Freeburg, Illinois
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Freeburg is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States.
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[edit] History
Freeburg lies in the fertile and rolling Southern Illinois plains between the Kaskaskia River and the mighty Mississippi River. It was platted in 1836 as the town of Urbana by John Tolin Lemen whose father had immigrated to this area from Virginia around 1800. Apparently, the first settlers of Freeburg were of English and Irish ancestry if we discount the American Indians who lived here for hundreds of years as evidenced by the presence of the Mound Builder's culture in the vicinity. There were five migratory Indian tribes that crisscrossed each other in Illinois; the Peorias, Cahokias, Kaskaskias, Tamaroas, and Michiganics. It is said that Turkey Hill north of town was a popular Indian campground that also attracted many early settlers because of the view it provided of the surrounding countryside. The last Indian tribes left this area by 1820.
The big German migrations to this area started around 1830 and continued quite strong for the rest of the century. Obviously, the abundance of coal, the availability of cheap fertile farm land, as well as the proximity to the frontier city of St. Louis, only 20 miles to the northwest, are what attracted settlers to Freeburg.
The old "Plank Road" was built in the 1850's and for 35 cents you could ride from Belleville to Freeburg in "comfort" without potholes on what is now known as the old Freeburg Road. Abe Lincoln is said to have utilized this road on at least one occasion.
In 1851, the post office came, and when it was found that there was another town of Urbana in Illinois, the city fathers changed the name in 1859 to Freeburg after the beautiful city of Freiburg in the state of Baden, Germany, from which some of the early settlers had come.
The town was incorporated in 1867 with 808 residents. The railroad came in 1869 and exchanged owners several times before being sold to the Illinois Central. In the heyday of independent coal mines, as many as 1500 miners lived here, and in 1874, there were 10 hotels for them to choose from if they could not find more permanent lodging. With the closing of the Peabody River King Mine just cast of Freeburg in 1989, coal no longer played a dominant role in the local economy.
Today, Freeburg remains a conservative, mostly German community with a highly diversified business economy that also serves as a bedroom community for Belleville and the St. Louis metroplex, while still providing essential services needed in any small community.
On clear days, downtown St. Louis is visible from Turkey Hill. Several small factories are in business within the township. These include - E.M. Wiegmann & Co., Inc.; Tower's Fire Apparatus Co., Inc.; Siemen's Mfg., Co., Inc.; and several small construction, trucking, and engineering firms. Three commercial orchards are also located in the area; Eckert's Orchards, Schlueter's Orchard, and Braeutigam's Orchard.
[edit] Geography
Freeburg is located at (38.426949, -89.910451).GR1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 8.4 km² (3.2 mi²). 8.3 km² (3.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.54%) is water.
Freeburg has historically been a farming community, but as the nearby cities of Belleville and Fairview Heights have grown, parts of Freeburg have been developed with subdivisions that resemble a suburb.
Freeburg enjoys a low crime rate, particularly compared to the cities immediately to its north, and land values have attracted some commuters who live in Freeburg and work as far away as St. Louis, Missouri.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 3,872 people, 1,414 households, and 1,063 families residing in the village. The population density was 468.6/km² (1,215.1/mi²). There were 1,485 housing units at an average density of 179.7/km² (466.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.55% White, 0.15% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population.
There were 1,414 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the village the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $51,434 and the median income for a family was $57,632. Males had a median income of $37,857 versus $27,929 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,851. About 6.1% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government
As of June, 2005:
- Mayor - Ray Danford
- Village Clerk - Mary 'Lisa' Grau
- Treasurer - Bryan Vogel
- Administrator - Dennis Herzing
- Administrative Assistant - Billie Louthan
- Public Works Director - Ron Dintelmann
- Zoning Administrator - Jesse Freeburg
- Police Chief - Mel Woodruff
- Assistant Public Works Director - John Tolan
- Accounting Clerk- Melissa Miller
- ESDA Coordinator - Gene Kramer
[edit] Recreational activities
[edit] Parks
[edit] freeburg comunity park
the main 65 acre city park features
- Walking trails
- Two-acre fishing lake
- A four ball diamond complex with concession stands
- One open ball diamond
- Three lighted tennis courts
- Two lighted basketball courts
- Four picnic pavilions
- One T-Ball field
- Modern playground equipment
- In-Line skating/hockey rink
- Soccer practice space
- Small skate park
- Cottage for meetings
- Built restrooms
- Park house with manager
[edit] memorial park
Village can also boast of a memorial park in the center of the village dedicated to the veterans of the World Wars, It covers a city block in the center of the business district.
[edit] Boy Scouts
freeburg also boasts a active scout troop with meatings on wendsday nights at 7:00.
[edit] Organized School Participation Sports
[edit] Freeburg Community High School
- Boy's Football
- Boy's Cross Country
- Boy's Track
- Boy's Golf
- Boy's Baseball
- Boy's Basketball Girl's Basketball
- Girl's Volleyball
- Girl's Softball
- Girl's Track
- Girl's Cross Country
- Girl's Golf
- Weightlifting
[edit] Freeburg Community Consolidated Grade School
- Boy's Track
- Boy's Baseball
- Boy's Basketball Girl's Track
- Girl's Softball
- Girl's Basketball
- Girl's Volleyball
[edit] St. Joseph Catholic Grade School
- Boy's Basketball
- Boy's Soccer
- Boy's Track
- Boy's Volleyball Girl's Basketball
- Girl's Soccer
- Girl's Track
- Girl's Volleyball
[edit] Southwestern Illinois College
- Men's Basketball
- Men's Baseball
- Men's Wrestling
- Men's Soccer Women's Basketball
- Women's Volleyball
- Women's Softball
[edit] In film
Jeanies, A now demolished cafe on the northern outskirts of the town was used for the filming of In the Heat of the Night
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Library
- Freeburg Elementary School
- Freeburg High School
- St. Joseph Catholic School
- Freeburg Community Bible Church
- St. Paul's United Church of Christ
- Nolkemper Watkins Truck Insurance
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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Municipalities and Communities of St. Clair County, Illinois (County Seat: Belleville) |
|---|---|
| Cities, Towns and Villages | Alorton | Belleville | Brooklyn*Cahokia | Caseyville | Centreville | Dupo | East Carondelet | East St. Louis | Fairview Heights | Fayetteville | Freeburg | Lebanon | Lenzburg | Marissa | Mascoutah | Millstadt | New Athens | O'Fallon | Sauget | Scott AFB | Shiloh | Smithton | St. Libory | Summerfield | Swansea | Washington Park |
| Townships | Belleville | Canteen | Caseyville | Centreville | East St. Louis | Engelmann | Fayetteville | Freeburg | Lebanon | Lenzburg | Marissa | Mascoutah | Millstadt | New Athens | O’Fallon | Prairie du Long | Shiloh Valley | Smithton | St. Clair | Stites | Stookey | Sugarloaf |
