Brussels, IL

The refuge is named after the two great rivers that flow together close to Brussels, the Illinois River and the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted 116 residents. Brussels was first settled in 1822, when John Mettz came to the area; later in the same year, Joshua Twitchell established the community's first business, a blacksmith shop. Brussels includes a historic district. That mix gives Brussels a clear local shape within Illinois, with older layers still visible in current places. The local scoop is a place whose streets, landmarks, and institutions keep its earlier story close to the present.