Teutopolis is a village in Effingham 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 Rock ...

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. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,618.

Geography

Teutopolis is located in northeastern Effingham County at (39.132125, -88.478435).

U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...

(National Road) passes through the center of the village, leading west into Effingham, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

, and east to Montrose. According to the 2010 census, Teutopolis has a total area of , all land.

History

Teutopolis, "City of the

Teutons The Teutons ( la, Teutones, , grc, Τεύτονες) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with th ...

", or Germans, was established in 1839 along the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

, now

. It is the only town in the United States with this name. Teutopolis did not evolve as the accidental by-product of a trading post, church, inn, stage coach relay station, or junction of roadways or railroads, but was the result of much thought and controversy, hard-headed economy, investigation, planning and a vast amount of patience. Clemens Uptmor from the

Duchy of Oldenburg The Duchy of Oldenburg (german: Herzogtum Oldenburg)—named after its capital, the town of Oldenburg—was a state in the north-west of present-day Germany. The counts of Oldenburg died out in 1667, after which it became a duchy until 1810, w ...

, and

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Ha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, came to the United States in 1834 along with his brother Herman H. Uptmor and a few neighbors. They settled first in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, then the gateway to the west for German Catholics. In 1837 they formed a land company for the purchase of government land under the name of "Deutsche Land-Compagnie oder Ansiedlungsgesellschaft". John F. Waschefort, Clemens Uptmor and Gerard H. Bergfeld were named to find a location for settlement and then give their recommendations to the land company. The committee opposed settling in

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

because of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and were discouraged from settling in the north central area of Illinois because of the swamps and the black soil. The northeast part of Effingham County was recommended because of the woodlands, well-drained uplands and plentiful game. Gerhardt Meyer and Heinrich Roennebaum accompanied the original trio back to Illinois to inspect the proposed site. The location was approved, and in July 1839 in Vandalia the land was claimed for homestead purposes in the name of John F. Waschefort. were purchased at $1.25 per acre, with an additional being purchased for $5.00 an acre. The town site was surveyed and platted by William J. Hankins. The plan of the town was very similar to the plat of the original town of Cincinnati. Back in Cincinnati the land was allotted at a drawing held in a fire engine house. For each $50.00 a member contributed he received one "in-lot" and one "out-lot" or "garden lot" in the town and an additional parcel of farmland for a total of .

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 1,559 people, 537 households, and 397 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 563 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.81%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.13% Asian, and 0.06% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 0.06% of the population. There were 537 households, out of which 41.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.7% of the residents are

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.48. In the village, the population was spread out, with 33.2% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $47,450, and the median income for a family was $55,461. Males had a median income of $33,661 versus $21,087 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $21,280. About 2.5% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Village website
{{Authority control Villages in Effingham County, Illinois Populated places established in 1839 German-American history