About 1900, the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad opened several coal mines in the Benld area purchasing acre age from Ben L. Dorsey. The Dorsey family centered a town in the middle of this mini ng area naming the town Benld, the first name, middle and beginning initials of Dorsey’s last name. . . Read more in MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS HISTORY & FAMILIES available in our genealogy library or through this website.