Welcome to Forgotonia

Thanks to a tip from a fellow Flickr-er who landed on my photostream, I learned that the publication Newcity: Street Smart Chicago recently ran a feature about the Forgottonia region. Intrigued, I discovered that the Aug. 3 item features photos and an interview with a resident of Plymouth, Ill., the tiny village near my hometown of Carthage.

“Postcard from Forgottonia: The land that time chose not to remember“

Newcity's "postcard" from Forgottonia

The story is well-written. And I’m always fascinated to read any “outsider’s” take on this area. But I have to admit a bit of confusion and frustration with this piece. There’s a whole lotta “land that time forgot”-type generalizing:

“Forgottonia is a kind of negative image of urban America—which from the Forgottonian perspective presents itself as the indifferent republic of… well, let’s call it Oblivia for lack of a better term…Nobody sets out purposefully to explore the region of west central Illinois known colloquially as Forgottonia. The place creeps up on you as gently as a childhood memory, and it is only later that you realize you have set foot in this unmarked republic of corn, dust and melancholy. As its name suggests, it is less a place than a feeling—a sense of having slipped away from the present moment into some other time stream, which has been dammed up by indifference and neglect and now registers only as a trickle.”

And until I reached the Plymouth part of the story, I began to wonder if the writer had even visited the region he was describing. I was also intrigued by the fact that the only source the writer acknowledges (other than the interview with a resident) is the feature on the origin of the Forgottonia movement that appeared last spring in the publication produced by WIU students, Western Illinois Magazine.

I’m familiar with Newcity, but only familiar. [Readers: Does this Chicago-centric publication typically do "downstate" features? And in its "News" section?] What about you—when you see objective descriptions of the “forgotten” place you call home, do you feel fascinated, too? Excited? Annoyed? Insulted? Let me hear from you.

Plymouth, Ill.

4-sale: the fence, or the bar?

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

4-sale: the fence, or the bar? (Probably both…)

(Click on the pic if you’d like to see other photos of the region, and/or more of the Mapping Main Street project, on Flickr)

Main Street Cafe, Industry, IL

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

Figurine in window, Main Street, Industry, IL

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

Another entry for the Mapping Main Street project, www.mappingmainstreet.org.

Semi-creepy statue of elderly couple inside a storefront (that, despite its sign, appeared to be closed) on Main Street in Industry, IL.

Click on the photo if you’d like to see more of my Forgottonia-region pictures on Flickr.

Sign and blinds, Main Street, Industry, IL

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

Am I a snob to point out that, for whoever is trying to rent out an apartment in this building, this window might not be the most…enticing representation?

Sadly, it looks like most of the businesses on Main Street in Industry, IL, a tiny town in McDonough County (where both my father and grandfather lived as boys), are empty, for sale, and/or abandoned-looking.

(The gas station across the street is reflected in the window.)

Click on the picture if you’d like to be taken to more of my Forgotonia-region pics on Flickr or to learn more about Mapping Main Street.)

For sale by owner: Village Pub, Industry, IL

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

Taken for the Mapping Main Street project.

Sadly, it looks like most of the businesses on Main Street in Industry, IL, a tiny town in McDonough County (where both my father and grandfather lived as boys), are empty, for sale, and/or abandoned-looking.

melted (?) sign

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

Sunday night walk around Macomb, continued.

This sign (for Purdum Electric, I think?) is near where the fire destroyed two buildings. I’m not sure if it’s got anything to do with the fire, or if it’s just old and neglected…

The Wyne Dry Goods Co., Macomb, IL

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

This recently exposed facade is showing a faint trace of the building’s former life: the lettering for the Wyne Dry Goods Co.

This building on the east side of the Macomb square, dating back to the 1890s, was covered for many years by a mental front. Now home to the West Central Illinois Arts Center (in a refurbished space on the first floor), this building is just a few places down from the former Randolph House Hotel, a once-grand place where Abraham Lincoln spent the night.

You can visit the arts center’s web page to read more about the building and see a couple of historic views.

Closed for a funeral

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

Sunday night’s walk around the square, part 2. I didn’t capture this the way I wanted to at all, but… here it is, anyway.

Fire-ravaged building, Macomb, IL

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

A view from the spot in the square where a fire destroyed two buildings last spring. Chris and I also noticed that the Magic Dragon toy store is now also out of business.