Breese

History

The town is named after Sidney Breese, a United States Senator and a contemporary of President Abraham Lincoln. Breese was founded in 1855. Even though the area around Breese, Illinois, was first settled in 1816, it was not until 1835 that Germans came to the town to farm because of the flat, fertile land there. Twenty years after the Germans' first immigration, the Mississippi and Ohio Railroad was completed. The early pioneers were enthralled by the thought of transportation by railroad. The Chicago-based company Sanger Kamp & Co. bought 80 acres of land near the railroad. Twenty-four acres were laid out with the railroad splitting the original town, with some acres on the north side and some on the south side, creating Breese Township, February 3, 1855. Late in 1855, forty Catholic immigrants, wanting to fulfill their religious needs, had the idea of constructing a church. Their desires were realized when two years later, the Sanger Kamp & Co. gave half of one of its to the Catholics’ project. By December 1869, St. Dominic's Catholic Church was completed. Breese was first recognized as a town on April 11, 1871, and later became a village on September 23, 1876. As a result, the construction of the village hall had begun. This project was completed in 1885. Seven years later, a volunteer fire department was organized. The ever-growing population was then acknowledged as a city on January 19, 1905. The mayor of this new city was Henry Hummert. Realizing that Breese would need some improvements, the mayor authorized the construction of an electric light plant that was completed in 1906. The streets of Breese were also topped with road oil in 1911. The next year, improvements to the city's water works facility were also made. However, things took a turn for the…

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Breese has a total area of , of which (or 99.07%) is land and (or 0.93%) is water. Breese is located on U.S. Route 50, east of St. Louis, Missouri.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,981
• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  2,446
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,325
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,170
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,069
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,025
• Double-crested Cormorant

  Phalacrocorax auritus (Lesson, 1831) · Aves
  1,984
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,929

Largest nearby schools

• Central Comm High School
  High · Breese · 620 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Wesclin Middle School
  Middle · Trenton · 475 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• Aviston Elem School
  Elementary · Aviston · 429 students · 18.7:1 ratio
• Breese Elem School
  Middle · Breese · 420 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• Carlyle Elementary School
  Elementary · Carlyle · 384 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Wesclin Sr High School
  High · Trenton · 373 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• Carlyle Junior High School
  Middle · Carlyle · 296 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• Carlyle High School
  High · Carlyle · 282 students · 10.1:1 ratio