Effingham, Illinois

Effingham is a city in Effingham County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,384 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Effingham County.

The city bills itself as "The Crossroads of Opportunity" because of its location at the intersection of two major Interstate highways: I-57 running from Chicago to Miner, Missouri, and I-70 running from Utah to Maryland. It also is the path of U.S. Route 45, which runs from Michigan to Alabama. Illinois Route 33 and Illinois Route 32 also run through the city. Thus, Effingham has a broad range of restaurants, lodging, and shopping facilities. Effingham is also located on U.S. Highway 40, the historic National Road, which stretches from Cumberland, Maryland to East St. Louis, Illinois.

Geography
Effingham is located at 39.12083°N, -88.54583°W (39.120903, -88.545909).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.7 square miles (22.6 km²), of which, 8.7 square miles (22.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.69%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,384 people, 5,330 households, and 3,187 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,428.9 people per square mile (551.5/km²). There were 5,660 housing units at an average density of 653.0 per square mile (252.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.79% White, 0.36% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.38% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population.

There were 5,330 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,761, and the median income for a family was $45,902. Males had a median income of $31,442 versus $21,543 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,132. About 6.5% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

History
Effingham is named for Effingham County, which was named after Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham, who resigned his commission as general in the British army in 1775, refusing to serve in the war against the Colonies. The name is Anglo-Saxon for "Effa's house".

On April 5, 1949, St. Anthony's hospital caught fire and burned to the ground, killing 70 people. As a result, fire codes nationwide were improved. Due to extensive media coverage, including a "Life Magazine" cover story, donations for rebuilding the hospital came from all 48 states and several foreign countries.

Rail transportation
Effingham is also historically important as a rail junction. The old Pennsylvania Railroad and the former Illinois Central Railroad crossed in downtown Effingham. Even today, Amtrak's City of New Orleans passes through daily.

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Effingham under the daily City of New Orleans route to New Orleans and Chicago, Saluki, and Illini routes to Chicago and Carbondale. Until October 1, 1979, the station also served Amtrak's former National Limited line between Kansas City and New York City.

Education
Effingham High School (EHS) is the public high school. The new EHS opened in the fall of 1998. The former EHS building, built in 1939 as a WPA project(film made as of the construction) and expanded in 1965, is currently the junior high, serving grades 6-8. The old junior high, Central School, is now a grade school serving grades 3-5. EHS athletics were originally known as the "Warriors" but the name was changed after Ada Kepley, a legendary city resident, referred to Effingham as the "Heart of America"in a campaign to attract visitors to the city. The name eventually stuck, with references in the city government and the downtown movie theater named "The Heart Theater." EHS athletics are now known as the "Flaming Hearts" though generally referred to as simply the "Hearts."

Effingham is also home to St. Anthony High School, a private Roman Catholic High School. SAHS athletics are known as the "Bulldogs".

Monuments
A 198 ft steel cross erected by The Cross Foundation is located in Effingham. The Cross Foundation claims that the cross is the tallest in the United States standing at 198 feet, even though The Great Cross (260 ft)in St. Augustine, Florida is believed to be the tallest freestanding cross in the world.

Notable people

 * Uwe Blab, former NBA Player.
 * Ada Kepley, first American woman to graduate from law school.
 * Jimmy Kite, driver with IndyCar and NASCAR.
 * Matt Mitrione, mixed martial artists who competes in the UFC.
 * Civil War nurse Mary Newcomb lived in Effingham. She was not a nurse of the organized groups, but "went along" when her husband went to war.  She wrote a personal narrative of her life as a nurse, giving an eyewitness account of her experiences caring for sick and wounded and of famous people she met such as Grant and Logan.  She and her husband, who was killed in the war, are buried in Effingham.
 * Brian Shouse, left handed pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers in Major League Baseball.

In popular culture
Radio comedians Bob and Tom produced a segment on their national radio show, poking fun at the "Effing" portion of the name Effingham. Created as a fake advertisement for Illinois, the announcer talks about getting "Effing steaks, Effing great burgers, going Effing crazy," etc. Effingham has been brought up on several portions of this show discussing the large cross located just off I-57 in city. Bob Kevoian, co-host, described Effingham as the "Gateway" to his in-laws.

Ben Folds's album Way to Normal includes a track that was inspired while driving by Effingham, although the song refers to the city as "Effington"; it similarly refers to "effing in their yards/effing in their cars/effing in the trailers in the back roads and the parking lots of Effington."

Jason Koo's book, Man on Extremely Small Island, has as its first poem "Swearing by Effingham," and includes many plays on the name of the city.