Biohazard Cleanup Near Downtown Morrison Morrison, IL

Morrison is a city and the county seat of Whiteside County, located at the intersection of U.S. Route 30 and Illinois Route 78, about 12 miles east of the Mississippi River.

Morrison was laid out in 1855 around a planned railroad station by contractors building the Air-line railroad, now the Union Pacific, and it was incorporated in 1857.

The town was named in honor of Charles Morrison, a wealthy New York merchant and friend of one of the founders who promised financial support for the town's development - but he soon suffered severe financial losses and never contributed, though his name remained.

Morrison sits on the Historic Lincoln Highway, the nation's first transcontinental highway, and it was the site of two concrete 'seedling miles' that served as prototypes of what an improved highway could do for the nation.

Morrison had 4,085 residents at the 2020 census, down from a peak of 4,557 in 1990.

The 2010 census counted 1,713 households in Morrison.

The Illinois Refrigerator Company, organized in Morrison in 1892, was one of the city's early industrial anchors.

Major employers in Morrison today include Whiteside County government, Morrison Community Hospital, the Morrison Community School District, Climco Coils and the Resthave Home.

Morrison's downtown is preserved as the Morrison Main Street Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Morrison covers 2.46 square miles, all land, and the Union Pacific Railroad runs through the city.