Aiken is a rural

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

lying in Rice Township in Jo Daviess County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, near the

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

border. It was originally established as a

whistle stop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a bus stop, stop or train station, station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or drop ...

around 1887, and lay along trunk lines of the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwest, Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of ...

and Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railroad.(27 May 1901)
Aiken, The Beautiful
''Galena Daily Gazette''(6 September 1889)
A Great Game
''Galena Daily Gazette''(17 July 1906)
Building New Town
''Galena Daily Gazette''(7 February 1888)
Railroad Items
''Galena Daily Gazette'' ("has been appointed agent at Aiken, the new station at the junction of the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City and the C. B. & N., about a mile and a half south of Galena Junction)

References

Unincorporated communities in Illinois Unincorporated communities in Jo Daviess County, Illinois Illinois populated places on the Mississippi River {{JoDaviessCountyIL-geo-stub