Illinois Bend, a town in Montague County, Texas. (original) (raw)

Former Illoinois Bend School, now a community center
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007

History in a Pecan Shell

Illinois Bend was named after homesick settlers from Illinois - who moved to Texas in 1862 - during the Civil War. Before their arrival it had been named Wardville after a local landowner - C. M. Ward. The name was changed to Illinois Bend in 1877 when a post office was granted for the community. Illinois Bend had a population of 300 by the mid-1880s.

Illinois Bend suffered the death-blow of never having a railroad connection and the population shrank to a little over 100 persons by 1910. The Illinois Bend post office closed and after WWII the population declined to less than 70.

Illinois Bend Church and Tabernacle
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007

Outdoor tabernacle in Illoinois Bend
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007

A Personal Connection to Illinois Bend

Editor's Note: Judie Hilton Porter, who contributed a photo of the old school at Bulcher also had ancestors who lived in Illinois Bend. She contributed the photos used here and the following text is taken from her email.

The Hilton Homestead as it appeared in 2002
Photo Courtesy Judie Hilton Porter

My Hiltons came to Texas from Minnesota and the part of my family that didn't live in Bulcher, lived in Illinois Bend.

You can bet I pretty much know the history of Bulcher and the beautiful Coker Cemetery. My great-great-grandmother, Hannah Fish, is buried in the Illinois Bend Cemetery.

[The above photo] is the home my great-grandfather, William H. Hilton, who built the house sometime before the birth of my grandfather, Fred N. Hilton, who was born there in 1899. My father remembers people travelling in wagons that used to stop and rest under the shade of the large oak tree on the left.

Both my parents went to the Illinois Bend School. I believe the building is used as a Community Center now.

There is a very well-written book, "Portrait of Bulcher", by Judy Inman, that is full of pictures and history. Included are photos of the Bulcher school as it looked in the early 1980's and 1907. My copy of the book, given to my Grandmother by the author, is one of my most treasured possessions. - Judie Hilton Porter

A view of the Illinois Bend Cemetery
Photo Courtesy Judie Hilton Porter, 2002

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