Shirley is an unincorporated community located in southwestern McLean County, Illinois, United States, just off Interstate 55. It was founded in 1854 and currently has a population of 378. Shirley is home to the Funk Prairie Home & Rock Museum.

Shirley
Unincorporated community
Shirley Location of Shirley within Illinois
Coordinates: 40°24′26″N 89°3′45″W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	McLean
Founded	1854
Elevation	764 ft (233 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	378
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Postal code	61772
Area code(s)	309
[1]

History

The town of Shirley was laid out on 14 September 1866 by John M Foster (12 November 1806 – 11 May 1898).[2] Foster was a native of Charleston County, New Hampshire. Before the village was established there was a switch at the location and a few lots had been platted. Foster built a brick house and store south of the railroad.[3] The original town consisted of ten small blocks, mostly on the north side of the St. Louis Chicago and Alton Railroad. In 1874, Foster’s home and a store and the station were on the south side of the tracks and a warehouse and mill were on the north side.[4] In 1895 there was a Methodist church, a Christian church, and a hotel north of the tracks; at that time were about twenty houses scattered on both sides of the railroad.[5]

References

External links

• Shirley, United States Page
• 61772 Zip Code Detailed Profile
• Funk Prairie Home & Rock Museum
• Shirley ‘cut’ split little town in two back in 1909 - Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois newspaper)