131 articles
Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio, is a city in northeastern Ohio and the seat of Summit County, founded in 1825 and known as the rubber capital of the world.
Alton, Illinois
Alton, Illinois: Mississippi River city in Madison County, 25 miles north of St. Louis; site of the final 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debate, home of Robert Wadlow and Miles Davis; population 25,676 (2020).
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan: county seat of Washtenaw County, founded 1824 by John Allen and Elisha Rumsey, home of the University of Michigan (opened there 1841). Population 123,851 (2020); seventh-largest Michigan city, about 40 miles from Detroit.
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton, Wisconsin: a Fox River city of about 75,000 in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties, home of Lawrence University, the world's first hydroelectric plant (1882), and the Fox Valley's first paper manufacturing.
Arlington Heights, Illinois
Arlington Heights, Illinois: a Cook County village of about 77,000 northwest of Chicago, incorporated 1887, formerly Dunton; known for its Metra-linked downtown, large park district, and the 326-acre former Arlington Park site bought by the Chicago Bears.
Athens, Ohio
Athens, also known as Athens, OH, is a city in southeastern Ohio on the Hocking River and the home of Ohio University, with 23,849 residents at the 2020 census.
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora, Illinois: Fox River city about 40 miles west of Chicago, Illinois' second-largest city (180,542 at the 2020 census), nicknamed City of Lights for its 1881 electric streetlights; CB&Q railroad shops, Hispanic-majority demographics, and a new $360 million land-based casino.
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek, Michigan (Cereal City), largest city in Calhoun County, southwest Michigan; 2020 population 52,721; birthplace of the breakfast cereal industry via Kellogg, Post, and the Battle Creek Sanitarium; commission-manager government since 1961.
Bay City, Michigan
Bay City, Michigan: county seat of Bay County on the Saginaw River near Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron. Founded 1857, incorporated 1865; a lumber-era sawmill port, later maker of pre-cut mail order homes; 2020 population 32,661.
Belleville, Illinois
Belleville, Illinois: county seat of St. Clair County, founded 1814 by George Blair (French for 'beautiful city'), largest city in southern Illinois, 2020 population 42,404, MetroLink Red Line and Scott AFB nearby.
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Benton Harbor, Michigan: a majority-Black Berrien County city of about 9,100 on the Paw Paw River near Lake Michigan, known for its 2018-2021 lead drinking water crisis, Whirlpool's presence, and neighboring twin city St. Joseph.
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington, Illinois: county seat of McLean County and twin city of Normal, population 78,680 (2020). Founded 1830s from Blooming Grove; railroad hub; State Farm, Rivian, Illinois Wesleyan, and ISU anchor its economy.
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana, county seat of Monroe County and home of Indiana University Bloomington (founded as a state seminary in 1820). Population 79,168 in 2020; known for the Little 500, B-Line Trail, and a highly educated population.
Cadillac, Michigan
Cadillac, Michigan: Wexford County seat founded 1871 as Clam Lake by lumberman George A. Mitchell, incorporated 1877 and named for Detroit's founder; a lumber town turned manufacturing and tourism center between Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell.
Cairo, Illinois
Cairo, Illinois, is a city at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. It was incorporated in 1818 and is protected by a 21.963-mile levee system.
Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio: county seat of Stark County, founded 1805, named after Canton, China; home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame; 2020 population 70,872, declining since its 1950 peak of 116,912.
Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale, Illinois: Jackson County city founded 1852 on the Illinois Central Railroad, home of Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU), population about 21,800, site of the 2017 and 2024 total solar eclipses and the SIMMS transit station.
Carmel, Indiana
Carmel is the sixth-largest city in Indiana, in Hamilton County just north of Indianapolis; founded in 1837 as Bethlehem, it is known for its roundabouts and arts districts.
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign, Illinois: city founded 1855 as West Urbana beside the Illinois Central Railroad, renamed 1860; population 91,195 (2025 est.); home of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and its Research Park.
Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, the largest city in the US Midwest on Lake Michigan; county seat of Cook County. Population 2,731,585 (2025 est.); known for the 1871 Great Fire, Burnham's 1909 Plan, CTA transit, and stark neighborhood segregation and inequality.
Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe, Ohio: city in Ross County on the Scioto River, founded 1796 and Ohio's first capital (1803–1809, 1812–1816); population 22,059 (2020); home to Hopewell Culture National Historical Park earthworks, a 2023 UNESCO World Heritage site.
Cicero, Illinois
Cicero, Illinois: a densely populated inner-ring town (2020 population 85,268) just west of Chicago, once the state's second largest manufacturing center and Al Capone's base, now about 87.5 percent Hispanic.
Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio (founded 1788 as Losantiville, renamed 1790): major Ohio River city, seat of Hamilton County, population about 314,000, first American boomtown, "Queen City," anchor of a 2.1-million metro spanning Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.
Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio: city on Lake Erie at the Cuyahoga River mouth, founded 1796 by Moses Cleaveland, incorporated 1836, once the sixth largest US city, now a Great Lakes port and medical-education hub.
Columbus, Indiana
Columbus, Indiana, county seat of Bartholomew County on I-65, is a city of about 52,000 known as the "Athens of the Prairie" for its modernist architecture, Cummins headquarters, and the Cummins Foundation Architecture Program.
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio: state capital founded 1812 at the Scioto-Olentangy confluence, permanent capital since 1816. 14th largest US city, 905,748 residents (2020), growing metro of 2.24 million.
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio, county seat of Montgomery County at the confluence of the Great Miami, Stillwater, and Mad rivers, home of the Wright brothers' airplane invention, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park.
Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan: city in Wayne County near Detroit, founded 1786, incorporated 1929 by merging Fordson and Dearborn. Population 109,976 (2020); Ford Motor Company headquarters, The Henry Ford museum, and the first Arab-majority U.S. city.
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur, Illinois: county seat of Macon County in central Illinois, founded 1823, population about 68,000. Home of ADM's North American headquarters, Lake Decatur, and Abraham Lincoln's first Illinois homestead (1830).
Des Plaines, Illinois
Des Plaines, Illinois: a Cook County city 17 miles northwest of Chicago on the Des Plaines River; 60,675 residents (2020 census), median household income $97,875, home to Rivers Casino and near O'Hare airport.