Welcome to Helena ...
Helena is located in Lawrence County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Helena, you might consider that their post office opened in 1893.
Helena is 450 feet [137 m] above sea level.<2>.
Time Zone: Helena lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you travel east from Helena (for example, toward Vincennes (IN)), you will soon leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).
Area Codes for Helena: 618 & 730<3>
Communities Also Named Helena ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 35 communities that are also named Helena - they are located in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California (2), Florida, Georgia, Idaho (2), Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan (3), Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri (2), Montana, Nebraska, Nevada (2), New York, North Carolina (2), North Dakota, Ohio (2), Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Helena.
Communities near Helena ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Helena.
- Vincennes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincennes
- Vincennes is located in Knox County (IN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,801 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vincennes <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Vincennes
- From Helena to Vincennes
- Olney
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olney
- Olney is located in Richland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,667 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olney <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Olney
- From Helena to Olney
- Mount Carmel
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Mount Carmel is located in Wabash County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,813 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Carmel <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Mount Carmel
- From Helena to Mount Carmel
- Lawrenceville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawrenceville have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
- Lawrenceville is located in Lawrence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,380 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawrenceville <4>
- Sumner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumner
- Sumner is located in Lawrence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,961 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumner <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Sumner
- From Helena to Sumner
- Albion
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albion have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Albion is located in Edwards County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,889 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albion <4>
- Bridgeport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Bridgeport is located in Lawrence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,677 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgeport <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Bridgeport
- From Helena to Bridgeport
- West Salem
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salem
- West Salem is located in Edwards County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to West Salem
- From Helena to West Salem
- Saint Francisville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
- Saint Francisville is located in Lawrence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Francisville <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Saint Francisville
- From Helena to Saint Francisville
- Allendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
- Allendale is located in Wabash County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allendale <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Allendale
- From Helena to Allendale
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Helena. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Helena.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Helena. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Helena.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Helena. See our Newspapers Page for Helena.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Helena ...
Looking for more information about Helena? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Helena, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Helena.
Adding Helena to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Helena in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Helena was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
X2X - From that list, the Helena post office opened in 1893.
We also found Helena on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Illinois (1897).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Helena.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Helena. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Lawrence, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Helena - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <3> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 618 code has been Overlayed with the 730 area code. New phone numbers in the Helena area will be assigned with one of these codes: 618 or 730. As a result, placing a call in the Helena area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |