What is the history of Colchester, Illinois?
Coal was discovered near Colchester in the 1850’s. One might assume that the town was named “Colchester” because of the coal. The town was, however, named after Colchester, England, before coal was discovered. Moreover, the “col” in “Colchester” is not a reference to “coal”. The mines in Colchester attracted immigrants from Pennsylvania. At first these included the descendants of Irish Protestant refugees from the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Later they were joined by Irish Catholic refugees from the Irish Potato Famine. Source: http://en.wikipedia.
