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History · Sigel

Sigel dates to 1867, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1985 on and the census since 1880.

1867founded
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Sigel began

When was Sigel founded?

1867

Sigel dates its founding to 1867 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 302 in 18802020 census: 329159 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.

What stands out about Sigel’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Sigel are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sigel’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sigel’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Sigel, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sigel yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Sigel is an incorporated town in Shelby County, Illinois, United States. The population was 329 at the 2020 census. The town was named after Franz Sigel, (1824–1902), a Union general in the American Civil War.

Sigel was established in 1867. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 373 to 329 (-12%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Sigel, 1867 to 1985

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867
    FoundingSigel is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Sigel post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907Born hereJack Berch is born here
  6. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Sigel on the map, 1985 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sigel. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Sigel on the 1985 USGS mapSigel on the 1998 USGS map1985Teutopolis sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sigel.

People over time

Sigel, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 387

Between 258 and 387 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sigel’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Sigel’s history

What year was Sigel founded?

In 1867, according to Wikidata. Sigel’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 302 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.