Stelle is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located in Rogers Township in northern

Ford County, Illinois Ford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 13,534. Its county seat is Paxton. Ford County was part of the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area until 2018, ...

, United States. As of 2013, its estimated population is 100. The community was established as an

intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of group cohesiveness, social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, wh ...

in the early 1970s. In 1982, Stelle transitioned to a standard

homeowner's association A homeowner association (or homeowners' association ''HOA sometimes referred to as a property owners' association ''POA common interest development ''CID or homeowner community) is a private, legally-incorporated organization that governs a h ...

, a structure it maintains today.

Historical overview

Stelle was founded in 1973 by the ''Stelle Group'', a

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 ...

-based organization established by Richard Kieninger, a writer and teacher who also played a role in founding

Adelphi, Texas The Adelphi Community is an intentional community, population 16, 25 miles east of Dallas, Texas, United States. It has streets, private homes, eight townhouses, a community well, community gardens and a sewage treatment plant. History The commun ...

. In the 1950s, Kieninger was a student of the Lemurian Fellowship in Ramona, California. Its founders, who belonged to a recently formed group from

, purchased farmland in the northern part of Ford County and developed 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 ...

an-style community. Stelle initially operated as a private community. In 1982, Stelle transitioned into a

homeowner association A homeowner association (or homeowners' association OA sometimes referred to as a property owners' association OA common interest development ID or homeowner community) is a private, Incorporation (business), legally-incorporated orga ...

and opened to the public. Following the transition, Stelle became notable for the incorporation of

solar panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

s on many homes and residents' emphasis on cooperative enterprises. The village has its own telephone company, providing telephone, television, and internet services. Additional community features include a community garden co-op, a tool co-op, and a weekly communal dinner. Stelle also hosts educational events open to the public.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{authority control Intentional communities in Illinois Populated places established in 1973 Unincorporated communities in Ford County, Illinois 1973 establishments in Illinois Unincorporated communities in Illinois

Historical overview

References

Further reading

External links