Origin, Coining of The Name
Forgottonia represented a protest against inequalities in state and Federal funding of infrastructure (e.g. transportation), communications and economic development in the region.
In 1955, during the formation of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, the Chicago to Kansas City interstate route through the heart of this region was eliminated due to political objections from Iowa and St. Louis as well as various granger railroads serving this region. Missouri selected the Joplin (US 66) and Kansas City (US 40) to St. Louis corridors in 1956. Carthage College, in Hancock County, relocated its educational campus to Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1964.
Federal highway bills throughout the 1960s that included funding for a Chicago–Kansas City Expressway were defeated and removed from the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968. which added 1500 miles (2400 km) to the Interstate system and again defeated in the US Congress in 1972. These political and congressional actions resulted in the rapid exodus of the region's businesses, long-time industries, and population by 1970. Those significant events were the catalysts for more vocal public protests by residents.
Variously described as a new U.S. state or an independent republic, Forgottonia eventually became a fictional political secession movement in the early 1970s conceived by residents of McDonough County, in the heart of this region. Western Illinois University student Neil Gamm was named governor, and the hamlet of Fandon near Colchester was to be Forgottonia's capital. The name would catch on because the region appeared to be "forgotten" by politicians and business developers.
Due to the loss of train service in 1971, with the creation of Amtrak, the State of Illinois intervened at the request of the region's residents, Quincy University, and Western Illinois University and public officials. This became part of the 1971 "Illinois Service" initiative and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
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