August 10, 1856. Both men were civil engineers who had worked on the survey and construction of what soon became the Chicago and Alton Railroad. For a time Sydney S. Morgan divided his time between Joliet and Odell, but soon settled in Odell on a permanent basis where he became the town's chief promoter. Gardner was born in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and had begun his railroad career working as a rodman on an extension of the Great Western Railroad in Massachusetts. He rose quickly through the ranks until he became chief engineer of the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad. Gardner came west in 1853 to work as assistant engineer to Oliver H. Lee on the Chicago and Mississippi Railroad. He purchased land near Dwight and later went on to become Chief Engineer on the Michigan Central Railroad. Gardner w…
Passages that mention Odell, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Livingston County, Illinois1878 · page 664Read the page →
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Odell purchased a tract of land and laid out the village of Odell ; he afterward purchased 2,100 acres, which he began improving and selling ; he directed his energies to building public roads centering in Odell, which town owes much of its prosperity to his publiq spirit and enterprise ; he has been Commissioner of High-
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The History of Livingston County, Illinois1878 · page 360Read the page →
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As the immediate point of attraction for this vicinity was the station, so the first settlements were made, quite naturally, as close to it as circumstances would allow. The land on which the town of Odell has subsequently been built was owned, primarily, by James C. Spencer and Henry A. Gardner. They purchased the land of the Government May 4, 1853, exactly a quarter of a century previous to this writing. Spencer owned the north half of the quarter section, and Gardner the south half Of this, Spencer sold, September 3, 1853, his land to William H. Odell, after whom the town of Odell was named,
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Timeline
Odell, 1855 to 1904
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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 →
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