the first house on the prairie. In 1866, when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad extended its line from Aurora to Savanna, no provision was made for town sites, so the St. Paul Land Company was organized to acquire land along the right-of-way. The company decided that which comprised the original town site and belonged to Alexander Snow of Lanark would be an ideal location. The Land Company offered the Snows $100 per acre but Lanark merchants had persuaded the Snows that their land was worth $125; neither party would yield. When the land company started looking elsewhere the farmers in the community raised $1,500, to make up the difference. The land company named the new town Chadwick in honor of one of its officials. The original plot of the town was filed for record on April 12, 1886. Decreasing population caused a call to incorporate the town. Incorporation papers for Chadwick were approved on Sept. 26, 1882. Following incorporation a village board was elected and a police magistrate and marshal appointed. The first railroad station was a manure spreader on the south side of the track equipped with the necessary wiring and telegraph instruments for receiving and sending messages on the movement of trains. A new station was built in 1887. Frank Lacy was the first agent but was a telegraph operator only. There were no tickets for sale and passengers paid their fares on the train. The station was enlarged in 1926. References The Daily Gazette, Sterling Illinois, July 1, 1976 External links Village of Chadwick Villages in Illinois Villages in Carroll County, Illinois Populated places established in 1882 1882 establishments in Illinois