Victoria

     The Methodist Church in Victoria typifies local architecture, solidly constructed of locally available materials, strong enough to resist the bitter winter winds.

Photo by R. O'Connor . Taken at Victoria, Illinois, October 2000.

Photo by R. O'Connor . Taken at Victoria, Illinois, October 2000.

The Galesburg & Great Eastern Railroad station still stands in Victoria. It shows the signs of the ravages of time.

West of Victoria, this old school building has been converted into a residence.

Photo by R. O'Connor . Taken near "Alert", Illinois, October 2000.

     In earlier times, there were many farms, with many families that made their lives in this place. As these small farms consolidated, there was less need for these local schools, and the school districts consolidated, too.

     South of Victoria is the Illinois Police Camp for children.

Photo by R. O'Connor . Taken near Victoria, Illinois, October 2000.

 The property for this summer camp was donated by the Sherwood family, operators of the Little John Coal Mine. It is named in their honor.

Engine Facilities

Photo by R. O'Connor . Taken near Victoria, Illinois, October 2000.

The enginehouse exists today, located near where the mine's coal breaker once stood.

Photo by R. O'Connor . Taken near Victoria, Illinois, October 2000.

     The water tower remains also, derelict

Wataga

Photo by R. O'Connor . Taken at Wataga, Illinois, October 2000

The Burlington Railroad (now BNSF) yard at Wataga. Although not used as heavily as it was in the days when the G&GE operated, it is still in service. This view, facing north, shows just how compact the yard was, which limited the production of the Little John Mine. The passenger station was in the center of the photograph; note how the tracks curve around the original site of this structure. To the left of the photograph was a signal tower, which controlled some of the track switches at Wataga. This tower was razed when the Burlington instituted remote control of the mainline track switches on this line. The foundations of the tower can still be seen. (the switch in the lower front of the photo is manually controlled)

Photo by R. O'Connor . Taken at Wataga, Illinois, October 2000

Here, the remains of the Galesburg & Great Eastern line leading to Victoria. The G&GE crossed US Highway 34 at this point and turned eastward toward Victoria. US 34 has now bypassed Wataga, to the west, and all that remains of the G&GE at this point is this siding to a farm service facility.

Photo by R. O'Connor . Taken at Wataga, Illinois, October 2000

 This sturdy prairie house still stands, and can be seen in the background of the Paul Stringham photograph of the Wataga coal dock.

Galesburg

Photo by R. O'Connor . Taken at Galesburg, Illinois, October 2000

The Carr House in nearby Galesburg. Originally the residence of a Galesburg founder, the Carr House was later the residence of W. C. "Cal" Swallow, the local agent for Central Indiana Coal Company.