Appleton, Illinois

{{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{More citations needed|date=June 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Appleton, Illinois | native_name = | other_name = | settlement_type = Unincorporated community  | image_skyline = | image_caption = | image_flag = | image_shield = | motto = | nickname = | etymology =  | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = United States | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = Illinois | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = Knox | subdivision_type3 = Township | subdivision_name3 = Persifer  | image_map = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Illinois#USA | pushpin_label = Appleton | pushpin_label_position = top | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|40.936|N|90.161|W|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_footnotes =  | established_title = Founded | established_date =  | area_footnotes = | dunam_link = | area_total_km2 = | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_sq_mi =  | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft =  | population_as_of = 2000 | population_footnotes = | population_total = | population_density_km2 = auto | population_density_sq_mi = | population_demonym =  | timezone1 = CST | utc_offset1 = -6 | timezone1_DST = CDT | utc_offset1_DST = -5 | timezone2 = | utc_offset2 = | timezone2_DST = | utc_offset2_DST =  | postal_code_type = ZIP code | postal_code = 61428 | area_code_type = | area_code = 309 | geocode = | iso_code =  | website = | footnotes = }} '''Appleton''' is a ghost town in Persifer Township, Knox County, Illinois, United States. Appleton lies approximately one mile north of U.S. Highway 150 and Interstate 74. Knox County Highway 12 runs from north to south through Appleton and the tracks of the BNSF Railway run east to west. Court Creek also flows through Appleton before its confluence with the Spoon River in Dahinda.

==History== Appleton was laid out by J. H. Lewis in the spring of 1888, on the S.E. 1-4 of Section 16. It is situated on the north side of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and is a station on that road. In the early years of the time, Appleton became known for grain and stock exporting.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perry |first=Albert James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GhMVAAAAYAAJ&dq=Appleton,+Illinois+grain+elevator&pg=PA438 |title=History of Knox County, Illinois: Its Cities, Towns and People |date=1912 |publisher=S.J. Clarke Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-608-35866-6 |language=en}}</ref>

The site of the original town today is empty except for several streets that served the town. Appleton formerly had a post office, as well as many homes and businesses but was prone to flooding. The size of the town shrank during much of the 20th century, and the final homes located in the original town were relocated to higher ground after the Great Flood of 1993.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

A volunteer fire department serves the Appleton area.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Southern Illinois University Department of Geology |last2=The Polis Center |date=2011-03-07 |title=Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan — Knox County |url=https://iemaohs.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/iemaohs/recovery/documents/countyplans/plan-knoxcounty.pdf |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security |page=165 |format=PDF}}</ref>

== References == <references />{{Knox County, Illinois}}

Category:Ghost towns in Illinois Category:Geography of Knox County, Illinois Category:Populated places in the United States established in 1888 {{KnoxCountyIL-geo-stub}}