Does anyone know where I can find some solid evidence about the origins of the titles picked up by Mt. Vernon, Il. and Centralia, Il.
I’ve contacted historians in the area and have been told that the magazine Headlight, published by a car shop company around 1890’s, had something to do with these two towns being called The King City (Mt. Vernon) and The Queen City (Centralia), of Southern Illinois. The car shops were the biggest employers in the area, at that time.
Some in the King City want to credit J V Baugh, an editor of the old Mount Vernon News, with starting this in an article written in 1904, but, in it, he refers to the tagging as past tense, and makes no mention of The Queen City.
If someone here knows the story or any info, please post. I’m about Googled out. TYIA
I think the magazine you are looking for is Headlights ( plural) that is (not surprisingly) defunct. Here is a link to a library which has it in it’s archives. Hopes this helps on your quest.