Opdyke is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
in the southeastern part of
Jefferson County,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. As of the
2010 census, its population was 254.
History
Opdyke was laid out in 1871, following construction of the
St. Louis & Southeastern Railroad. The nearby, earlier town of Lynchburg was largely abandoned and moved to Opdyke.
A part of the railroad investment in this area was funded by a mortgage of $4,525,000 by Calhoun & Opdyke of New York. The town is named for Opdyke. It is possible that the name of the village is all that they got out of the investment.
The original surveys of Illinois, made around 1800, show the
Goshen Road Goshen Road was an early road that ran from Old Shawneetown, Illinois, on the Ohio River, northwest to the Goshen Settlement, near Glen Carbon, Illinois, near the Mississippi River. In the early 19th century, this was the main east/west road in Ill ...
passing through what is now the center of Opdyke in a north/south direction. The road was about a quarter mile east of the north/south section road that now forms the western boundary of the village. Few traces of this road now remain, and it is not clear if the road was still present at the time of the founding of the village.
Opdyke formed as a village alongside the railroad tracks. The railroad is no longer a significant factor in the existence of the village, which now fronts on Illinois Route 142. Interstate 64 passes a mile north of the village, without an interchange.
Demographics
References
External links
TopoQuest map of Opdyke, IL
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Illinois
Census-designated places in Jefferson County, Illinois
Mount Vernon, Illinois micropolitan area
Populated places established in 1871
1871 establishments in Illinois