Tuscumbia is a ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 in Bernadotte Township

Bernadotte Township, Fulton County, Illinois

Bernadotte Township is one of twenty-six townships in Fulton County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 306.-Geography:...

, Fulton County

Fulton County, Illinois

Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 37,069, which is a decrease of 3.1% from 38,250 in 2000. Its county seat is Lewistown. Canton is the largest city. Both cities are southwest of Peoria, and the county is considered...

, Illinois, USA

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 that sprang up in the township and was platted by Wade Hampton

Wade Hampton II

Wade Hampton II was an American plantation owner and soldier in the War of 1812. He was a member of the Hampton family, whose influence was strong in South Carolina politics and social circles for nearly 100 years....

 on 2 March 1837. It consisted of 54 lots. It flourished for a while and had a school, but by 1855 was abandoned.

A sign on County Road 14, known as the Bernadotte blacktop, nine miles west of Lewistown, Illinois

Lewistown, Illinois

Lewistown is a city in Fulton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,522 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Fulton County. Located in central Illinois, it is southwest of Peoria. It is the source of Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, who lived there...

, is the only remnant.

History

Illinois was experiencing rapid settlement during the time of the settlement, and the timeframe of Tuscumbia coincides with the career of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

. In 1838, Lincoln visited the county seat Lewistown nine miles east of the Tuscumbia area extending the range of his law practice. A Lincoln-Douglas debate

Lincoln-Douglas debate

Lincoln–Douglas debate is sometimes also called values debate because it traditionally places a heavy emphasis on logic, ethical values, and philosophy...

occurred in August 1858 in Lewistown.

Further reading

• A RAMBLER’S NOTES Lewistown Township, Kate Perry, Canton Weekly Register, January 11, 1906
• Heylin, Jesse, ed. History of Fulton County Chicago: Munsell Publishing Co, 1908
• Gannett, Henry, American Names" A guide to the origin of place names in the US,; Public Affairs Press, Wash DC, 1947
• Adams, James, A List of Illinois Place Names Illinois Libraries, Vol 50 nos 4,5,6 1968