HAUNTED JACKSONVILLE HISTORY AND HAUNTINGS OF THE "ATHENS OF THE WEST" More than 150 years ago, Jacksonville was dubbed the "Athens of the West" by the settlers who carved it from the prairie land of the Illinois. It was a place of higher learning, culture, history - and hauntings. Over the decades, the city has been home to three Illinois governors, two presidential nominees, and holds a unique place in history as the home of the "Big Eli," the world's first portable Ferris Wheel. It also holds a strange place in America's supernatural history. In 1847, Jacksonville became home to the...