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Welcome to the Village of Hebron, Illinois Website
The first settler in Hebron Township was E. Brigham having arrived in the area in 1836. Mr. Brigham was a native of Vermont as was Josiah H. Giddings, the second settler. Mrs. Bela H. Tryon was the first woman settler. Mrs. Tryon was instrumental in the naming of Hebron Township. Neighboring pioneers gathered at Mrs. Tryon’s home on Sundays. During the Sunday afternoons and evenings, they would engage in singing. On one Sunday after they had finished singing, “Old Hebron”, Mrs. Tryon suggested that Hebron would be good name for the township. Her selection was approved and adopted.
As of the 2000 census, the Village population was 1,038. The local high school is the smallest to win the Illinois boys’ basketball championship. In 1952, with just 98 students in attendance, Alden-Hebron High School won the state title with an overtime victory over Quincy. At the time all schools, regardless of enrollment, competed for a single championship. The Hebron, Illinois water tower is painted to resemble a basketball.
Medal of Honor recipient Elmer Bigelow, who died saving his ship in World War II was born and raised in Hebron. He is buried at Linn-Hebron Cemetery southwest of town.
