In 1839 Isaac Morley and other
Latter-day Saints settled here naming the area Yelrome (Yelrome is
Morley spelled backwards with an extra e). They built log homes and
cabins, farmed, operated a variety of shops and a school. Between
400 and 500 residents eventually lived in the settlement.
In September
1845, when Mormons and non-Mormons clashed in Hancock County, the
latter torched scores of Morley’s Settlement houses and
outbuildings.
Most of the
residents fled to Nauvoo for safety. Morley’s Settlement, mostly
reduced to ashes, disappeared.
In 1855 the
present town of Tioga was founded on the Yelrome location.
Yelrome (now
Tioga) is 13.9 miles south of Hamilton, Il on highway 96 and then
1.6 miles east on County Road 22.
