The village of Benjaminville, Illinois, was founded in
Quaker farmers, who, like many others who came to Illinois, were looking to take advantage of the rich prairie soil. The town's settlement centered on the Society of Friends and the meeting house that was first constructed there in 1859. The town was rendered a ghost town after 1870 when the expected Lake Erie Railroad did not come into town. Today the unincorporated community of Bentown, Illinois
, exists near the site of the former town of Benjaminville.
Benjaminville Friends Meeting House is the only remaining building in the ghost town
of Benjaminville
Benjaminville was founded in 1856 when three Quaker families, those of Joseph Marot, Isaac Clement and Timothy Benjamin, arrived in the area.
Benjaminville Friends Meeting House was erected, the only structure still extant from the town of Benjaminville. Settlement continued through the 1870s and Benjaminville became a social, political and religious hub for Friends from Illinois.[2] An 1879 history of McLean County called Benjaminville "one of the strongest settlements of Friends that is to be found anywhere in the state."[2]
The members of the Society of Friends Benjaminville meeting often took political stances on issues of the day. Among these were, peace, Indian affairs,
lotteries and gambling. Throughout the 19th century Benjaminville was home to a distinct local community of considerable political importance.[2] Benjaminville never grew large though it did contain at least two churches besides the meeting house and a few shops. By 1870 the town's fate was sealed when the Lake Erie Railroad opted to bypass the town because of the elevation of its terrain.[2][4] The local churches eventually moved closer to the new railroad and the town's businesses shut down. In 1981 the only other remaining structure, an old wagon shop, was destroyed by fire, leaving the meeting house as the last remnant of the town.[2]
