Beaverville, Illinois
human settlement in Iroquois County, Illinois, United States of America
Beaverville (formerly St. Marie) is a village in Beaverville Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. The population was 306 at the 2020 census.
History
In 1851, 32 families from the area of Montreal, Canada, mostly newlywed or single, came up the St. Lawrence River in search of farmland on the prairie. They traveled across the Great Lakes and stopped at Fort Dearborn (Chicago). Then they pushed south through the swamps and frontier until they reached the area that is now Beaverville. The settlement, named "St. Marie," was led by Francis Besse, who became a general merchant. The group consisted of families with names such as Fortin, Dionne, Boudreau, Benoit, Nourie, Lafond, Lemna, and at least six Arseneau families.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Beaverville, Illinois” is human settlement in Iroquois County, Illinois, United States of America. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Beaverville, Illinois and human, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “human settlement in Iroquois County, Illinois, United States of America” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2671674. Authority coordinates are 40.954, -87.654. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020 and 1851.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Beaverville, Illinois”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Beaverville, Illinois primary sources, Beaverville, Illinois archive and Beaverville research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Beaverville, Illinois”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Beaverville, Illinois” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.