Douglas Township, Effingham County, Illinois
township in Effingham County, Illinois
Douglas Township is one of fifteen townships in Effingham County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,556 and it contained 5,947 housing units.
Geography
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Douglas Township has a total area of 33.64 square miles (87.13 km2), of which 33.58 square miles (86.97 km2) (or 99.83%) is land and 0.06 square miles (0.16 km2) (or 0.17%) is water.
Cities, towns, villages
Effingham (vast majority)
Extinct towns
Green Creek
Cemeteries
The township contains these five cemeteries: Effingham City, Green Creek, Ramsey, Saint Anthony Catholic and Saint John Lutheran.
Major highways
Interstate 57
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 45
Illinois Route 32
Illinois Route 33
Airports and landing strips
Saint Anthony Memorial Hospital Heliport
Landmarks
Oak Ridge Cemetery
Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 12,556 people, 5,268 households, and 3,188 families residing in the township. The population density was 373.29 inhabitants per square mile (144.13/km2). There were 5,947 housing units at an average density of 176.80 per square mile (68.26/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 91.76% White, 0.80% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from other races, and 4.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.01% of the population.
According to the 2020 American Community Survey, there were 5,268 households, out of which 29.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.44% were married couples living together, 11.31% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 39.48% were non-families. 30.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
“Douglas Township, Effingham County, Illinois” enters the record as township in Effingham County, Illinois. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Douglas, Township and Effingham can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Douglas Township, Effingham County, Illinois” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Douglas, Township and Effingham provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5302036. Authority coordinates are 39.167, -88.533. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020 and 2021.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Douglas Township, Effingham County, Illinois”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Douglas Township, Effingham County, Illinois primary sources, Douglas Township, Effingham County, Illinois archive and Douglas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Douglas Township, Effingham County, Illinois”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Douglas Township, Effingham County, Illinois” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.