[3] George and Asa Eastman, who had purchased a large amount of land in the area, platted the town.

[4] The Eastman family operated a tannery and steam-powered flour mill at Auburn until 1841, when they moved to Springfield.

[6] Despite its small size in this period, Auburn had a tavern and shops and served as a gathering point for the open-country community around it.

[7] The route of the Alton and Sangamon Railroad, which began running in 1852, bypassed Auburn.

[9] The relocated town was initially known as "Wineman" after the local landowner who had induced the railroad to bypass Auburn.

[12] In 1896, the Auburn post office was the site of the first Rural Free Delivery service in Illinois, part of a nationwide test.

[14] The experiment was well-received: some local farmers changed their post office to Auburn to take advantage of the new system.

[14] The First Assistant Postmaster General noted that the roads in the area were "almost as difficult of transit as when Abraham Lincoln 'rode the circuit'".