Hamel was founded in 1818 and developed as a farming community at a rural crossroads; it was named for A. J. "Jack" Hamel, a local farmer. German immigrants settled the area in the 1830s and established St. Paul Lutheran Church, which built its first church by 1861. Hamel was incorporated as a village on February 24, 1955.
U.S. Route 66 ran through Hamel from 1926 until 1965. The village retains landmarks from that era, including the blue neon cross at St. Paul Lutheran Church, placed in memory of a local son killed in World War II, and a 1930s roadhouse on the old highway now known as Weezy's Route 66.
Passages that mention Hamel, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Centennial History of Madison County, Illinois and Its People1912 · page 665Read the page →
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marriage in 1873, he initiated his independent career as a farmer. Subsequently lie pur¬ chased a farm of eighty acres just north of Hamel and on this fine estate he has continued to reside during the long intervening years to the present time. He also owns eighty acres one-half mile north of Hamel. He devotes the major portion of his time and attention to gen¬
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Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 19121912 · page 596Read the page →
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Fruit, a station and post-office on the Clover Leaf, is on the line between Hamel and Pin Oak townships. It takes its name from the pioneer family of that name. The writer re¬ calls a volunteer soldier of the Civil war, by the name of Fruit, from this neighborhood, who was very fleshy. The officials sent him home from Camp Butler because on drill his
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Centennial History of Madison County, Illinois and Its People1912 · page 596Read the page →
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Fruit, a station and post-office on the Clover Leaf, is on the line between Hamel and Pin Oak townships. It takes its name from the pioneer family of that name. The writer re¬ calls a volunteer soldier of the Civil war, by the name of Fruit, from this neighborhood, who was very fleshy. The officials sent him home from Camp Butler because on drill his
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History of Madison County, Illinois ... With biographical sketches ..1882 · page 419Read the page →
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heavy timber, as was also a portion of the surrounding country. In consequence of this the mill flourished and did a thriving business, but in a few years timber became scarce, and it was moved to Hamel township. William Tyron kept the first post office. This was in 1855. The first hotel was built and kept by Anthony B. Carroll in 1858. It was situated on Prairie street and Railroad avenue, and north of the railroad. The first blacksmiths were the firm of Richard &
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
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2026
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2009
