Effingham, Illinois

Effingham is a city in Effingham County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,384 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Effingham County.

The 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, and I-70 running from Utah to Maryland. 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 (39.120903, -88.545909).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.7 square miles (22.6 km²), 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 former Illinois 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 to New Orleans and Chicago, Saluki, and Illini routes to Chicago and Carbondale. Until 1979, the station also served Amtrak's former National Limited line between Kansas City and New York City.

Notable citizens

• Ada Kepley, First American woman to graduate from law school
• Jimmy Kite, IndyCar and NASCAR driver
• Brian Shouse, Pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers in Major League Baseball
• Uwe Blab, Former NBA Player
• Ross Wolf, Pitcher for the Florida Marlins

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,384 people, 5,330 households, and 3,187 families residing in the city. The population 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 the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

• Effingham's official website
• Visit Effingham
• Effingham High School Band Website
• Genealogy Trails - Effingham, IL
• The Cross
• Effingham's Online Community