Virginia, IL

Virginia is the Cass County seat in west-central Illinois, set at the crossroads of Routes 125 and 78 about forty minutes from Springfield. The city grew from its position near the center of the county, and the courthouse still gives the downtown a working civic focus. Good water, the surrounding prairie and farm country, and roads that reach Beardstown, Jacksonville, and Springfield have kept Virginia connected to the wider county map.

Virginia Community Unit School District 64 runs the city's K-12 school campus, while City Hall and the courthouse handle the ordinary government calendar. Jennie Marr Dunaway Memorial Park adds a pool, ball diamonds, tennis courts, a walking path, and a pavilion, and annual events such as the Virginia BBQ, ice cream social, and Log Cabin Days give the city a few dates that belong to everyone. Virginia has the feel of a county seat that still knows its local schedule: courthouse work, school days, park afternoons, and town traditions on the same few roads.