Hecker

History

Hecker was originally named "Freedom". The town was laid out on land of Theodore Hilgard. It was platted and surveyed by Thomas Singleton, county surveyor, December 18, 1840, the first home being built in 1849. In 1895 the citizens of what was then Freedom decided to incorporate, to facilitate improvements to the nascent town's infrastructure. Due to complaints from the Post Office, there being another town calling itself Freedom in Illinois, they were forced to change the name. Friedrich Franz Karl Hecker, a former German revolutionary, orator, and American Civil War colonel, whose farm was near Summerfield in adjacent St. Clair County, was known to and well respected by the town's inhabitants, and they decided to honor him by naming the town after him.

Geography

Hecker is in eastern Monroe County, with its northern border following the St. Clair County line. Illinois Route 159 passes through the village on Main Street, leading north to Belleville and south to Red Bud. Illinois Route 156 enters the village on West Monroe Street and departs to the north with IL 159; it leads west to Waterloo, the Monroe county seat, and east to New Athens. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the village of Hecker has a total area of , of which , or 1.11%, are water. The village drains east to a tributary of Richland Creek and west toward Toole Branch, a tributary of Prairie du Long Creek, which itself is a tributary of Richland Creek. The entire village is part of the Kaskaskia River watershed.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,086
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  910
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  905
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  898
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  863
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  807
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  792
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  781

Largest nearby schools

• Waterloo High School
  High · Waterloo · 895 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Waterloo Junior High School
  Middle · Waterloo · 619 students · 17.2:1 ratio
• W J Zahnow Elem School
  Elementary · Waterloo · 488 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Gardner Elementary School
  Elementary · Waterloo · 399 students · 16:1 ratio
• Rogers Elem School
  Elementary · Waterloo · 367 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• CCSI Alternative School
  High · Red Bud
• Career Center of Southern IL
  High · Red Bud