The Illinois Terminal System, called the Illinois Traction System until 1937, grew into 550 miles of electrified railroad linking farm communities in central Illinois with Peoria, Springfield, and St. Louis. The Springfield, Lincoln, Bloomington, Pekin and Peoria Electric Railway Company was incorporated on March 7, 1904 to build the Corn Belt Line from Springfield through Lincoln to Bloomington, and after grading began that October its name was shortened in December 1904 to the Springfield and Northeastern Railway Company. Work stopped on September 10, 1905 for lack of funds, but William B. McKinley took ownership on April 28, 1906 and enabled completion of the road from Springfield to Lincoln. Construction met a brief delay at Williamsville when the track crossed school board land, and a friendly condemnation suit transferred the property to the company. The track reached Springfield on August 5, 1906 and Lincoln on December 14, 1906, regular service through Williamsville began on December 15, 1906 with a car every two hours, and service into Peoria opened on April 20, 1907. McKinley, born near Petersburg in 1856, built his traction empire from streetcar lines and realized his vision in 1910 with construction of the McKinley Bridge over the Mississippi River, giving the electrified railroad access to St. Louis; he also served as a United States Senator and in the U.S. House of Representatives. The railroad evolved from street railroads into a premier Midwestern interurban and later a Class 1 railroad, surviving two World Wars and the Great Depression while changing from electric operation to electric, steam, battery, and diesel power and finally to a completely dieselized freight-only railroad. Because its electric railways ran through small towns, it also helped bring electricity to rural areas, and by 1923 it had become a subsidiary of the Illinois Power and Light Company; in Williamsville, electricity was turned on in 60 homes on April 1, 1914, with street lights following in 1916. The Interurban carried farm families, students, shoppers, fairgoers, and men traveling to Peoria for World War II military examinations, and during the war it remained vital when cars were scarce and gas was rationed. It also served commerce and war work, bringing freight to local merchants, delivering newspapers to Williamsville, and carrying workers to the Sangamon Ordnance Plant near Illiopolis, one of the largest munitions factories of World War II, including many women workers. Railroad employees such as stationmasters John E. McClure and later his son Jacob, conductor George "Ernie" Caldwell, and track worker Leonard Dennison were part of its local life. Passenger service in Williamsville ended on June 5, 1955, the line was completely dieselized, the second line through Williamsville was abandoned on March 31, 1962, and the Illinois Terminal served Illinois and St. Louis from 1895 to 1981.