Paxton is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,450 at the 2020 census. The town was …Paxton is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,450 at the 2020 census. The town was initially named Prairie City in the late 1840s, then Prospect City by an Illinois Central Railroad official in 1855. However, as Wilbur W. Sauer says that residents noted the town was "all prospect and no city." In 1859, it was renamed for Sir Joseph Paxton, architect of the Crystal Palace, who was a major shareholder in the Illinois Central Railroad, which in 1856 was the longest span of railroad in the world. It was rumored that Paxton was interested in organizing an English settlement in Illinois. The colony never materialized, but the town kept the name. Founded in 1859, Paxton celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2009.
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