DYING Coal Mining Towns in RURAL ILLINOIS

Oakwood, Fithian, Ridge Farm, Sidell, Rankin, Muncie, Illinois that is? Ever heard of these towns? No? That's why I'm here because in this video I take you to a handful of dying towns that are in Vermilion County, Illinois that are all losing population fast. These towns depended on the railroad, coal and salt mining industries when they were being built. Those industries have all left the area a long time ago, and nothing has taken their place. This region is depressing and it shows through the abandonment that's seen in these towns, not to mention the county seat of Danville which is has its own video.

0:00 - 1:46 Intro
1:46 - 6:38 Oakwood
6:38 - 12:53 Muncie/Fithian
12:53 - 17:22 Sidell
17:22 - 21:48 Ridge Farm
21:48 - 27:36 Georgetown/Westville
27:36 - 30:46 Catlin
30:46 - 33:02 Rankin
33:02 - 39:20 Chris's Livability Score

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[ChrisHarden]

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DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!

[clubmike]

I used to live in Illinois, I liked it. However the high cost of home ownership chased me away when it was time to retire. The land taxes even in rural areas are out of site and unaffordable.

[golfdadontherampageiv]

It's bittersweet seeing your content and hearing you say to the world what all of us that grew up there, already knew. I grew up in those small towns that were built on coal. Fithian, Catlin, Georgetown, Ridge Farm, Oakwood, Homer, Sidell... I called those towns home from birth until I left almost 20 years ago. Both sets of grandparents told me to leave VC (and Illinois) and never come back, even if it meant they never saw me again. One set of grandparents never got to see me leave but one did, and they were ecstatic that I made it out. They saw the county at its peak in post WW2 years and they saw the decline starting in the late 70s with the exit of GM and other manufacturing jobs.

[Hey_Its_J_ay]

WOW!!! Chris, congrats on that many subscribers for both channels. Very well deserved. I do go to the archives after viewing this channel. I love that you are doing my home state right now of Illinois.

[renegadetenor]

Thank you for including the RR, and getting it right! Some folks like the Cubs, I like the Illinois Terminal!

[stevenpiehl]

Howdy Chris, thanks so much for letting us ride along shotgun, another fun adventure, in boring Illinois

[JohnDavis-jitl]

I was in Caitlin today. Nice clean little town. I've been to every one of these towns multiple times on my motorcycle. Thanks for the video.

[gwenhall]

I am from Springfield, IL but have lived in Indianapolis since 1989. I’ve driven through this area a 100 times or more, so, it’s fun to learn a little bit more about this Thanks for your videos!

[kendrift]

IL leaders abandoned every town outside chicagoland area. It's sad, just bad politics and leadership...and a whole bunch of corruption.

[jasongadbois]

Born and raised in Kankakee county here! About 40 miles south where I grew up

[gobigrey]

Fun seeing all these tiny towns around Illinois and Iowa. I used to do Casey's fuel tank system inspections so it's cool revisiting all those places. I loved the small towns. Easy inspections and easy driving. Hated being in the big cities!

[markfisher]

Camp Robert Drake lies just south of Oakwood and was a part of my Boy Scout experience back in the '60's. It's still a very active Scout camp, but its official address is Fairmount. Being nestled in along the Salt River and the strip-mined area (called the "Pollywogs") has made for interesting canoeing and hiking through the years!

[shelbyz]

Living in the Chicagoland area I want to thank you for giving me a video of towns I will never drive through. I agree Catlin was the best looking of the bunch. Thanks for taking one for the team Chris!👍😂

[STIFFLER............]

😳 Muncie is where the phrase "I don't want to get Munsoned out in the middle of nowhere" was invented.

[craignovy]

All the usual things that make these videos great is here. The drone shot in particular was spectacular. All these small towns are very carefully documented and discussed along with background regional history. The amount of information presented is incredible given the tiny size of these communities. You will see things more clearly because you end up learning so much thanks to the intense curiosity, video art and intelligence of Chris.

[catlady]

Being from Illinois and living in Illinois Peabody coal mine was near a very small town of Kincaid Ill. Had many family members that worked there in the 70's and 80's. My grandpa worked there in the 50's but now has closed.

[mhkn]

Illinois native.... For much of rural Illinois, nothing is going to get better any time soon. It has little to do with the politicians. The sad reality is that the efficiencies of agriculture, the efficiencies of industry have made this reduction in population a reality. You just don't need that many people to farm land any more. You don't need as many people supporting farmers either. The same is true for the smaller scaled factories that existed in these smaller towns. Tax breaks are not going to make it better... for most of these rural counties, they are getting far more back in tax revenue than they are paying in. Many of those counties, particularly in southern Illinois, are getting upwards for 4-6 dollars back for every dollar they pay in. Yes... its still not enough because... well... there are no jobs... there is little potential for jobs either, not in the short run.

I think there is potential for remote work sites for the IT industry but the bug for de-centralization is not there yet. They could pay people far less and they would still have more disposable income, than if they were living in the pacific northwest or the bay are of California. People want amenities to... it is all a chicken an egg scenario.

If anything... there needs to be programs to enable people to relocate and consolidate some of these communities. Some of these smaller communities really have no further economic reason to exist. The continue because the people who live there are emotionally tied to the area or they simply cannot afford to depart. They are in effect bag holders for a business community gone bust.

[bretthousman]

Abraham Lincoln once got his hair cut in Morris. Beat that ya jabronis.

[AlexanderWaylon]

You are hilarious. I’ve never even heard of Danville Illinois, didn’t even know you had a video on it until I was notified about this one.

[beckypeters]

My dad's whole family was born and raised in Grand Tower Illinois not much left of it