Early burials were made in a cemetery located on the northwest corner of section 26. The road leading south from it was the first to be opened officially in the township. Little attempt is made to maintain the old cemetery and there are only two markers now visible. One is broken and illegible but the other stands firm against the attacks of time. The thin stone carries the Masonic emblem and the lettering records the fact that Alfred Graham died July 11, 1874, at the age of 49 years. "A master craftsman among his peers." When State Highway 172 was extended south from Tampico, some of the bodies were removed to other cemeteries.

In July, 1882 a cemetery association was formed and five acres of land were purchased from Henry Denison. The cost was $125 per acre. The tract was located at the north end of Joy Street and faced the road which was later to become State Highway 172. W. W. Craddock, A. T. Glassburn and J. F. Leonard were he first trustees. The grounds were platted and improved with drives, fences and plantings. Mrs. A. T. Glassburn gave the entrance gates as a memorial to her husband.

In 1881, St. Mary Parish bought four acres of land near the intersection of East Fourth and N. Benton Streets. Through the years the grounds were imporved and in 1906, the women of the parish donated the Sacred Heart Memorial. It was blessed and dedicated on June 23, 1906.

Storms and fires could not destroy the interest of the citizens of Tampico in the cause of education. The school house was erected in 1874 to accommodate the increased attendance; a story frame 32x56 feet, 2 stories high, with wings for the balls and stairway, and with 4 comfortable school rooms.

The first school of the Village was built in 1869 and stood 1 mile south of the present Village. When the railroad was laid out through town, it was removed to the Village. The next summer 93 crowded its walls for instruction. In 1874 the needs of the district called for more room, so they built a building 32x56 feet, 2 stories high, with wings for halls. Directors were J. W. Glassburn, Alfred Smith, and H. L. Denison. The School had 4 comfortable lighted rooms, 12 feet high, each room capable of accommodating 48 scholars, cost $14,000.

A Hook and Ladder Company was organized in May 1877, consisting of 30 members. First formed for an engine company.

The Tampico Farmers Mutual Telephone Co. was first organized Dec. 30, 1904, capital stock $6,000. In 1906 there were about 300 phones, miles of wire were reaching out nearly every country road. It was the direct outgrowth of one man - A. A. Shere, who resided southwest of town. Tired of riding for a doctor and threshing hands, Mr.Shere thought he and a few neighbors could erect a telephone line along their highway, and let it do the work. A dozen farmers responded to his request to buy phones, put up the poles, and have a line. Other farmers then clamored for admission, as they saw the benefits of the service, and the company quickly outgrew its lines and Central station and reached a magnitude beyond the wildest dreams of its organizers. At first a President and Secretary attended to what little business was transacted, but as the volume of traffic grew, the company was incorporated with a capital stock of $6,000. all shares subscribed and and paid for. The Company maintained a Central Office in Tampico and also in Rock Falls. Its lines reached Prophetstown and all other neighboring villages either over its own lines or those of several mutual lines that were connceted. E. A. Emmons was one of the pioneer founders of the company, and actually the Father of the Telephone Co. The Tampico Farmers Mutual Telephone Co. revised and reissued capital stock in the amount of $10,000, Aug. 30, 1941.

  The "Blow Out" west of town covers about 7 acres. Its depth is about 60 feet - the work of whirlwinds. A big cedar tree was growing there when first discovered by settlers. It was cut down by some vandal in 1850. It was supposedly brought by some Indian from some other part of te country and planted here where there was a fine spring of water. The "blow-out" is one of the curiosities of the town.

Two fires, one in 1871 and one in 1874, and in 1874 the village was visited by a destructive tornado., totally destroying 21 buildings, severely injuring a number of persons, and causing loan of many thousands of dollars. All of the damage was done in an instant. The greater number of buildings destroyed were dwellings, and that there were no lives lost seems almost miraculous. Within 10 minutes, 2 clouds met just above the Village. The Methodist church was lifted from its foundation and utterly destroyed, everything in and about it being torn into kindling wood. A wagon shop containing 3 crriages and several hundred dollars worth of stock was blown away, not a vestige of it remaining, and little stock was recovered. The sills of the large one was torn into spinters. In the elvator were 2 horses, one of which was buried in the ruins, yet when extricated, not a bruise could be found. Of the depot building, one-half was taken, the other half left.

On the 17th of May 1876, another fire occurred, 6 buildings being destroyed, undoubtedly the work of an incendiary.

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