Posen, Washington County, Illinois

For the village in Cook County, see Posen, Illinois.

Posen, Illinois
Unincorporated community
Posen, Illinois is located in Illinois
Posen, Illinois
Posen, Illinois
Posen, Illinois is located in the United States
Posen, Illinois
Posen, Illinois
Coordinates: 38°15′30″N 89°20′08″W / 38.25833°N 89.33556°W / 38.25833; -89.33556
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyWashington
TownshipBolo
Elevation
489 ft (149 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code618
GNIS feature ID423082[1]

Posen is an unincorporated community in Bolo Township, Washington County, Illinois, United States. Posen is 6.4 miles (10.3 km) southeast of Nashville. Since 1901, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, a member of the Diocese of Belleville has been located here.[2] As with many small homestead communities, little documentation of Posen exists online despite historical and local significance. The community was named after Poznań, Poland because much like the rest of Washington County, Posen was settled entirely by Poles,[3] some of whom were secular Polish Jews before converting to Roman Catholicism.[4] Having dwindled in population with time, the only remaining buildings apart from the Roman Catholic parish are a handful of residential homes, an old storefront converted into a residential unit, a large graveyard of the parishioners and pioneers, the Bolo Township Hall,[5] and an alpaca farm.[6] The original church structure was replaced in the late 1960s.[7]

  1. ^ "Posen". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ "Our Lady of Perpetual Help". www.diobelle.org. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  3. ^ Emery, Tom (March 4, 2023). "Polish population near top in Illinois". Jacksonville Journal-Courier. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  4. ^ "Kitowski Name Meaning & Kitowski Family History at Ancestry.com®". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  5. ^ "BOLO TOWNSHIP · 2847 Town Hall Rd, Nashville, IL 62263". BOLO TOWNSHIP · 2847 Town Hall Rd, Nashville, IL 62263. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  6. ^ "19998 Posen Rd · 19998 Posen Rd, Nashville, IL 62263". 19998 Posen Rd · 19998 Posen Rd, Nashville, IL 62263. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  7. ^ Brinkman, Grover (1968). This Is Washington County (PDF). University of Illinois: University of Illinois. p. 59.