Clifton, IL

Clifton is an Iroquois County village in Chebanse Township, founded in 1857 and built out along the railroad-era street grid. The old business district on Main Street and Third Avenue included a bank, implement dealer, hardware store, shops, lunchrooms, and Henrotin Hall, a useful reminder of how much work a small rail village once packed into a few blocks. Interstate 57 now runs along the east side, with access at Exit 297, while the village still keeps its own post office, library, pool, fire department, and local government. Clifton is a small Illinois place with a commercial past still visible in its street names and old storefront pattern.