This town lies on the southern border of the county, twelve
miles from Lacon, being in Woodford county, with the exception
of two additions made by the original proprietor March 7th,
1856, and July 22d, 1857. It is in the Half Moon Prairie - an
old-settled region, where Rob't Barnes, Esq., was the first to
drive the stakes of civilization. He came in 1830, and was soon
followed by others. The settlement, however, had not so
increased as to make the founding of a town advisable, until the
fall of 1853, when twenty acres were laid off into lots by Hiram
Echols, with a reservation of half an acre for religious
purposes, on which a Baptist church was built in 1854. The place
was at first named Uniontown; afterwards Mantua, by act of the
Legislature during the session of 1856-7; and at the subsequent
session the name was changed to Washburn, to correspond with
that of a post-office removed thither from a neighboring
farm-house.
The first house on the site was a small log cabin, owned by T.
W. Smith, put up there shortly after the town was laid off. A
number of buildings, including the church, were erected in 1854
; a commodious edifice for a graded school was built in 1857 ;
and there has been some increase during every year. At present
the town contains about two hundred inhabitants, and has two
stores, one drug-store, several shops, and other branches of
business.
Transcribed 04 Feb 2012 from History of Putnam and Marshall Counties, by Henry Allen Ford, 1860
| Bureau | Putnam | |
| Stark |
 |
La Salle |
| Peoria | Woodford |
