Rossville, Illinois

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Rossville and Ross Township were named for Jacob Ross, a settler in the area. whoever, the location was first named Liggett's Grove in honor of John Liggett who built a lodging house there in 1829. Liggett's cabin was located on the Hubbard Trail, an early trading route established by Gurdon Hubbard from Chicago to Danville. In 1833, this became the first state highway (now Illinois Route 1) and in 1914 was made part of the Dixie Highway. In 1838, Alvan Gilbert purchased the Liggett farm, and the next year became postmaster at the newly-established post office. Rossville was incorporated as a village in August 1859. [2][3]

In February 2004, a fire broke out in the downtown business district and destroyed several of the historic buildings and antique shops for which Rossville has been known.[4]

Rossville was also the hometown of Daniel Huffman, who gained fame in 1996 after donating a kidney to his grandmother and who was the subject of the 1999 television movie Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story.[5]

Area attractions include the Rossville Historical Society Museum, the Rossville Railroad Depot Museum, Christman Park, and the Hubbard Trail Monument. South of Rossville are Historic Mann's Chapel (1857) and an original State Road Mile Marker from 1833.


Rossville's coordinates are 40°22′50″N 87°40′7″W﻿ / ﻿40.38056°N 87.66861°W﻿ / 40.38056; -87.66861 (40.380424, -87.668557)[6]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.5 km²), all of it land.


As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 1,217 people, 533 households, and 341 families residing in the village. The population density was 905.1 people per square mile (350.7/km²). There were 596 housing units at an average density of 443.2/sq mi (171.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.78% White, 0.25% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.90% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.14% of the population.

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