- Effingham, Illinois
Geobox|Settlement
name = Effingham
native_name =
other_name =
category = City
etymology =
official_name =
motto =
nickname =
image_caption = Effingham County Courthouse
symbol =
country = United States
state = Illinois
region = Effingham
region_type = County
district =
district_type = Township
municipality =
location =
elevation_imperial =
prominence_imperial =
lat_d = 39
lat_m = 7
lat_s = 15
lat_NS = N
long_d = 88
long_m = 32
long_s = 45
long_EW = W
coordinates_no_title = 1
highest =
highest_location =
highest_region =
highest_state =
highest_elevation_imperial =
highest_lat_d =
highest_lat_m =
highest_lat_s =
highest_lat_NS =
highest_long_d =
highest_long_m =
highest_long_s =
highest_long_EW =
lowest =
lowest_location =
lowest_region =
lowest_state =
lowest_elevation_imperial =
lowest_lat_d =
lowest_lat_m =
lowest_lat_s =
lowest_lat_NS =
lowest_long_d =
lowest_long_m =
lowest_long_s =
lowest_long_EW =
length_imperial =
length_orientation =
area_imperial = 8.7
area_land_imperial = 8.7
area_water_imperial =
area_urban_imperial =
area_metro_imperial =
population = 12384
population_date = 2000
population_urban =
population_metro =
population_density =
population_density_imperial = 1428.9
population_density_urban_imperial =
population_density_metro_imperial =
established =
date =
government =
government_location =
government_region =
government_state =
government_elevation_imperial =
government_lat_d =
government_lat_m =
government_lat_s =
government_lat_NS =
government_long_d =
government_long_m =
government_long_s =
government_long_EW =
mayor =
leader =
leader_type = Mayor
timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
postal_code = 62401
area_code = 217
code =
whs_name =
whs_year =
whs_number =
whs_region =
whs_criteria =
iucn_category =
map_caption = Location of Effingham within Illinois
map_background = Illinois - background map.png
map_locator = Illinois2
commons = Effingham, Illinois
statistics =
website =
footnotes = Effingham is a city in Effingham County,Illinois ,United States . The population was 12,384 at the 2000 census. It is thecounty seat of Effingham County.GR|6The city bills itself as "The Crossroads of Opportunity" because of its location at the intersection of two major Interstate highways:
I-57 running from Chicago, IL to Miner, MO, andI-70 running fromUtah toMaryland . Thus, Effingham has a broad range of restaurants, lodging, and shopping facilities.Effingham is also located on U.S. Highway 40, the historic
National Road .Geography
Effingham is located at coor dms|39|7|15|N|88|32|45|W|city (39.120903, -88.545909).GR|1
According to the
United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 8.7square mile s (22.6km² ), of which, 8.7 square miles (22.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.69%) is water.History
Effingham is named for Effingham County, which was named after Edward Effingham, who resigned his commission as general in the British army in
1775 , refusing to serve in the war against the Colonies. The name is Anglo-Saxon for "Effa's house".Effingham is also historically important as a rail junction. The old
Pennsylvania Railroad and the formerIllinois Central Railroad crossed in downtown Effingham. Even today, Amtrak's "City of New Orleans" passes through daily. (See the following paragraph)On
April 5 ,1949 , St. Anthony's hospital caught fire and burned to the ground, killing 70 people. As a result, fire codes 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.Education
Effingham High School (EHS) is the public high school. The new EHS opened in the fall of 1998. EHS is home to 2006 Illinois Teacher of the Year, Mr. Joe Fatheree. The former EHS building, built in 1939 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 are 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".
Rail Transportation
Amtrak , the national passenger rail system, provides service to Effingham under the daily "City of New Orleans " route toNew Orleans and Chicago, "Saluki", and "Illini" routes to Chicago and Carbondale. Until 1979, the station also served Amtrak's formerNational Limited line between Kansas City andNew York City .Notable citizens
*
Ada Kepley , First American woman to graduate from law school
*Jimmy Kite ,IndyCar andNASCAR driver
*Brian Shouse , Pitcher for theMilwaukee Brewers inMajor League Baseball
*Uwe Blab , Former NBA Player
*Ross Wolf , Pitcher for theFlorida Marlins Demographics
As of the
census GR|2 of 2000, there were 12,384 people, 5,330 households, and 3,187 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 1,428.9 people per square mile (551.5/km²). There were 5,660 housing units at an average density of 653.0/sq mi (252.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.79% White, 0.36% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.38% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population.There were 5,330 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,761, and the median income for a family was $45,902. Males had a median income of $31,442 versus $21,543 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $19,132. About 6.5% of families and 9.6% of the population were below thepoverty line , including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.References
External links
* [http://www.effinghamil.com/ Effingham's official website]
* [http://www.comevisiteffingham.com/ Visit Effingham]
* [http://www.effinghamband.org Effingham High School Band Website]
* [http://www.genealogytrails.com/ill/effingham Genealogy Trails - Effingham, IL]
* [http://www.crossusa.org/ The Cross]
* [http://www.effinghampostboard.com/ Effingham's Online Community]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.