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James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

Farmer City

Illinois

Basic Information

Type of Place
Independent City or Town
Metro Area
Politics c. 1860?
Unions, Organized Labor?

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?
Surely
Was there an ordinance?
Perhaps, Some Oral Evidence
Sign?
Perhaps, Some Oral Evidence
Year of Greatest Interest
1920
Still Sundown?
Probably Not, Although Still Very Few Black People

Census Information

The available census data from 1860 to the present
Total White Black Asian Native Hispanic Other BHshld
1860
1870 537 0
1880 1298 0
1890
1900 1664 1
1910 1603 15
1920 1678 1
1930 1621 3
1940 1833 0
1950 1752 1
1960
1970
1980 2252 0
1990
2000 2055 0 0 8
2010 2037 8 3
2020

Method of Exclusion

  • Reputation

Main Ethnic Group(s)

Group(s) Excluded

  • Black

Comments

A longtime Farmer City resident stated, “There was an ordinance in Farmer City that said no black people after dark. That was years and years ago…early 1900s.”

Another longtime resident said, “I just heard stories. I don’t know of anyone particularly who experienced it…anyone that came into Farmer City had to leave by sundown.” I asked if she was referring to black people, and she said yes.

A sign outside of Schmidt’s Welding and Machine Shop in Farmer City read “Congrats Michael Brown One Year With No Criminal Behavior” on the anniversary of his death.

A Farmer City resident stated that she believed the city had been sundown. As of 2000, there were no African Americans in the city.

One person whose family lived in Farmer City confirmed that it was still a sundown town in 2010 via email.