Summum is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat:
*Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton
*Fulton County, Georgia
*F ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, United States. Summum is located adjacent to
U.S. Highway 24 northeast of
Astoria, in
Woodland Township.
Summum gives its name to the Summum
cyclothem
In geology, cyclothems are alternating stratigraphy, stratigraphic sequences of Marine (ocean), marine and non-marine sediments, sometimes interbedded with coal seams. Historically, the term was defined by the European coal geologists who worked ...
and the associated "Summum coal" formation, which extends over much of western Illinois but is typically only a few inches thick.
One place the Summum coal reached a minable thickness was just north of Summum itself, where a
strip mine
Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in whic ...
was operated in the mid-20th century, from 1948 to 1955 by
Key Coal Company and for some time thereafter by
Peabody Coal Company
Peabody Energy is a coal mining and energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Its primary business consists of the mining, sale, and distribution of coal, which is purchased for use in electricity generation and steelmaking. Peabody ...
. The strip mine was later converted into a small lake.
Notable people from Summum include country musician and comedian
Smiley Burnette
Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 – February 16, 1967), better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, a ...
, who was born there in 1911.
History
Summum takes its name from the Summum post office, which predated the town and took its name from early postmaster Peter Summy.
The town was officially platted in 1851 by local mill owner James Madison Onion.
The platted town was given the name "Oberlin," but that name never came into common usage.
In the late 19th century, Summum had a population of approximately 200.
There were three churches (Baptist, Christian, and
German Reformed Church
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
* ...
) and a half-dozen stores.
Few traces of this prosperity remain today.
Fay Rawley disappearance
Summum and its strip mine acquired nationwide notoriety in 1953, when wealthy local farmer, businessman and politician Fay Rawley disappeared.
Rawley lived across the road from the coal mine, and his car was seen parked there on the last night he was known to be alive.
He was widely suspected to have been murdered.
Rawley's disappearance spurred a massive multi-year search led by Fulton County Sheriff
Virgil Ball, who took office in 1954.
The search focused on the strip mine.
The search drew thousands of curious onlookers and nationwide press attention.
A
dragline excavator
A dragline excavator is a piece of heavy equipment used in civil engineering and surface mining.
Draglines fall into two broad categories: those that are based on standard, lifting cranes, and the heavy units which have to be built on-site. Mo ...
was used to dig out a 150-foot opening where it was believed Rawley's car might have been covered by mining activity.
Neither Rawley's car nor his body were ever located, and in 1957, the search was finally called off.
In 1962, the search was briefly resumed, now using bulldozers and partially financed by Ball himself, who was no longer sheriff.
However, when the searchers' drill struck a large metal object, Peabody Coal demanded that the search be called off, out of fear of potential liability if Rawley's body was found.
The case remains unsolved.
References
Unincorporated communities in Fulton County, Illinois
Unincorporated communities in Illinois
{{FultonCountyIL-geo-stub