About Mahomet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In early Connecticut history, the family of Dr. Daniel T. Porter, ancestor of our

village founder by the same name, Daniel T. Porter, was among those that

settled in a small village along the Connecticut River named Mattabeseck. That

emerging settlement became known to those settlers as Middletown. Another

influence in Porter family history, was the Mohegan Sachem named Mamohet

Weyonomon, great-grandson of the Mohegan, Sachem Uncas. Mamohet Weyonomon

became well known to the colonists as “Mahomet”, an ally and negotiator for the

Mohegan. The Porter families of Connecticut carried the legend of these

historical names throughout their westward migration.

 

In the spring of 1832, a band of settlers, including the Daniel T. Porter family,

traveled from Indiana to put down roots in this Sangamon timber. They would

be the first to settle along this section of the primitive trail that would become

our village. It was not, though, until March 10, 1836 that Daniel T. Porter, a

descendant of the Connecticut Porter family, would obtain the services of

surveyor, Garrett Moore, to lay out the plat of a new village on this site consisting

of 38 lots straddling the ancient trail that had become known as the Fort Clark

Road. He would name this new village “Middletown” after the Middletown

known by his ancestors.

 

Four years later, in 1840, Porter in his application for a post office, chose to call the

post office “Mahomet” after the family’s historical knowledge of the Sachem known

as “Mahomet.” The existence of Middletown as our village name and Mahomet as

our post office name remained in place until 1871 when the newly arrived railroad

insisted that the name of Middletown could not be used for the depot name

due to its policy not allowing duplicate names within the same state.

As a result, on March 7, 1871, Supervisor, Theodore M. Brown, presented a petition

to the Board to change the name of our village. The report was unanimously

approved, giving our village its historical name of Mahomet.

 

Village of Mahomet Administration Building
503 E. Main Street
Mahomet, IL  61853
(Phone): (217)586-4456
(Fax): (217)586-5696

 (Email): villageofmahomet@mahomet-il.gov

O
ffice Hours are:  Monday - Friday - 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Vision Statement: Preserve, protect and enhance our community’s quality of life. 

Mission Statement: Provide for the needs of today and prepare for the demands of tomorrow

while remaining mindful and respectful of the past.