Wayfarrow

Ragtown

Ghost town · McDonough County, Illinois

Colchester quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1913, 1:62,500)
Colchester quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1913, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Ragtown is a ghost town in McDonough County, Illinois. It is one of 6 former communities in McDonough County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 6th among the 78 Illinois counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Ragtown as a historical populated place on the Colchester topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 40.4492° N, 90.8101° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleColchester
Elevation702 ft
Nearest living townColchester, IL
Distance to it1.9 miles
GNIS feature ID1824455
Coordinates40.44921, -90.81013

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Ragtown is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Colchester, IL (population 1,057), about 1.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 702 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Ragtown?

Ragtown is in McDonough County, Illinois, at 40.4492, -90.8101.

How many ghost towns are in McDonough County?

McDonough County, Illinois has 6 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.