Effingham dates to 1814, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #227 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Effingham County Courthouse and the Heart Theater. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Effingham’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Effingham is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #227 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Effingham’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Effingham’s 1.6 sits above most of its state (65% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points). Two sources give 1814.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Effingham’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
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 in the 1930s.
Passages that mention Effingham, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Effingham county, Illinois1883 · page 150Read the page →
Read the text
the of THE city of Effingham, the capital Effingham County, and the metropolis of a fine and flourishing region of country, is beautifully situated on high rolling land at the crossing of the Chicago Branch of the Illinois Central Railroad and the Vandalia
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Effingham county, Illinois1883 · page 157Read the page →
Read the text
The village of Effingham was incorporated under the law governing such matters, but as the record book of the proceedings has been lost, nothing definite can be given in regard to this period of its local government, It was incorporated as a city in 1867, and the first Mayor elected was B. F. Kagay; E. H.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Effingham, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1814, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Effingham’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1870 counted 2,383 people here.
How does Effingham rank for history?
Effingham is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #227 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Effingham?
Two places: the Effingham County Courthouse (listed 1985) and the Heart Theater (2023).
How old are the homes in Effingham?
13% of Effingham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1974.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2026
2026
2025
2022
2015
2013
2013
2013
2010
