Map of Campus village

Campus is a village in Round Grove and Broughton townships, Livingston County, Illinois. The population was 166 at the 2010 census.

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Campus location map. Where is Campus village?

History

Campus was laid out and platted by Charles William Sheldon (1839-1911) in April 1880, along the Wabash Railroad on his farm of 640 acres (260 ha). The town was named “Campus” because the many trees made someone think of a college campus.

Sheldon was a farmer and he owned the first business in town, Campus Brick & Tile Co. He later sold the company, which passed through several owners before closing in 1952. Over the years the tile company produced millions of feet of drain tile and was one of the principal industries in the town.

Thomas Feehery (1839-1926) built the first store and post office in Campus. The Chariton brothers built the second store in town. In 1896, the first hotel was built. Other businesses at that time included Ole Nelson and Thomas Connors’ livery stable.

Campus had a water system by 1894. The town also had street lights, cement sidewalks, an electric light plant and tile drains, which were great improvements for such an isolated rural town in those early years.

The town had a disastrous fire in 1897 that destroyed three of the business houses. A brick building was built on the ruins.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church was the first brick structure in the village. The Catholic Church had its start in the area in the 1870s when a small church was built in Broughton Township a mile south of Campus. The building was later moved into town.

The present brick building on Elm Street was begun in June 1983 and completed a year later. A rectory was built next to the church. A convent school was built in 1898 on the other side of Elm Street. The school closed in 1930 and was vacant for several years. It later served as a vocation center and home for priests.

By the 1970s the former school building had become a rooming house and laundromat. The beautiful building later became vacant and in disrepair.

Joseph Zeller (1918-2018), Pennsylvania businessman and state legislator, was born in Campus.

Campus Road Map

Campus city Satellite Map

Geography

Campus is located in northeastern Livingston County at 41°1′25″N 88°18′23″W / 41.02361°N 88.30639°W / 41.02361; -88.30639 (41.023691, -88.306503). Most of the village is in Round Grove Township, but four blocks of the village are in Broughton Township to the south. Campus is 11 miles (18 km) by road southeast of Dwight.

According to the 2010 census, Campus has a total area of 0.09 square miles (0.23 km), all land.

See also