Chrisman, Illinois. Population 1,100, in Edgar County.
The township was named in 1872 in honor of resident Mathias Chrisman, who owned the land where the town was laid out.
Settled in 1832 by Abraham Smith, the land was acquired by John Chrisman (1790-1870) in 1851, and inherited by his son Mathias in 1870.
Originally organized as Ross Township in 1857, the town really got its start in 1872 when two railroad lines where built, intersecting at Chrisman and dividing Mathias Chrisman's 800 acres into four nearly equal quadrants (the Chrisman family had given 80 acres and right of way to the railroad).
The township then quickly built up around the intersection. The Baltimore & Ohio ran from Danville to Paris, and the Indianapolis-Decatur line came soon after.