between the Mississippi River and the Illinois River and the hot muggy summers are the perfect habitat for mosquitoes. Amid growing concern over the use of pesticides to control mosquitoes, the town came up with an alternate abatement method. J.L. Wade, a Griggsville resident and owner of a local antenna manufacturing factory realized that Griggsville was right in the migration path of the purple martin, the largest bird in the swallow family, supposedly able to eat 2,000 mosquitoes in a single day. J.L. Wade quickly realized that to get the purple martins to stay, he simply needed to give them a reason to stay, so he converted his antenna factory into a bird house building factory. The mosquito population dwindled, which lead the town to adopt the nickname "The Purple Martin Capital of the Nation", as well as labeling the purple martin "America's Most Wanted Bird." Additionally, Wade's purple martin business, formerly Trio Manufacturing, published a newsletter called The Nature Society News. The purple martin factory has been recently sold to a Chicago businessman. Griggsville has installed over 5,000 birdhouses along the city streets, including a 562-apartment high rise, reaching a height of 70 ft. Notable person Lew Hitch, basketball player for the Minneapolis Lakers (1951–1957) Points of interest The Purple Martin High-Rise is located in central Griggsville on Illinois Route 107. Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area Lighthouse Baptist church, the oldest continuous operating church in Pike County. See also Griggsville Landing Lime Kiln Sources Stead, George A. "Prologue to the Genealogy of the Steads" [transcribed by JN Mahon - 1999] "Griggsville--Boom, Town on the Frontier" retrieved from archives at the Skinner House in Griggsville, IL. November 29, 2007 Cities in Illinois Cities in Pike County, Illinois Populated places established in 1833 1833 establishments in Illinois