Shanghai City is an unincorporated community in Warren County, Illinois, United States. Shanghai City is 3 miles east-southeast of Alexis. The community was originally named Ionia. Its present name comes from the Shanghai rooster, an aggressive rooster once commonly used in cockfighting.
In the mid-1800s, about six miles northwest of Galesburg, an up-and-coming burg called Ionia bustled with vitality. By 1850, it hosted a wagon shop, general store, mill, hotel, four taverns and two churches.
When rail lines pushed through the area, Ionia was skipped over in favor of nearby Alexis. That was bad news for Ionia, as railroads often meant life or death to rural towns.
But Ionia found a second wind, through gambling. Farmers set up a crude horse-racing track, as much to entertain themselves as to draw money into town. Betting wasn’t always on the up and up, as jockeys sometimes threw races. One time, irate bettors tied a rider to a post, leaving him at the mercy of the elements and fate. Another time, wagerers from two towns accused one another of fixing a race, the argument sparking gunplay.
Yet as much as gamblers liked horses, they loved roosters. Cockfighting was known as the biggest game in town, and the biggest rooster was known as Shanghai. Coming from far and wide, visitors often would leave town with a whooping, "I'm going to see Shanghai!". The name stuck. By the 1860s, the community became known as Shanghai City.
At its peak in the 1850s, Shanghai City had roughly 250 residents and several businesses, including a wagon factory. Its population steadily declined in the twentieth century, and after a 1968 tornado it was reduced to six homes and a school building.
The only commercial building remaining from the original town is a bar called Jiggs Cardinal Inn. It was moved to nearby Alexis, IL after an earlier tornado in 1868 had done significant damage to the town. It was moved by log rollers, horses and thirsty patrons to its present location.
The Origin of Shanghai
The Brahma is an American breed of chicken. It was developed in the United States from birds imported from the Chinese port of Shanghai and was the principal American meat breed from 1850 until about 1930. Some birds were very large: weights of about 8kg (18 lb) for cocks and 6 kg (13 lb) for hens were recorded. The Brahama breed was developed in the United States from large birds, with heavily feathered legs, imported in he 1840’s from the port of Shanghai and are thus known as “Shanghai” birds.
Thought you might like a little local forgotten history.
(Credits to Peoria Magazine and Wikipedia for source information)