Mayberry Township, Illinois

MayberryTownship.net, by David Cantrell, contains memories and photos of Mayberry Township, Hamilton County, Railroads, One-room Schools, Veterans, White County, and surrounding Illinois areas.

Grandma and Grandpa Mayberry lived in Mayberry Township, Illinois located in Hamilton County. It is where they and many of our ancestors were born, educated, and raised their families. A crossroads known as Feakeyville, Harrawood School, and Big Hill were some of the landmarks.

The project started with pictures, inscriptions, and GPS locations of veteran gravestones and expanded to cover the 1925 Tornado. Next came history of the B&O and L&N railroads since Grandpa Mayberry was a B&O railroad foreman. The Norris City War Emergency Pipeline Terminal, Texaco Refinery at Dale, and the shirt factory where grandma, mom, and several of my aunts, neighbors, and cousins worked were natural topics too. The railroad research expanded from two to six railways and the 1937 flood was added as more photos were found and shared by others.

Should any of these topics peek your interest, grab some coffee or some ice cream, and take a look around. To share related information and photos, please contact me

Railroad Content Has New Home

The railroad history including the 1937 Flood and War Emergency Pipeline pages have been moved to the Southern Illinois Railroads website.

Mayberry Township Map

Mayberry Township History

Mayberry Township is one of twelve townships in southeast Hamilton County, Illinois. Its history includes several churches, cemeteries, stores at Feakeyville, Illinois deepest oil well, and the 1968 earthquake.

Santa Fe 2319 in the Woods

Mayberry Township Train

Is that a train in Mayberry Township? The Santa Fe Railroad purchased twelve Alco HH-1000 switchers and deployed them to the west coast. Some were deactivated by Precision in Mt. Vernon, IL. The home of Santa Fe 2319 has been Mayberry Township since the early 1970's.

Mayberry School 1937

One Room Schools

Twelve one-room school houses were built in Mayberry Township. One was named Mayberry School. Maps, photos, and some history are available.

L&N Broughton Depot 2017

Southeastern Illinois Railroads

Railroads were an important part of rural southeastern Illinois for many years. Photos, maps, and some of the history has been assembled.

U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw

U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw

Veterans Memorial

Over 150 Veteran grave photos and locations have been recorded from Mayberry Township cemeteries. The inscriptions have been converted to text and can be searched.

First War Emergency Pipeline Train Leaves Norris City

Norris City Museum

War Emergency Pipeline

Norris City, Illinois was the midwest terminal for the War Emergency Pipeline. It transferred oil to rail cars until the pipeline was completed to the east coast.

Junction L&N Depot 1937 Flood

H O Turner Photo Collection

1937 Flood in Southeastern Illinois

The Flood of 1937 was a devastating disaster that impacted southeastern Illinois. A brief history has been compiled including railroad photos from around the area.

Covid 19 Pandemic 2020 - 2021

The Covid 19 Pandemic devastated the United States. Public health safeguards were politicized which caused too many long term care deaths. Reports and maps of the fatalities by Congressional and State Legislative Districts in Illinois have been generated to remember who was in power and the consequences of their failure to lead the nation in saving as many lives as possible.