Kirkland, IL

Railroad and livestock shaped Kirkland long before its present village map. William Thomas Kirk built a cabin here in 1837; after a post-office conflict with Kirkwood, the place took Kirkland, and the village became official in 1882. W. T. Kirk gave land for the railroad in 1875 on the condition that passenger trains stop, helping turn the DeKalb County settlement into a sheep-shipping point. The rail yard later handled Brennan Cattle Company's livestock, while the old State Bank of Kirkland now houses the public library. Passenger service ended in 1971, and one rail line remains. Kirkland's village hall, library, and tracks sit inside a town still legible as a railroad-and-stockyard place.