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Effingham, Illinois

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1950 and the latest in 1998. It stands in Douglas Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62401. The Survey maps it on the Effingham South quadrangle. 12,252 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 591 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Effingham within Effingham County

On record in Effingham

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

3 figures

Effingham fell from 12,384 to 12,252 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
200012,384
201012,328-56 (-0%)
202012,252-76 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 15 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Effingham: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Effinghham City Hwy Dept. PitStonePast Producer

Every working recorded in Effingham County

Storms near this place

60 of 78 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Effingham in 78 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 42 thunderstorm wind, 26 hail, 8 flash flood, 2 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 1994Thunderstorm WindEffingham$50,000Two tractor-semitrailers were blown over in Effingham while numerous trees and power lines were reportedly down across the county. The county sheriff also reported partial roof damage to two homes three miles south of Effingham.
June 2008Flash FloodEffingham$45,000Multiple roads flooded out in Effingham. Four people were rescued from stranded vehicles within the city.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindEffingham$30,000A large tree was blown onto a house, causing significant damage to the roof.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindEffingham$25,000Several trees and tree limbs were blown down. Some falling trees and tree limbs also downed power lines.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindEffingham$25,000Numerous trees and tree limbs were blown down. One large tree fell onto a house causing minor damage.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindEffingham$20,000Numerous tree limbs were blown down in Effingham. Spotty power outages were also reported around town.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindEffingham$12,000Several tree limbs were blown down and a tent collapsed at a church picnic.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindEffingham$3,000Two large healthy trees were snapped.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindEffingham$400Numerous trees, tree limbs, and power lines were blown down in Effingham. One small tree landed on a car causing minor damage. No one was injured and damage was estimated around $400.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A power line was downed at Lakewood Manor Mobile Home Park.
April 2025Tornado (EFU)Effingham-Video evidence showed a tornado touched down in an open field just west of Highway 45 and south of County Road 1680 North at 8:14 PM CDT. The tornado tracked northeastward, crossing Highway 45 and I-57 before dissipating just east of I-57 and south of East 1800th Avenue at 8:16 PM CDT. No damage was observed.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A 3 to 6 inch diameter tree limb was blown down onto a vehicle, causing damage to the vehicle.
October 2025Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A tree was blown down onto Merchant Street.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A powerline was blown down in the Lake Sara area.
March 2023Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Several roads were blocked by downed powerlines.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Trees bent or snapped near southbound I-57. The size and health of the trees was not reported.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A large tree limb was blown down, causing roof damage.
August 2022Flash FloodEffingham-Several streets were closed in town due to flash flooding.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A weather observer reported an estimated wind gust of 60mph.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Tree limbs and power lines were blown down across town.
July 2022Flash FloodEffingham-Road closed due to flooding at Jefferson Avenue and Walnut St.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A large tree was blown down.
June 2022Flash FloodEffingham-Water was flowing across US-40 and US-45 in Effingham.
June 2022Flash FloodEffingham-The Fayette Avenue underpass in Effingham was closed due to high water.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A large tree branch was blown down, damaging a chain link fence.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A sign was blown over at Orchard Inn Tavern.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Several power poles were snapped or leaning on Rickleman Avenue.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A few tree branches and power lines were blown down in Effingham.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A tree was blown down near the intersection of US 40 and County Road 1000E.
February 2008Flash FloodEffingham-Many streets were flooded on the west side of Effingham. One vehicle become stuck in high water near the Little Wabash River.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A large tree was blown down.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A few tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Effingham.
April 2006Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Minor roof and siding damage.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Several tree limbs were blown down.
January 2005Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Measured gust from CO-OP Observer.
January 2005Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Thunderstorm wind gusts tore an awning off a gas station and caused roof damage to a couple other buildings in Effingham.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Several tree limbs and power lines blown down.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Large maple tree blown down.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Tree blown down across county road.
August 2004Flash FloodEffingham-Very heavy rain caused US Routes 40 and 45 to become flooded in Effingham.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Several trees were blown down, one of which fell onto an unoccupied car damaging it in Mason.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Thunderstorm winds blew over a tree, knocked some shingles and siding off of a house and destroyed a section of fencing. No injuries were reported.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Several power lines were blown down.
May 2002Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Thunderstorm winds destroyed an unoccupied mobile home. The winds blew another unoccupied mobile home over, as well as, two semis on I-70 near Montrose and numerous trees and tree limbs.
February 2001Flash FloodEffingham-Radar estimated 1 to 3 inches of rain falling on frozen ground across the area during the late morning and early afternoon hours. Numerous streets in Effingham were reported flooded and State Route 45 in Effingham was reported to be under water.
April 2001HailEffingham-Hail from dime to golf ball size was reported as the storm approached and entered Efffingham.
May 2001HailEffingham-Hail began at Lake Sara, roughly 5 miles west of Effingham and continued into Effingham.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindEffingham-Thunderstorm winds blew down several large tree limbs and power lines.
April 2000Thunderstorm WindEffingham-A couple of road signs were blown over as well as several large tree limbs in Effingham.
May 1998Tornado (F0)Effingham-A tornado briefly touched down in a field 5 miles west of Effingham. No injuries were reported and only two trees were blown down. No structural damage was reported.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindEffingham-As a severe thunderstorm moved through Effingham it blew down numerous large tree limbs throughout the town.
August 1993HailEffingham-Heavy rain and dime- to nickel-size hail fell on the southeast edge of town. A shed was blown over.
March 2026HailEffingham-no account filed
May 2025HailEffingham-no account filed
August 2022HailEffingham-no account filed
May 2018HailEffingham-no account filed
May 2018HailEffingham-no account filed
April 2016HailEffingham-no account filed
May 2016HailEffingham-no account filed
October 2016HailEffingham-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Effingham County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Ewington3.1 miles15
Teutopolis3.9 miles11
Funkhouser4.5 miles15
Heartville4.8 miles15
Evers5.0 miles11
Green Creek5.8 miles15
Watson6.7 miles15
Keptown7.3 miles15

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on EffinghamAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q577958The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 407809. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.