Page "Rankin, Illinois" Paragraph 1

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.