{{About||the river in New Zealand|Spoon River (New Zealand)}} {{Hatnote|Not to be confused with a tributary of the Salt Fork Vermilion River with the same name.}} {{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox river | name = Spoon River | native_name = | native_name_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = <!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP --> | image = Spoon River.jpg | image_caption = The Spoon River at the community of Seville in Fulton County | map = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= <!---------------------- LOCATION --> | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = United States | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Illinois | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = <!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS --> | length_mi = 147 | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location=Seville, Illinois | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = 1,277 cu/ft. per sec.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://waterdata.usgs.gov/il/nwis/uv/?site_no=05570000&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060|title = USGS Current Conditions for USGS 05570000 SPOON RIVER AT SEVILLE, IL}}</ref> | discharge1_max = <!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES --> | source1 = | source1_location = North of Modena, Stark County | source1_coordinates= {{coord|41|8|45|N|89|46|10|W|display=inline}} | source1_elevation = {{convert|661|ft|abbr=on}} | mouth = Illinois River | mouth_location = Near Havana, Fulton County | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|40|18|25|N|90|4|14|W|display=inline,title}} | mouth_elevation = {{convert|442|ft|abbr=on}} | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = }}
thumb|300px|Map showing the Spoon River watershed The '''Spoon River''' is a {{convert|147|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}}<ref name=NHD>U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ The National Map], accessed May 13, 2011</ref> tributary of the Illinois River in west-central Illinois in the United States. The river drains largely agricultural prairie country between Peoria and Galesburg. The river is noted for giving its name to the fictional Illinois town in the 1915 poetry work ''Spoon River Anthology'' by Edgar Lee Masters, who was from Lewistown, which is near the river.
The river rises in two short forks, the West Fork near Kewanee in southern Henry County, and the East Fork in Neponset Township in southwest Bureau County. The East and West forks join in northern Stark County, approximately {{convert|10|mi}} southeast of Kewanee, and the combined stream meanders south and southwest through rural Stark, Knox and Fulton counties. The lower portion of the river passes through a scenic region of hills in Fulton County, and passes approximately {{convert|5|mi|0}} southwest of Lewistown. The river joins the Illinois from the west opposite Havana, approximately {{convert|40|mi}} downstream and southwest of Peoria.
The Rock Island Trail passes over the Spoon River {{convert|1.75|mi}} northwest of Wyoming, Illinois.
In 1857 Captain Charles H. Robinson collected a fiddle tune he heard at a country dance at Bradford, Illinois. He sent the tune to Edgar Lee Masters who passed it on to the Australian−American composer Percy Grainger. Grainger used it as the basis for his composition ″Spoon River″ written over the years 1919−1929. Several editions for concert band have been published.<ref>Spoon River, an American Folk Dance by Percy Aldridge Grainger, arranged by Glenn Cliffe Bainum (1967). [concert band music] New York: G. Schirmer, Incorporated.</ref>
==See also== * List of Illinois rivers * ''Spoon River Anthology''
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.historicillinois.com/databaseitems/36-landmarks/peoria-landmarks/132-spoon-river Historic Illinois: Spoon River] *{{cite gnis |id=424197 |name=Spoon River}}
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Category:Tributaries of the Illinois River Category:Rivers of Illinois Category:Rivers of Bureau County, Illinois Category:Rivers of Fulton County, Illinois Category:Rivers of Knox County, Illinois Category:Rivers of Stark County, Illinois