ease the flow of traffic, the square today retains its 1835 shape. Gridley and Covell's "Original Town" contained twenty-five blocks, almost all with eight lots, for a total of 196 lots. Early commercial growth was along Center Street just east of the square, and this has continued to be the commercial heart of the town. The original street names selected for LeRoy are virtually identical to those in the town of Lexington, which Gridley also co-founded: Center, Cedar, Cherry, Chestnut, East, Elm, Main North, Oak, Pine, Vine, Walnut and West. Unlike Lexington, LeRoy has no South Street. First advertisement In November 1835 Gridley and Covell set about selling lots in their new town. They published a lengthy advertisement in the Sangamon Journal which is both the earliest description of LeRoy and a statement of why the two men had selected this location for a town. It begins with the bold heading "Town of Leroy". The reader is first told that Leroy was located on the north side of Buckle's Grove on Salt Creek. The crossing of the two roads is noted along with being east of Bloomington. "The site of the town is as beautiful as can well be conceived – situated on the margin of a rolling undulating prairie on an eminence gently descending in every direction and commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country, with an open expanse of prairie scenery on the north and west relieved by occasional groves of timber. No situation can well surpass it for beauty." They go on to write that LeRoy is "... located in the heart of a rich and flourishing settlement with a large amount of timber of quality inferior to none in the state in its immediate vicinity... it is believed that no interior town possesses superior advantages." Several excellent mill sites were located nearby. The advertisement concludes, "A further description is deemed unnecessary, as all who wish to make investments will doubtless visit it previous to investing." Unlike many ads of the period, the date and time of the auction of town lots is not given. Later sources relate that the lots sold well, "the bidding was spirited, and some of them sold at a high price." Early development of the town The early growth of LeRoy was slow, but the town did better than many other towns laid out in the 1830s. Only three of the