What's in a name?

Do you ever look at a street name or town name and wonder where the name came from or why it was used? Christmas time is considered a time of reflection, and I've been thinking about another town whose identity has faded away.

A merger in 1980 with Scott City brought the town of Illmo to an end. Illmo derives its name from the abbreviation of Illinois (ILL) and Missouri (MO). The town's location was a result of the 2-mile distance needed for trains to climb the steep incline to the Thebes (Illinois) Railroad bridge, which was completed in 1905. Settlers arrived in the area along the river in the early 1800s and gradually moved west during the 19th century. People began to settle Illmo in 1904, and it was incorporated in 1905 as the bridge was finished.

There are a few unique features about Illmo besides its name that I found interesting as a kid learning street names and directions. A story from an older resident, who was a young child when the town was founded, told me the streets in the town used numbers and names of trees instead of surnames to give a sense of equality among the residents. He told me First Street was set up as a bypass to keep large traffic off Second Street (Main). Most of this story is true, except for Wall Street, which is just west of First Street, being named after one of the founders involved with the purchase of the land for the town.

Also, there is a section of approximately nine square blocks north of the tracks that do not adhere to the number and tree naming. Streets in the main part of the town south of the tracks running east and west begin at the city limits on the south side and are named after trees in alphabetical order. They begin with Ash, then Beech, Chestnut, ending with Pine. The streets running north and south begin on the west side of town with Wall, then First, Second and continue east ending with 12th Street. The bypass story may be true, and as a kid I saw tractors, an occasional combine and a few tractor-trailers come up First Street, turn on to Beech heading east to Second Street, better known as Main Street.

Another interesting fact about Illmo is the way the town was platted. Most railroad towns are laid out parallel to the railroad so businesses have direct access to the railroad. The towns are long and not very wide, such as Ancell and Fornfelt, two of the other towns making up Scott City. Illmo however, was laid out perpendicular to the railroad. It stretches north and south, with its width being from west to east, and no explanation why.

This night scene of Illmo is looking south on Main Street (Route N).G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast MIssourian archive

So, what's in a name? More than most of us think. Looking back historically, the name may not mean much to anyone now, but to the people who chose the names it meant the future and a legacy.