Beaverville (formerly St. Marie) is a village in Beaverville Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. The population was 306 at the 2020 census.
History
In 1851, 32 families from the area of Montreal, Canada, mostly newlywed or single, came up the St. Lawrence River in search of farmland on the prairie. They traveled across the Great Lakes and stopped at Fort Dearborn (Chicago). Then they pushed south through the swamps and frontier until they reached the area that is now Beaverville. The settlement, named "St. Marie," was led by Francis Besse, who became a general merchant. The group consisted of families with names such as Fortin, Dionne, Boudreau, Benoit, Nourie, Lafond, Lemna, and at least six Arseneau families. They settled here because of the good land and the many creeks.
In 1905, the village name was changed to "Beaverville", when the village founders realized that there was another town in Illinois named St. Mary. The new name was inspired by the profusion of beavers in the area in the early 19th century, when Beaver Lake right across the border in Indiana still existed.
Geography
Beaverville is located in northeastern Iroquois County. It is northeast of Watseka, the county seat; southeast of Kankakee; and west of the Indiana border.
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Beaverville has a total area of , of which (or 99.28%) is land and (or 0.72%) is water.\
The Cathedral of the Cornfields
left|thumb|250px|St. Mary's Church in Beaverville
Beaverville is home to St. Mary's Catholic Church, known as the "Prairie Cathedral" or the "Cathedral of the Cornfields". Built in 1909, the structure is recorded in the National Register of Historic Places and is large enough that its red, clay tile roof can be seen from several miles away.
Demographics
As of the 2020 census