Effingham is a city in

Effingham County, Illinois Effingham County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,668. Its county seat and largest city is Effingham. Some other cities in Effingham County, Illinois inclu ...

, United States, and its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. It is in South Central Illinois. Its population was 12,252 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Effingham micropolitan statistical area. The city bills itself as "The Crossroads of Opportunity" because of its location at the intersection of two major Interstate highways:

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in two segments. It runs through Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. I-57 parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route north of I-55. The Interstate ...

running from Chicago to

Sikeston, Missouri Sikeston () is a city located both in southern Scott County and northern New Madrid County, in the state of Missouri, United States. It is situated just north of the "Missouri Bootheel", although many locals consider Sikeston a part of it. By w ...

, and

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

running from

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. It is also served by

U.S. Route 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporati ...

, which runs from

Ontonagon, Michigan Ontonagon ( ) is a village in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,285 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontonagon County, and is the only incorporated place within the county. The village is loca ...

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...

, the historic

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 ...

, which stretches from

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

Silver Summit, Utah Silver Summit is a census-designated place (CDP) in Summit County, Utah, United States. Prior to the 2010 Census, the area was designated as North Snyderville Basin CDP. The population was 1,821 at the 2000 census. Geography According to the U ...

, and Illinois routes 32 and 33 also run through the city. It is also a major railroad junction, the crossing of the

Illinois Central The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, the Great Lak ...

main line from Chicago to

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

with the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

line from

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. For this reason, Effingham has a much broader range of restaurants and lodging facilities than typical towns of its size.

Geography

Effingham is located at (39.120903, −88.545909). According to the 2022 census gazetteer files, Effingham has a total area of , of which (or 99.34%) is land and (or 0.66%) is water. Effingham is served by a total of 5 highways, only 2 of them being interstates.

Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in two segments. It runs through Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. I-57 parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route north of Interstate 55, I-55. T ...

comes into Effingham County with

Edgewood, Illinois Edgewood is a village in Effingham County, Illinois, United States. The population was 398 at the 2020 Census. Edgewood is part of the Effingham, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Edgewood was founded in the 1850s when the railroad wa ...

. It officially comes into Effingham was a cross

Directional T interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...

with

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

west towards

. It runs concurrently with Interstate 57 as it goes through the city's southside exits. It makes its first with W Fayette Avenue and then takes a short curve east and makes a half diamond and half

partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...

with N Keller Drive and

Illinois Route 33 Illinois Route 33 (IL 33) is a multidirectional highway in southeastern Illinois, with its western terminus at Illinois Route 128 on the Fayette– Effingham county line near Beecher City and its southern terminus at U.S. Route 50 east o ...

. After the interchange, it makes an interchange with

and the concurrency ends with a last

with Interstate 70. This time, Interstate 70 runs off east towards

making Interstate 57 continue its route towards

Mattoon, Illinois Mattoon ( ) is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 16,870 as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Lake Land College and has close ties with its neighbor, Charleston, Illinois, Charleston. Both are principal cit ...

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...

, and finally

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 12,252 people, 5,205 households, and 3,029 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,862 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.00%

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

, 0.85%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.25% Native American, 1.31% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.80% from other races, and 4.77% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.60% of the population. There were 5,205 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.77% were married couples living together, 11.82% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.81% were non-families. 33.26% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.64% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 2.29. The city's age distribution consisted of 22.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $52,551, and the median income for a family was $69,405. Males had a median income of $37,288 versus $26,182 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $31,029. About 10.8% of families and 16.9% 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 29.8% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

Effingham was first settled in 1814, and was known from then until 1859 as Broughton. In 1859, it became the county seat with buildings relocated from nearby (now deserted) Ewington. The community was named after General E. Effingham, a local surveyor. In the late 1880s, local citizens founded Austin College, which lasted for several decades, and ultimately was purchased to become the Illinois College of Photography, also known as Bissel College. That school closed due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

in the 1930s. On April 4, 1949, St. Anthony's Hospital caught fire and burned to the ground, killing 74 people. As a result,

fire code Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent wikt:ignition, the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread a ...

s nationwide were improved. Due to extensive media coverage, including a ''Life'' magazine cover story, donations for rebuilding the hospital came from all 48 states and several foreign countries. Effingham was a

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States. They were towns that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combinati ...

; daytime segregation was enforced until at least the mid-1960s.

Rail transportation

Effingham is historically important as a rail junction. The old

and the former

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

crossed in downtown Effingham. The former Illinois Central line was taken over by

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

in 1999, and the former Pennsylvania Railroad was taken over by

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

, in turn this line is now operated by

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Effingham under the daily ''City of New Orleans'' route to New Orleans and Chicago, and the ''

Saluki The Saluki or Persian hound (Persian:سگ تازی، Arabic: سلوقي) is a standardised breed developed from sighthounds – dogs that hunt primarily by sight rather than strong scent – that was once used by nomadic tribes to run down game ...

'' and '' Illini'' to Chicago and Carbondale. Until October 1, 1979, the station also served Amtrak's former ''

National Limited The ''National Limited'' was the premier train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) on its route between Jersey City, New Jersey, and St. Louis, Missouri, with major station stops in Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati, Ohio. (Buses took passeng ...

'' line between

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

and New York City.

Education

Effingham has several schools, both public and private. The private schools are both religiously affiliated and include Saint Anthony and Sacred Heart. Saint Anthony Grade School (SAGS) serves grades preschool (age 3+) to eighth grade. SAGS has the Bullpup as its mascot. Sacred Heart Grade School (SHS) serves preschool (age 3+) to eighth grade. SHS's mascot is the Shamrock. The public schools include the Early Learning Center, South Side Elementary, Central Grade School, Effingham Junior High School (EJHS), and Effingham High School. The Early Learning Center serves preschool and kindergarten age children. South Side Elementary serves first and second graders. Aspire is a school for students who are likely to drop out or those who get expelled. Central Grade School serves third through fifth grade students. Central Grade school's mascot is the Mustang. EJHS serves junior high students in grades six to eight. EJHS's mascot is the Mustang. Effingham High School (EHS) is the public high school. The new EHS building opened in the fall of 1998, and has a current enrollment of 849. The former EHS building, built in 1939 as a WPA project and expanded in 1965, is currently the junior high, serving grades 6–8. The old junior high, Central School, is now a grade school serving grades 3–5. EHS athletics were originally known as the Warriors but the name was changed after

Ada Kepley Ada Harriet Miser Kepley (February 11, 1847 – June 13, 1925) was the first American woman to graduate from law school. She graduated in 1870 with a law degree, from what is today the Northwestern University School of Law. At that time, she was ...

, a city resident, referred to Effingham as the "Heart of America" in a campaign to attract visitors to the city. The name stuck, with references in the city government and the downtown movie theater named the Heart Theater. EHS athletics are now known as the Flaming Hearts. Effingham is also home to St. Anthony High School, a private Roman Catholic High School. SAHS athletics are known as the Bulldogs.

Monument

The Cross at the Crossroads, a steel cross erected by the Cross Foundation is located in Effingham and was inaugurated in 2001. The cross is made out of over 180 tons of steel and cost over $1 million. The Cross Foundation claims that the cross is the largest in the United States, standing at 198 feet (60m) with a span of 113 feet (34m).

Notable people

* George J. Bauer, Illinois state representative *

Jack Berch Jack Berch (August 26, 1907 or 1911Grunwald, Edgar A., Ed. (1940). ''Variety Radio Directory 1940-1941''. Variety, Inc. P. 877. – December 10, 1992) was an American baritone singer best known for his radio variety/talk programsDeLong, Thomas A. ...

, singer and radio personality; raised in Effingham *

Uwe Blab Uwe Konstantin Blab (born March 26, 1962) is a German former professional basketball player who had a five-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to his red hair, Blab was nicknamed “Burning Skyscraper”, especially afte ...

, center for the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, and

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

; attended high school in Effingham * Charles H. Constable, judge and Illinois state senator; died in Effingham *

Nick Gardewine Nick Gardewine (born August 15, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Dorados de Chihuahua of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers. Amateur career Gardewine atte ...

, pitcher for the Texas Rangers; graduate of Effingham High School * Chad Green, pitcher for the New York Yankees; graduate of Effingham High School *

, first American woman to graduate from law school *

Jimmy Kite Jimmy Kite (born February 18, 1976, in Effingham, Illinois) is a retired American race car driver. He debuted in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series in 1997 and has competed in 34 IndyCar races, including five Indianapolis 500s. In 2005, he int ...

, driver with

IndyCar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...

and

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

* Miles E. Mills, Illinois politician * Mary Ann Brown Newcomb, Civil War nurse *

Brian Shouse Brian Douglas Shouse (born September 26, 1968) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher and Minor League pitching coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, T ...

, left-handed pitcher for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

Daniel Winkler Daniel Winkler can refer to: * Dan Winkler (born 1990), American baseball player * Daniel Winkler (gymnast) (born 1962), German Olympic gymnast * Daniel Winkler (knifemaker) Daniel Winkler is an American custom knifemaker based in Blowing Rock, N ...

, pitcher for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

; born and raised in Effingham, attended St. Anthony High School *

Benson Wood Benson Wood (March 31, 1839 – August 27, 1915) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. Early life and military service Born near Bridgewater, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, Wood attended the common schools, Montrose (Pennsylvania) Academy, and W ...

, U.S. Congressman, 1895–1897

In popular culture

Comedians and authors have poked fun at the "Effing" portion of the name Effingham and its use in North American and UK slang as a

minced oath A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by deliberately misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo word or phrase to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. An example is "gosh ...

for the word "

fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...

". For example, radio comedians

Bob and Tom Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) *Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II *Bob the ...

produced a segment on their national radio show referencing Effingham.

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After playing in several small independent bands throughout the late 80s and into the early 90s, Folds came to prominence as the f ...

's album ''

Way to Normal ''Way to Normal'' is the third studio album by Ben Folds. It was released in Japan on September 17, 2008, in Australia on September 27, in UK and Europe on September 29, and in the US on September 30. The album is Folds' highest-charting solo alb ...

'' uses a similar play on words in a track that was inspired by driving past Effingham, although the song refers to the city as "Effington".

References

External links

*
Effingham convention and visitor's bureau
{{authority control Populated places established in 1814 Cities in Illinois Cities in Effingham County, Illinois Micropolitan areas of Illinois National Road County seats in Illinois Sundown towns in Illinois