National
Road
Association
Of
Illinois
National
Road
Association
Of
Illinois
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Fairmont City
Sandwiched in between the National Road and Route 111, life began for Fairmont City in 1910 when it housed the roundhouse for the Vandalia Railroad. It was first named Willow Town, but was incorporated as a village in 1914 and adopted its current name. During a prolonged strike in 1918, Mexican workers were imported to replace the unionists and by 1939 they made up a quarter of the town’s population, being employed by its zinc, chemical and fertilizer plants. The Hispanic immigration changed the face of the town. This relatively young group of people brought Mexican restaurants and markets and bolstered the enrollment in the local Catholic grade school. Fairmont City was truly a "melting pot" of southern Illinois with nineteen different nationalities represented. Although the community experienced an economic decline after the American Zinc plant closed in 1968, Fairmont City still plays host to a small golf course, grocery stores, a large indoor/outdoor flea market, several auto repair businesses, beauty shops, trucking companies, sheet metal shops, saloons/taverns, an antique mall, a classic car museum, Mexican markets, and both American and Mexican restaurants, serving delicious food. There’s an American Legion Post, senior citizen’s group, Ladies Sodality, Holy Name Society, the Guadalupe Society and a separate Hispanic committee.
(C) 2008 National Road Association