[5] The village was named for Vermont natives Alfred and Mary Bagley, who owned the site.

[6] The land for the village originally belonged to Mary Bagley when in 1884 the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad built a depot.

[7] The village suffered damage on July 18, 2007, when a large thunderstorm dumped 7 inches (180 mm) of rain on the area.

The storm was part of a "mesoscale convective systems", bringing thunderstorms with huge amounts of rain and lightning.

[8] What were normally minor streams, particularly Glass Hollow Creek,[9] became raging torrents, pushing debris before them, backing up water into the town.

No deaths or injuries were reported, but 50 people were evacuated from their homes by boat.

[5] Although nearly every home and business sustained damage, the town was not eligible for federal disaster aid.

35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.