Caledonia

A thriving farming community of about 300 people around 1830 in Putnam County, today, all that remains is a corn crib.

Located on the Ox Bow Prairie about three to four miles west of Magnolia, Illinois, it was created as protection for the settlers during the Black Hawk War. The first settler was Lyman Horrum. Plats were laid out by Jervis Gaylord, Asahel Hannum, and Obed Graves. The first school was built in 1832. At it's peak, there was a blacksmith shop, stores, and a post office. The post office had the name Ox Bow, because there was already a post office for another Caledonia (Pulaski County). The town had two churches, Predestination Baptist and Methodist. The town was not the site of any industries and faded away.