Le Roy

History

LeRoy was laid out on 28 November 1835 by Asahel Gridley (26 April 1810 – 25 January 1881) and Merritt L. Covell (30 January 1808 – 17 September 1847). The founders were Bloomington businessmen. They had served together in the Black Hawk War, Covell as a captain and Gridley as a lieutenant. Because of their brief service both men were popularly called "General". Both would later serve in the Illinois General Assembly, and Gridley would eventually become McLean County's first millionaire. LeRoy was the first of eight towns to be laid out within the present boundaries of McLean County during the great Illinois town-founding boom which peaked in the summer of 1836. LeRoy was located on a low mound, on prairie land, where the Bloomington to Danville state road crossed the road from Shelbyville to Chicago. The chief problem confronting Gridley and Covell was a place called Munroe, which consisted of a single store run by John W. Baddeley (24 June 1794 – 19 February 1871). It was located a mile and a half southwest of the new town. Although generally said to have been laid out in 1834 or 1836, no plat of the town has yet been found. Baddeley had been born in Whitchurch, Shropshire, England, and had come to the United States with his family in 1832. He had quickly entered a thousand acres (4 km) of land in Empire Township and seemed on his way to becoming a wealthy and important man. Baddeley was offered twenty-seven prime lots in LeRoy if he would move his store to the newly established town. Baddeley agreed. He lost most of his fortune in 1837 but continued to do business in LeRoy for many years. Like most Central Illinois towns of the 1830s LeRoy was built around a central "Public Circle". The circle at LeRoy featured streets which joined the public area midway…

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Le Roy has a total area of , of which (or 99.32%) is land and (or 0.68%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,953
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,882
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  2,760
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,309
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,289
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,041
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,004
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,918

Largest nearby schools

• Benjamin Elem School
  Elementary · Bloomington · 613 students · 18:1 ratio
• Tri-Valley Middle School
  Middle · Downs · 463 students · 14:1 ratio
• LeRoy Elementary School
  Elementary · Le Roy · 435 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• Tri-Valley Elem School
  Elementary · Downs · 323 students · 12.9:1 ratio
• Tri-Valley High School
  High · Downs · 309 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• LeRoy High School
  High · Le Roy · 217 students · 9.9:1 ratio
• LeRoy Junior High School
  Middle · Le Roy · 126 students · 15.8:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2025-03-15
  6 km W of Dwight, Illinois