“Lacon, a riverside community with a population of less than 2000, is situated on the east bank of the Illinois River, nestled in one of the scallops that distinguish the shoreline from Hennepin to Peoria. It is the oldest town in Putnam, Marshall, Bureau or Stark Counties. When first laid out in 1831, the area was populated with American Indian tribes. One hundred and thirty (130) lots were laid out in the community first known as Strawn’s Landing; then for a short time as Columbia, presumably after “Columbia the Gem of the Ocean” which was so movingly sung by the circuit riding ministers, before it was finally named Lacon.”