Champaign, Illinois: The Station That Voted on Its Name
Champaign, Illinois, got its name at a mass meeting: in February 1860, a vote of 36 to 21 ended the name West Urbana for the railroad town. The new name was the county’s, and the county had borrowed it from Ohio.
West Urbana, the town by the depot
The county seat, Urbana, was already there when the Illinois Central came through, but the tracks ran to the west of it. J. R. Stewart’s 1918 history of the county says the first train from Chicago, 128 miles (206 km) away, rolled into West Urbana in July 1854, and the depot was ready for passengers. The railroad itself platted the blocks that became Champaign’s main business district.
The place grew fast. A state census in August 1855 counted 416 people, and on April 27, 1857, residents voted to make it a village, still under the name West Urbana. If you picture a station named after the town next door, you’ve got the idea.
A vote in the Little Brick
The name changed at a “rousing mass meeting” in the Little Brick, the first public schoolhouse, in February 1860. Stewart tells it this way: Dr. J. W. Scroggs moved that “the old name of the Illinois Central station, West Urbana, be retained,” and Dr. J. P. Gauch countered with an amendment to change it to Champaign. Gauch’s amendment “was adopted by a vote of 36 to 21.” That April the city organized under its new name, and the post office and the railroad station switched over too.
Ackerman’s pamphlet for the Illinois Central gives a shorter version. It says West Urbana kept that name “until the county was divided, when it took the name of the county, Champaign.” Stewart’s account of the 1860 meeting is the more detailed one, and it doesn’t mention any division of the county.
From Ohio to the prairie
Both towns carry Ohio names. Stewart says the legislature created Champaign County on February 20, 1833, and made Urbana its seat. Ackerman says Urbana was settled by people from Urbana, in Champaign County, Ohio, “who named the new settlement after their old home.” Henry Gannett, writing for the Geological Survey in 1905, says the Illinois county and city were “named from the county in Ohio,” and that the Ohio county was “so named from the general character of the country.” So when you cross from Champaign into Urbana, you’re crossing between two names that both trace back to Ohio.
Quick answers
What was Champaign, Illinois, called before?
West Urbana. That was the name of the Illinois Central station and, from 1857, of the village, according to Stewart’s 1918 county history.
How did Champaign get its name?
By vote. At a meeting in February 1860, Dr. J. P. Gauch’s amendment to adopt the name Champaign passed 36 to 21 over a motion to keep West Urbana.
Where does the name Champaign come from?
From Champaign County, which Gannett (1905) says was named for Champaign County, Ohio.
Key dates
- 1833February 20: the legislature creates Champaign County and names its seat Urbana.
- 1854July: the first Illinois Central train from Chicago reaches the new station, West Urbana.
- 1857April 27: residents vote to organize a village under the name West Urbana.
- 1860February: a meeting in the Little Brick schoolhouse votes 36 to 21 for the name Champaign. In April the city is organized under that name.
Getting there
Open Champaign in Google Maps
Opens in a new tab. The pin is the center of Champaign in the USGS place-name record.
The closest airports, Amtrak stations and intercity bus stops, measured in a straight line from the center of Champaign.
Airports
- University of Illinois/Willard (CMI) Savoy 6 mi 9 km
- Decatur (DEC) 38 mi 62 km
- Indianapolis International (IND) 107 mi 172 km
Amtrak trains
- Champaign-Urbana station (CHM) under 1 mi 0.2 km
- Rantoul station (RTL) 14 mi 23 km
Intercity buses
- FlixBus Champaign Intermodal Trans Ctr under 1 mi 0.2 km
- Jefferson Lines Champaign under 1 mi 0.2 km
- Greyhound Danville Mass Transit 32 mi 52 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not by road. We don't list schedules or fares because they change; check with the airline, Amtrak or the bus company before you go. Official data (FAA commercial service airports (2025), FAA airport locations, Amtrak stations and Intercity Bus Atlas) from the FAA and the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, checked Nov 6, 2026.
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Historical Sources & References
- J. R. Stewart, ed., A Standard History of Champaign County, Illinois, vol. 1 (1918). The act of February 20, 1833 (pp. 137-139); the first train from Chicago in July 1854 and the railroad’s plat (pp. 343-344); the 1855 census, the 1857 village vote and the meeting of February 1860, 36 to 21 (pp. 369-370).
- William K. Ackerman, Origin of the Names of Stations on the Line of the Illinois Central Railroad Co., p. 23. Urbana named by settlers from Urbana, Ohio; West Urbana renamed for the county.
- Henry Gannett, The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States (1905), p. 75. The county and city “named from the county in Ohio.”
- GNIS feature 405936 (U.S. Geological Survey). The national place-name entry and map location for Champaign, in Champaign County.
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