Travel Guide Funks Grove

Funks Grove, just outside of Shirley, is a village founded in 1825 by Isaac and Absalom Funk. Isaac Funk, along with his lawyer and friend, Abraham Lincoln, were responsible for rerouting the Chicago & Alton Railroad that was to pass through Peoria. The banks of Timber Creek were covered with thick forests of white oaks, bur oaks, and sugar maples. It is because of them that the city is known. The famous maple syrup, the Mapple Syrup, has been produced here since 1891. A short section of Illinois Boulevard that existed before Route 66 is still used in Funks Grove. It is located between old Route 66 and Interstate 55.