Along the Lower Illinois are found Havana (3,626), county seat of Mason County, Bath (475), Beardstown (6,107), the largest city of Cass County, Meredosia (951), Naples (457), Pearl (842), Kampsville (506), Hardin (654), county seat of Calhoun County, and Grafton (1,116), located 24 miles above St. Louis at the junction of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Fishing is an important industry along the middle and lower portions of the Illinois River. The principal fish markets are Peoria, Pekin, Havana, and Beardstown, but important fishing operations are also carried on from the villages along the river.
Cities north and west of the Illinois location of cities on the level up lands of Illinois is deter mined by railroad facili ties. The cities and villages have many things in common. Each is a railroad sta tion with one or more grain elevators and with commercial houses to care for the local trade in staple articles of food, clothing, fuel, building materials, farm machinery, and repair work. Prosperous villages are found in which no important manufacturing is carried on. The establishment of factories leads to increased population and business activity in general. Radiating railroads make possible the development of the wholesale business in various lines of merchandise, especially in staple articles of food.
The region north and west of the Illinois River has seven cities with populations of 2,500 or more, and numerous other smaller cities and villages of great importance to their immedi ate localities. Mendota (3,804) has three important railroads.
Princeton (4,131)., the county seat of Bureau County, with but one steam railroad, is connected with the cities of the Upper Illinois Valley by an electric railroad.
Kewanee (9,307) and Galva (2,498) are very near the divide between the Illinois and the Mississippi rivers. They are connected by an electric railroad. Kewanee has one of the largest tube works in the country.
Toulon (1,208) is the county seat and Wyoming (1,506) the largest city of Stark County.
Galesburg (22,089), the county seat of Knox County, is the largest city and most important railroad center of the uplands between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. It has railroad shops and is the seat of Knox College and Lom bard College. Almost one-half of the popu lation of Knox County live in Galesburg.
Abingdon (2,464) is the seat of Abingdon Col lege and Hedding College. Farmington (2,421) is a coal-mining center.
Canton (1 0,4 53) manufactures agricul tural implements extensively. Lewistown (2,312) is the county seat of Fulton County.
Macomb (5,774), the county seat of McDonough County, is the seat of the Western Illinois State Normal School. Bush nell (2,619) is an important railroad center.
Carthage (2,373), the county seat of Hancock County, is located near the westernmost part of the Illinois River Basin. Rushville (2,422), the county seat of Schuyler County, is the terminus of a railroad branch line. Mount Sterling (1,986) is the county seat of Brown County.
Cities south and east of the Illinois River.—Since the Illinois River lies nearer the northern and western edge of its basin, the area now to be considered is larger in extent than the one previously discussed. The favorable surface for the building of railroads in any desired direction, the high fertility and consequent large crops of the farm lands, the abundance of coal, the favorable conditions for manufacturing, and the ease of transportation across the low divides to and from the basins to the east and south are factors which have operated to give this region a large number of villages and first-class cities. The region contains 16 cities, each having a population, in 1910, of 2,500 or more. Six of these have a total population of 149,057, and the 16 cities a total of 1SS,50S. Numerous smaller cities with popu lations of 1,000 to 2,500 are found within the area.
Braidwood (1,958), in Will County, and Coal City (2,667), in Grundy County, are near the northern margin of Illi nois coal fields. Dwight (2,156), in Livingston County, has been widely known as the seat of the Keeley Institute for the cure of alcoholism.
The divide between the two Vermilion River basins, the Illinois-Vermilion and the Wabash-Vermilion, is in the southern edge of Livingston County. Along the Illinois-Vermilion are Fairbury (2,505), Pontiac (6,090), Streator (14,263), and near its junction with the Illinois, Oglesby, already mentioned among the cities along the Illinois River. Pontiac is the seat of the Illinois State Reformatory. Streator is important as a coal-mining and glass-manufacturing center.