Highland, Illinois

City: Highland

County: Madison

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 38.7333, -89.6667

Highland, Illinois is a city in Madison County, Illinois. Located twenty-seven miles east southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, the area that became Highland began to attach white settlers as early as 1804, but it was not until after the War of 1812 that settlers began arriving in large numbers. Immigrants from Switzerland and Germany began to arrive in the area in 1831, and proprietors platted Highland in 1837. As lots were sold in the new settlement, construction of a steam mill began to bring employment to the inhabitants. It was completed in 1839, and tradespeople began to move to Highland as well, many continuing to arrive from Switzerland and Germany. In 1865, the Illinois General Assembly incorporated Highland as a town.

W. T. Norton, ed., Centennial History of Madison County, Illinois, and Its People, 1812 to 1912 (Chicago: Lewis, 1912), 1:529, 531, 532, 543; "An Act to Incorporate the Town of Highland, in Madison County, Illinois," 16 February 1865, Private Laws of Illinois (1865), 2:474-81; Webster's New Geographical Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1988), 502.