The tale of the Forgotonia movement is not particularly well known today. Aside from a box dedicated to Neal Gamm at the Western Illinois University Archive, a barn with “Forgotonia USA” printed on the side, and an episode on the History Channel TV show “How the States got their Shapes,” the coverage has been minimal. One of the first things that we were told at the beginning of this project was that the movement was not well conceived and was executed poorly. In our research we found that such an analysis was incorrect. The movement was carried out precisely the way in which it was intended. It was an orchestrated political stunt aimed at bringing attention to a much maligned region of Illinois; if those involved had a little bit of fun on the way then the movement was all the better for it. In that regard, the movement was entirely well planned and successful.
Driving through western Illinois today, one can see that the population has not exploded since the 1970s. The economy is clearly still agriculturally based, with the intermittent manufacturing community. The natural landscape is undeniably beautiful, especially when graced with a midwestern sunset. The most noticeable difference, from the perspective of a visitor, is the improved conditions of the roads. While they are not immaculate and without problems, no longer does a driver have to worry about a destroyed suspension while taking a trip through the region’s scenic fields and forests. Forgotonia’s government may have fallen, yet many of its goals have been achieved.
Pictured to the left is a one of the remaining outdoor, physical vestiges of Forgotonia. It stands resolutely, yet humbly, commemorating a time passed, but not a message passed. Although misspelling the movement’s name, this quaint, small barn on Route 13 outside Ellisville accurately communicates the modest, hardworking spirit that Gamm and the rest of the Forgotonians brought to the political landscape of Illinois. It arrives on the driver quickly, emerging from a thicket of trees; it could be easily passed by if one is not looking for it. In this way, it perhaps bears a resemblance to western Illinois itself, unassuming, resilient, yet commanding a nostalgia for a silent, nearly forgotten history. The home that Gamm knew in 1973 has changed, not in sweeping, transformative ways, but in more foundational ways. The crucial changes Forgotonia underwent, those of transportation and overall infrastructural improvement, are so intrinsic in the day to day life of its citizens, that one may forget it was ever any other way.
For Gamm and so many living in places just like this, places so condescendingly called “fly-overs”, this barn represents home. Apparent dilapidation does not convey neglect, but instead elicits a feeling of use. Hearty work wears on people and things. But, that work represents a spirit that fed a movement. We encourage you to take the time to drive through Forgotonia and the many other forgotten places like it. You may find a surprising sense of nostalgia for something you never had and an odd sense of being home in a place that was never yours.