Illinois Colony, Iowa Colony, and Ohio Colony were “neighborhood” settlements northwest of Palacios.
They were named, obviously, for the persons who settled in their immediate areas, most of them coming south during the migrations from 1900 to 1920.
These settlements were never formalized and could not be found on maps; however, anyone at that period of time could give directions to them.
Items concerning the little communities could be found in the Palacios Beacon, giving news of births, deaths, illnesses, travels, social events, weather, school events, church services, and the like.
At one time there was a school at the Illinois Colony and at the Ohio Colony.
The schools were the typical one-room, country-type of that period and were used for church services, Sunday School, box suppers, ladies’ literary and social events, parties and dances.
Most residents owned work horses and occasionally used them to ride into town; however, Sunday was the only day off for the horses as well as the people, therefore the worshippers seldom rode their horses to church.
Consequently, a church within walking distance was needed, so they used the schoolhouse.
They used any preacher they could get to come and conduct the services.
Eva Aiken and Mrs. Herman Hood were two of the teachers at Ohio Colony School.
Ruby and Winfred Johnson went to school there.
The Welsch family, the Marcaurelle family, and the Fox and Morton families lived in the area.
There were two Fox families - “Red Fox” and “Black Fox,” named for the red hair of one Mr. Fox and the dark hair of the other, who was supposedly part Indian.
This school building was moved to Pheasant in the early 1920s and became the school there.
The Illinois School was moved later, about 1938, to a 620-acre tract of land belonging to the Harrison family.
As school children began to travel to class by bus, these neighborhoods were swallowed up in the pasture land and forgotten.
