Hi, Rose and Dennis: When I was answering the description and location of Avoca Township in Livingston Co., IL to Rose, I was thinking of today and not yesterday. So, I stand corrected, Dennis!! Yes, Avoca Twp. did have two villages within its' boundaries. To be absolutely correct, the first settlement (later a village) was named Avoca with the first post office in the township established there in 1840. In 1834 a blacksmith shop opened; the first store was kept by James McDowell and his brother, Woodford G. McDowell. A hotel was even built. The first church building in Avoca Twp., was the Pioneer Methodist Church in Avoca erected in 1857; however, church services had been held since Spring, 1833 at the Wm. and Sarah Dever McDowell home, part of the old pioneer Methodist circuit. The death knell of Avoca was the construction of the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad and the laying out of the village of Fairbury 3 1/2 miles to the south. Most of the Avoca houses were eventually moved to Fairbury. The 1857 Avoca Pioneer Methodist Church building was bought for $100 and moved to a nearby farm in August 22, 1891 and converted into a barn. The new foundations for the Avoca Methodist Church, located adjacent to the Avoca Cemetery, was laid out August 29, 1891. Sadly, even this church is long gone. I have the date that it was torn down, if anyone is interested. (If there are Avoca Methodists Church records somewhere, I have never found their location.) The village of McDowell was laid out in 1873 by Judge Woodford G. McDowell, who owned the land. The reason for its' existence was due to the Chicago and Paducah Railroad, built between the county seat, Pontiac and the village of Fairbury. In 1878, McDowell had two stores, post office, two blacksmiths & wagon shop and a stone quarry owned by Judge McDowell, also a railroad siding. The population was around 50 -100 for the McDowell area. Today, the only thing standing in McDowell is the McDowell Methodist Church and Wilken Seed (soybean) Company, even the railroad track has been pulled up between Fairbury and Pontiac. This rural church is still in existence, with the McDowell Methodist's working very hard. Every winter they have a pancake breakfast that is WELL supported by the area; this is an all day event as several thousand appetites are appeased by the home cooking of the church members. Livingston Co., IL trivia: There are only two towns in the USA with the name of Fairbury. W. G. McDowell named Fairbury, NE after his home of Fairbury, IL. (Susan Ulfers Campbell)