Bellflower | |
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Village | |
Location of Bellflower in McLean County, Illinois. |
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Location of Illinois in the United States |
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Coordinates: 40°20′26″N 88°31′36″W / 40.34056°N 88.52667°WCoordinates: 40°20′26″N 88°31′36″W / 40.34056°N 88.52667°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Illinois |
County | McLean |
Township | Bellflower |
Area | |
• Total | 0.37 sq mi (0.95 km2) |
• Land | 0.37 sq mi (0.95 km2) |
• Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
Elevation | 784 ft (239 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 357 |
• Estimate (2016) | 346 |
• Density | 942.78/sq mi (364.30/km2) |
Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
ZIP Code(s) | 61724 |
Area code(s) | 309 |
FIPS code | 17-04897 |
Bellflower, Illinois |
Bellflower is a village in McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 357 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Bellflower is located at 40°20′26″N 88°31′36″W / 40.34056°N 88.52667°W (40.340504, -88.526741).
According to the 2010 census, Bellflower has a total area of 0.37 square miles (0.96 km2), all land.
The Town was named for the Bellflower Apple. Students from Bellflower attend the Blue Ridge School District.
Bellflower was laid out on 26 August 1871 by George Nelson Black (15 March 1833 – 22 April 1908) and his wife Louisa J. Black (22 December 1840 – 23 December 1909). George was born in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and had come to Springfield, Illinois in 1850 where he became wealthy through manufacturing, mining, and railroads. Bellflower Township had subscribed $30,000 in twenty-year bonds toward the construction of what was then called the Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad. A condition of the funding was that the township would have a station on the railroad. Black purchased 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land, laid 40 acres (160,000 m2) out into town lots and then transferred the title to the Railroad. When the railroad became property of the Illinois Central Railroad, town lots in Bellflower were not transferred to that railroad. The name of the town came from the name of the township and was selected by Jesse Richards, who was particularly fond of the Bellflower apple. It is perhaps the only town in Illinois named for an apple. In the 1870s it was often spelled Belle Flower or Belle-Flower.