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Welcome to Watson ...

The village of Watson is located in Effingham County<1>.

The pronunciation of Watson: WAHT-suhn<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Watson, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1868.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Watson has a population of 733 people<3> (see below for details).

Watson is 550 feet [168 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Watson lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Note: If you travel east from Watson (for example, toward Merom (IN)), you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).

Area Codes for Watson: 217 & 447<5>

The ZIP code for Watson: 62473<6>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Watson had an population of 733 people. This is a decrease of 2.79% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 0.55% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Watson had a population of 754 people. This makes Watson the county's 4th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 754 people, the population of Watson increased 3.43% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 729 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Watson.

Communities Also Named Watson ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 57 communities that are also named Watson - they are located in Alabama (2), Arkansas (3), British Columbia, California (2), Colorado, Florida (2), Georgia (2), Indiana (2), Iowa, Kansas (3), Kentucky (2), Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan (3), Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri (2), Montana (2), Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (2), Saskatchewan, Tennessee (4), Texas (3), Utah (2), Virginia, West Virginia and Yukon.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Watson.

Communities near Watson ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Watson.

  • Effingham
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Altamont
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altamont have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Altamont is located in Effingham County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,350 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altamont <7>
  • Teutopolis
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Saint Elmo
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Elmo have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
    • Saint Elmo is located in Fayette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,367 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Elmo <7>
  • Louisville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Louisville have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisville
    • Louisville is located in Clay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,087 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louisville <7>
  • Stewardson
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stewardson have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewardson
    • Stewardson is located in Shelby County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 718 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stewardson <7>
  • Dieterich
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Farina
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Farina. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<9>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farina
    • Farina is located in Fayette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 495 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farina <7>
  • Beecher City
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beecher City
    • Beecher City is located in Effingham County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
  • Edgewood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgewood have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
    • Edgewood is located in Effingham County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edgewood <7>

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 Watson. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Watson.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Watson. 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 Watson.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Watson. See our Newspapers Page for Watson.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Watson ...

Looking for more information about Watson? 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.

In addition to the Tourism page for Watson, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Watson.

Adding Watson to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Watson 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 Watson was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<10>

X2X - From that list, the Watson post office opened in 1868.

We also found Watson on a map (with an unknown title) dated 1870.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Watson.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Watson. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Effingham County: www.co.effingham.il.us/

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Effingham, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Watson. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Watson.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Watson - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>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 217 code has been Overlayed with the 447 area code. New phone numbers in the Watson area will be assigned with one of these codes: 217 or 447. As a result, placing a call in the Watson area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a village (such as Watson). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Watson or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<7>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<8>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.
<9>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<10>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025