Pana, IL

Pana is a Christian County city of 5,199 residents in the 2020 census, with a small section in Shelby County, at the junction of Route 29 and U.S. 51. The town's older map was built by rail and coal: four railroads once crossed here, five mines sent coal out, and the remaining switch tower marks the old crossing. Pana's first mine opened in 1884 and the last closed in 1948. The 1898 coal strike turned violent enough to bring the Illinois National Guard to town, a chapter still covered at the Pana History Museum.

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Today, Kitchell Park and downtown give the town a gathering ground. The Tri-County Fair, first held in 1885, runs for six days before Labor Day, and the Labor Day Parade spends more than two hours moving through downtown before ending at Kitchell Park, drawing thousands along the route. Pana Heritage Days fills the center with vendors and rides in late May. That combination - railroad town, former coal center, and a spring festival plus late-summer fair - still gives Pana its own shape.