Highland

Sister cities

• Sursee

History

Highland was settled in the early 19th century by Swiss-German settlers. The town was founded in 1837 and celebrated its 175th Jubilee in 2012. It was first named Helvetia (pronounced "hellveesha") in accordance with the heritage of the town's Swiss-German founding members. The town voted to change its name to the English version, "Highland", in the early 20th century, as well as stopping production of its German language newspaper, in part to avoid negativity toward those of Germanic heritage at the advent of the First World War. Around the same time, a small town in northern Illinois also started calling itself Highland. Eventually, the town in northern Illinois became Highland Park. Highland has a rich history including extended visits by such notables as Abraham Lincoln. On November 21, 1915, the Liberty Bell passed through Highland on its nationwide tour returning to Pennsylvania from the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco.

Geography

Highland is in southeastern Madison County, east of St. Louis. U.S. Route 40 passes through the city north of downtown, leading west to Troy and on to St. Louis, and to the northeast to Greenville. Illinois Route 160 passes through the center of Highland, leading north to Grantfork and south to Trenton, while Illinois Route 143 leads northwest to Marine and northeast to Pierron. Interstate 70 passes through the northern part of the city limits, with access from Exit 24 (IL 143) to the west and Exit 30 (US 40) to the east. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Highland has a total area of , of which are land and , or 13.13%, are water. }}

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Triad High School
  High · Troy · 1,205 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Triad Middle School
  Middle · Saint Jacob · 901 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Highland High School
  High · Highland · 859 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Highland Middle School
  Middle · Highland · 607 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• Highland Primary School
  Elementary · Highland · 589 students · 12.8:1 ratio
• Highland Elementary School
  Elementary · Highland · 514 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• St Jacob Elem School
  Elementary · Saint Jacob · 229 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• Alhambra Primary School
  Elementary · Alhambra · 162 students · 16.2:1 ratio