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RANKIN ILLINOIS   Rankin is a small town in the midst of a farming community. Located in Vermilion county about 100 miles south of Chicago Illinois. Population of approximately 600 people. This town was named after W. A. Rankin, a wealthy landowner in the area. In 1872, a dispute between him and W. H. Pells (who was on the board of directors of the Lake Erie and Western Railroad) over the location of a railroad station. Ultimately, over the course of several years, Rankin won out over Pellsville, which was located a mile and a half to the west. There were railroad maintenance shops in Rankin until 1932 when they were moved to Frankfort, Indiana, and some of the residents of Rankin followed. In 1972 the town celebrated its centennial, and a small commemorative volume was issued with brief articles on many of the town's families. (Source: Wikipedia) THE VETERANS MEMORIAL Located on the Main street in Rankin, it was built in 1996. Local people joined together and put in motion to build this memorial. Due credit goes to RTHS graduate Margaret "Maggie" Olson Diskin, who spearheaded this project. Names of more than 700 men and women from the Rankin area who served our nation in war and peace are embedded on this monument. Veterans names are from the following wars: Civil War, Spanish American War, WW I, WW II, Korean War, Lebanon Conflict, Vietnam War, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Other Veterans names are ones who served during the times of peace. THE WEB SITE My thanks to the Village of Rankin Board Members, for permission to feature this web site. I would like to dedicate this web site to the men and women from the Rankin area who proudly served our nation in war and peace. I want to thank the following people for the information and photos used to make this site. Lynn Magers- Village Board Member. Ruby Bushue- history and names list. Julie Keller Hagen- photographing the Memorial, Web site created and maintained by Harold Keller, rural Rankin resident 1935- 1946. |