In 1845 appointed commissioners selected the centrally located site of Knoxville for the future seat of Marion County. The usual grid was platted and the sale of lots was held later that year and again in 1846. The railroad was late in reaching the community, but by the end of the century the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroad ran through, and a spur line from the east provided a connection with the Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The land around Knoxville is agriculturally rich, and for a time, coal mining was important to the economy of the county.