[11] Then local farmer John Franklin Carlock, who also had a contract to supply the railroad with oak ties, laid out a new town about a mile and a half away.

[12] In June 1888 the Oak Grove correspondent of The Pantagraph reported that "nothing is left of our town but pieces".

[15] In 1895 there were about sixty buildings in Carlock; most of these were newly built, and only about twelve had been moved from Oak Grove.

[16] Because of the late date at which the town was developed, it did not enjoy the rapid growth of some that were established earlier.

Carlock remained a rural service center, grain shipping point, and residential community.

In 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchased a chunk of land to the northeast of Carlock, off Church Street.

This land, which has been incorporated by the village, is being developed as a three-phase subdivision named Stoneman Gardens with approximately 65 lots of 0.5 acres (2,000 m2) and a small park.

The houses are built by the future, low-income owners of the homes with the assistance of an organization called YouthBuild McLean County and is financed by the USDA.

Ground was broken in 2005, and as of July 2010 development had begun on the third and easternmost phase which was to include the park and the final grouping of houses.

Another subdivision named Rock Creek, on the eastern edge of Carlock and bordering US-150 to the north, contained two homes as of mid-2010.

Carlock is in northwestern McLean County along U.S. Route 150, which passes through the village as East Washington Road and North Bradbury Street.

I-74 and US 150 both lead southeast 13 miles (21 km) to Bloomington, the McLean county seat.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Carlock has a total area of 0.40 square miles (1.04 km2), all land.