Timeline of Stockton Village and Area prior to Stockton’s Incorporation in 1890
- 1818 State of Illinois incorporated
- 1827 Jo Daviess County was created on February 17th
(The Eastern part of the territory, now part of the County, was not settled until 1832 when the Black Hawk War was over)
- 1843 First log schoolhouse was erected in the future Stockton Township Sec 23 (Spring Valley School)
- 1852 Stockton Township along with the following Townships were established on November 2, 1852
Pleasant Valley, Wards Grove, Nora, Rush, Thompson, Woodbine, Derinda with Berreman Township formed February 14,1857
- 1872 Maps show settlements in Pitcherville, Millville and Morseville
- 1886 In September, the controversy over the ownership of the railroad land in the Chicago area was settled when the courts deeded the land to the Minnesota and Northwestern, making it possible for the construction of the line from Chicago West to Oelwein, Iowa.
- 1886 Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad chose Section 11 in Stockton Township to build a depot, the Village of Stockton was conceived
- 1887 Landowners in the area pledged $800 to buy the right of way for the roadbed and the depot site from Marvin F. Carpenter, the village was assured life
- 1887 Grading of the railroad was commenced early in the spring
- 1887 Stockton was surveyed and platted on May 10
- M.F. Carpenter, Original Town
- L.D. Benton, Benton Addition
- Enoch Hawes Addition
- 1887 Stockton’s first Businesses
- Charles Hermann moved his store building from Pitcherville to Stockton after purchasing Lots 4 and 5, Block 3 in “Benton’s Addition” on June 11
- S.T. Eade came from Nora and started a general store after purchasing Lots 14, 15 and 16, Block 2 in Carpenter’s Original Plat
- Glanville Brothers built a hardware store (Originally from Galena and Hazel Green)
- William O’Rourke opened a general store (formally of Vinegar Hill, but most recently a farmer at Stockton Centre)
- 1887 The railroad line was completed between Forest Park and South Freeport on August 1. Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad was forced to sell the railway to Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railroad. The Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railroad had completed their line between Oelwein and Waterloo.
- 1887 First freight train reached the village in October, and the new depot and stock yards were completed in November.
- M.K. Hammond completed his fine grain elevator.
- E.M. Winslow started a lumber yard on S Hudson St.
- P.M. Rindesbacher & Co opened a bank in the O’Rourke Building located in the NW corner of Main and Front Street
- 1888 The Chicago-Dubuque run made its initial stop in Stockton on January 16th
- 1888 Stockton Herald first published by J. N. Klock
- 1888 School District #50 was formed when a new frame school was erected on a lot purchased from L. D. Benton
- 1890 Stockton incorporated on April 17th and became a legal entity
- 1895 Stockton High School graduated one student in their first graduating class
- 1896 Stockton endured a great fire destroying all but building on southwest side of Main St.
- 1899 Stockton History recapped by compilation of newspaper articles of the last Eleven years
- 1902 Stockton’s first brick schoolhouse was built on the same site of the original frame building
- 1905 Stockton Holy Cross parochial school was built
- 1912 East Stockton was built by the Railroad as a hub between Chicago and Oelwein Iowa
- 1914 J. L. Kraft purchased The Hal Sheetz Creamery
- 1914 L. Kraft & Bros. Co. opened their first cheese factory in Stockton, Illinois, and within a year they begin producing processed cheese in tins. The U.S. government provided cheese in tins for the armed forces during World War I.
- 1920 Stockton High School published the first yearbook
- 1926 Stockton School Addition
- 19?? Illinois Route 78 created and paved
- 19?? US 20 created and paved
- 1933 East Stockton was abandoned, and dispatchers station was moved from East Stockton to east of the Depot
- 1934 Stockton School addition of gymnasium and classrooms
- 1950 Stockton Manufacturing Company built new plant in Stockton (Atwoods)
- 1955 Fire destroyed the Stockton School
- 1956 New Elementary and High School were built
- 1957 Kraft Foods built new cheese plant
- 1959 New bridge built
- 1960 Kraft sold the whey plant to Consolidated Products
- 1965 Passenger service through Stockton was discontinued on September 30th.
- 1965 Stockton Diamond Jubilee
- 1969 Middle School built
- 1972 The last train went through Stockton on September 30th
- 1974 Bridge and Tracks Removed
- 1985 Consolidated Products ceased operations and closed the Stockton plant
- 1990 Stockton Centennial
- 1998 The Stockton Kraft Cheese Plant was sold to Stockton Cheese Company (The plant operated as Stockton Cheese until 2015 when the name was changed to Brewster Cheesee)
- 2017 Dura-Excell-Atwoods closes its doors operating since 1950
