Divernon is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,172 at the 2010 census, and 1,119 at a 2018 estimate. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office has been in operation at Divernon since 1887. The village took its name after Di Vernon, a character in the novel Rob Roy. From 1900 to 1925, Madison Coal Company operated a large coal mine that caused rapid growth within the village. Since the closure of the mine the town has experienced a slow decline in population. The construction of the mine included the excavation of a large reservoir, locally known as the 'Resi', that is an integral part of the towns culture to this day. The reservoir is the host to the annual cardboard boat regatta. On July 4, 1976 a local resident, George "Donald" Becker, fired a cannon that he had machined himself to celebrate the bicentennial of the United States declaring independence from Great Britain. The cannon was meant to launch a small projectile, also machined by Becker, a few dozen feet. Becker had underestimated the amount of powder he loaded in his homemade cannon however and the resulting discharge launched an approximately two-inch projectile over six hundred feet. The cannonball traveled across a baseball field, through multiple fences and storage buildings and only stopped when it entered a house and struck the homeowner "Lucky Bug" in the shoulder while he was eating dinner with his family, knocking him out of his chair. "Lucky Bug" was unharmed and quickly deduced that his neighbor had fired his cannon as he had seen Becker working on it in his shop and spoke with him about it. The Divernon Police Department confiscated the cannon and contacted the FBI. FBI agents visited the home of Becker to speak with him about the weapon he had created. While speaking with Becker at his home, "Lucky Bug" arrived with the cannonball and defended Becker stating that he had knew Becker for decades and that the damaged caused was completely unintentional. The FBI agents agreed with his conclusion and Becker was not charged. "Lucky Bug" kept the cannonball and carried it with him for the rest of his life remarking that he was the only person struck with a cannonball in Divernon and survived. Geography Divernon is located at (39.566208, -89.655718). According to the 2010 census,