LORIMOR

In 1886 news came to New Hope Township that the Chicago, St. Paul, and Kansas City railroad company (later to become the Chicago, Great Western Railway) would build a railroad through the township. This news caused a rapid rise in the price of real estate.  The same year surveys were made by the engineers of the railroad company and many inducements and offers were made by property owners, hoping to persuade the railroad company to pass by their homesteads.  Seeing that the railroad company was coming near his property,  J. S . Lorimor offered a right of way through the land, and the offer was excepted by the railroad company.

On May 16, 1887, Josiah S. Lorimor laid out the town of Lorimor in sections 10, 11, 14 and 15.  He subdivided the town into 16 blocks and on May 16 the sale of lots began.   The first lot sold on July 15th  for $100.   The first business in Lorimore was that of the R. H. Delmage Lumber Yard.   In 1887 and 1888 the Baptist church, Christian church and Methodist church were all organized.  In March 1888 the post office was moved from Zahlia to Lorimor.   By 1940 Lorimor had reached its peak population of 614 people.   The town celebrates “Watermelon Days” on the second Saturday of September and has done so for decades.