Delavan township, originally had portions of Boyton and Malone attached. During a western trip, made by Mr. Jonas R. Gale, as a guest of Mr. Wright, of Dillon, in 1836, he was much impressed with the beautiful prairie land, and  meeting Mr. Edward C. Delavan, at Tremont, proposed to Mr. D. that a colony be organized at Providence, R.I. Mr. Delavan acquiesced, and an organization, with a capital of over $30,000, was formed and 22,000 acres of the land which surrounds the present city of Delavan, was entered. Under date of Sept. 19, 1936, the company became a reality, with the following list of stockholders; John Jenks, James Brown, Henry R. and David C. Green, Samuel B. Harris, Munson Allen, V.N. Edwards, Samuel B., Daniel C. and Benj. F. Cushing, Wm. C. Cooke, Jonas R. Gale and D.C. Jenks. The land was laid off in 160-acre farms, with a town lot 300 feet square to go with each farm, as a winter home-site. The farms were sold at auction, at Providence, R.I., the highest bids not exceeding $1000, Henry R. Green, Deacon L. Allen and S.B. Harris, were the locating committee and Henry R. Green, the financial agent. In 1837, the Delavan house was built, mostly from materials shipped from the East. W.W. Crossman, who had charged of the construction, with his family, came with carpenters. Mrs. Crossman used to relate “that it was the first dreary and lonesome for she did not see a white woman for months”. In 1840, when Hon. Ira B. Hall became landlord of the Delavan House, it became one of the noted hostelries between Peoria, Pekin and Springfield.

The village of Delavan was laid off by Henry R. Green, February 1, 1841; then in 1888, incorporated as a city.

One of the humorous features connected with sale of Delavan Colony’s land, was a map which exhibited a steamboat lying at the wharf (at the mill site) Locust street. Who has one?