Freeburg is a village in St. Clair County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

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. Located within

Greater St. Louis Greater St. Louis is the 23rd-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the largest in Missouri, and the second-largest in Illinois. Its core city—St. Louis, Missouri—sits in the geographic center of the metro area, ...

, it is a southeastern

exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburbs, suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing-density, and rela ...

with many residents commuting to Downtown St. Louis or the Belleville area for employment. , Freeburg had a population of 4,354.

History

Freeburg lies in the fertile and rolling southern

plains between the

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...

and

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

s. It was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1836 as the town of Urbana by immigrants to this area from Virginia around 1800. The first European settlers of Freeburg were of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and Irish ancestry. There were five migratory Native American tribes that crisscrossed each other in Illinois; the Peorias, Cahokias,

s, Tamaroas, and Michiganics. Turkey Hill to the north of town was a popular Native campground that also attracted many early settlers because of the view it provided of the surrounding countryside. The last Indian tribes left this area by 1820. Attracted by the abundance of coal, the availability of cheap and fertile farmland, as well as the proximity to the frontier city of

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 ...

, which was located only 20 miles to the northwest of the area, large-scale

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

migrations to the area began around 1830 and continued at a consistent rate for the rest of the century. The old "Plank Road" was built in the 1850s, and, for 35 cents, travelers could ride from Belleville to Freeburg in "comfort" without potholes on what is now known as the old Freeburg Road.

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

is said to have used this road on at least one occasion. In 1851, the post office came, and when it was found that there was another town of Urbana in Illinois, the city fathers changed the name in 1859 to Freeburg after the city of

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

in the region of

Baden, Germany The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

, from which some of the early settlers had come. The town was incorporated in 1867 with 808 residents. The railroad came in 1869 and exchanged owners several times before being sold to the Illinois Central. In the heyday of independent coal mines, as many as 1500 miners lived here, and in 1874, there were 10 hotels for them to choose from if they could not find more permanent lodging. With the closing of the Peabody River King Mine just east of Freeburg in 1989, coal no longer played a dominant role in the local economy. The

River King Mine Train River King Mine Train is a steel mine train roller coaster at Six Flags St. Louis in Eureka, Missouri. Built in 1971, it was the park's first coaster and opened with the park on June 5, 1971. The actual ride itself is one of two tracks, one wh ...

Six Flags St. Louis Six Flags St. Louis, originally known as Six Flags Over Mid-America, is an amusement park in Eureka, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Owned and operated by Six Flags, it has eight themed areas with attractions, dining, and live entertainment, ...

was named for the River King Coal Mine located in Freeburg. The 2,000-acre mine site was operated by Peabody Coal (now named Peabody Energy) from 1957 to 1989. After the closure of the large mine in 1989, Peabody donated some 1,800 acres of the 2,000-acre site to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in 1994. The site is now the state owned and managed Peabody-River King State Fish and Wildlife Area and is open to the public for use by anglers, hunters, and other outdoor enthusiasts for recreational opportunities in the southeastern portion of Greater St. Louis. In 2022, mayor Seth Speiser was given a citation for

poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...

by the Illinois Conversation Police.

Geography

Freeburg is located at (38.426949, -89.910451). According to the 2010 census, Freeburg has a total area of , of which (or 96.37%) is land and (or 3.63%) is water. Freeburg has historically been a farming community, but as the nearby cities of Belleville and Fairview Heights have grown, parts of Freeburg have been developed with subdivisions that resemble a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

. Freeburg enjoys a low crime rate, particularly compared to the cities immediately to its north, and land values have attracted some commuters who live in Freeburg and work the short distance to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Freeburg, IL has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 3,872 people, 1,414 households, and 1,063 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,485 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.55%

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 ...

, 0.15%

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 ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.10%

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 ...

, 0.21% from other races, and 0.49% 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 1.11% of the population. There were 1,414 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.08. In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $51,434 and the median income for a family was $57,632. Males had a median income of $37,857 versus $27,929 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 village was $19,851. About 6.1% of families and 5.7% 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 7.8% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Freeburg Elementary School
*

Freeburg Community High School Freeburg Community High School is a high school located in Freeburg, Illinois, United States. The Freeburg Community High School District #77 controls it. Freeburg Community High School was founded in 1904 as a two-year school and graduated i ...

St. Joseph Catholic SchoolPublic library

Notable people

* Danny Cox, former pitcher for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Dutch Hoffman Clarence Casper "Dutch" Hoffman (January 28, 1904 – December 6, 1962) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Chicago White Sox in 1929.

, outfielder for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

In film

Jeanies, a now-demolished cafe on the northern outskirts of the town, was used for the filming of '' In the Heat of the Night''.

References

{{authority control Villages in St. Clair County, Illinois Populated places established in 1836 1836 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois