County of town: McDonough County
Location of town: Slightly SW of center in county; crossroads of US-136 & IL-136
County is West-Central in state, almost on the Mississippi River
Elevation: 669 feet (204 m)
Population: 1,324 (2016)
"A short time previous to the completion of the Northern Cross now Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad Lewis H. Little, the owner of the northeast quarter of section 13, then Tennessee
township, determined upon that point for a location of a new town, and for that purpose the tract was surveyed by a gentleman by the name of Chester, then an employe [sic] of the railroad company. In
honor of the surveyor, the new place was christened Chester, but on learning of the numerous towns in the country by that name, he prefixed the term "Col," making it Colchester. That term might
very properly be implied to be an abbreviation of the word "coal," then beginning to be an important product of this locality. Mr. Little made no public sale of lots, but placing them upon the market, they were disposed of rapidly and the new town was soon under full headway. D. W. Campbell, still a resident of the
place, bought the first two lots and erected the first building.
"Since the laying out of the original town in 1855, there have been six additions made to it; the first by Charles E. Gilchrist, the second by Martin Canote, the third by the Quincy Coal Company,
two by James Roberts, and one by D. C. Reece. Charles Gilchrist made the first and only public sale of lots. At private sale the first lots sold from $20 to each, and all soon passed out of the
hands of the original proprietor. On the completion of the railroad the town grew very rapidly for about two years, when
no further apparent growth was made until the time of the war, when immigration again was attracted to the place. As may be inferred, the class of citizens by which the town was settled was principally miners, hard working, intelligent men and women.
"In the month of April, 1857, a public meeting was held for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of organizing the town under a special charter. The question was discussed
pro and con, and it was determined to submit the matter to a vote of the people. In May the vote was taken, 58 voting for and two against incorporation. So the town was incorporated, and a
board of trustees, consisting of five members, was duly elected. The following are the names of the members of the first board: John Patrick, Thomas W. Hunt, John E. Jackson, William Cowan
and W. L. Whitson.
"Colchester, like all other towns, has had its seasons of prosperity and seasons of adversity, Its most rapid growth was
in the years 1856 and 1857, just after the completion of the railroad. From that time until the years 1863 and 1864 but little was done; then the town began to improve again, but soon fell back to a state of apathy, which continued until late years, when it began to take a new life. We now find it rapidly improving; new houses of the most substantial character have been erected and the town now contains a larger number of inhabitants than ever before." ~ history of McDonough County, page 598