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Watertown

Ghost town · Richland County, Illinois

Olney quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1949, 1:62,500)
Olney quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1949, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Watertown is a ghost town in Richland County, Illinois. It is one of 4 former communities in Richland County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 17th among the 78 Illinois counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Watertown as a historical populated place on the Olney 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 38.7217° N, 88.1200° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleOlney
Elevation439 ft
Nearest living townOlney, IL
Distance to it2 miles
GNIS feature ID1820915
Coordinates38.72171, -88.12004

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Watertown is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Olney, IL (population 8,864), about 2 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 439 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Watertown?

Watertown is in Richland County, Illinois, at 38.7217, -88.1200.

How many ghost towns are in Richland County?

Richland County, Illinois has 4 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.