Havana

History

Havana was a major ancient American settlement two thousand years ago, when the largest verified mound of the Western Hopewell Culture, Rockwell Mound, was built. Local landmarks were mentioned in the journals of French explorers in the late 1600s. A religious medal dating from the early 1700s suggests that there was missionary activity in what is now Havana. When permanent English-speaking residents arrived in 1822, there was a Potawatomi village on the site. A ferry was established to the western bank of the Illinois River to a road that followed the Spoon River. There were War of 1812 bounty lands in western Illinois. Abraham Lincoln was a frequent visitor to Havana between his days as a soldier in the Black Hawk Wars until at least his three-hour speech on the Rockwell Mound while he was running for the US Senate in 1858. Stephen Douglas had spoken there the day before. When he was younger, Lincoln rode a mail route from New Salem to Havana. Later, he was a local surveyor, and then an itinerant attorney. Mason County was the only place where Lincoln owned farmland. The Havana Public Library, a Carnegie library on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in the town in 1902. The Mason County Courthouse was constructed in Havana in 1883. The English-speaking settlement was originally called "Ross's Ferry" and was later named after Havana, the capital of Cuba. The name was reportedly chosen due to the shape of an island at the mouth of the Spoon River resembling the shape of the island of Cuba. Havana was notorious as a gambling river town, and it is reported that names such as Al Capone would hunt, fish, and gamble in the local clubs.

Geography

Havana is located in western Mason County on the Illinois River. U.S. Route 136 passes through the city as Dearborn Street, South Promenade Street, and East Laurel Street, leading east to San Jose and west to Macomb. US 136 crosses the Illinois River on the Scott Wike Lucas Bridge. Illinois Routes 78 and 97 join US 136 passing through Havana and crossing the Illinois River. IL 78 leads south-southwest (downriver) to Bath and north to Canton, while IL 97 leads south-southeast to Kilbourne and northwest to Lewistown. Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge is northeast of Havana, and Sand Ridge State Forest in 9 miles (14km) to the northeast, both along the Illinois River. The Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge is directly across the river from the town. The Havana Regional Airport is roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Havana. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Havana has a total area of , of which are land and , or 5.61%, are water. }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,117
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,038
• Killdeer

  Charadrius vociferus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,768
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,583
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,348
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,257
• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  2,217
• American White Pelican

  Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  2,197