Piopolis is an unincorporated community in Hamilton County, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Piopolis is located in Crouch Township

Crouch Township, Hamilton County, Illinois

Crouch Township is one of twelve townships in Hamilton County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 408.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Crouch Township covers an area of ; of this, is land and is water.-Unincorporated towns:* Aden at * Garrison at *...

 2.5 miles (4 km) south of Belle Prairie City

Belle Prairie City, Illinois

Belle Prairie City is an incorporated town in Hamilton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 60 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

.

History

Piopolis was settled in 1841 by Roman Catholic immigrants from Baden

Baden

Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It was known as Auxier Prairie, Dutch Settlement, Mount St. John, St. Francis Xavier, and Belle Prairie before being named Piopolis in 1877 after Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...

. Piopolis once had a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

, which opened in 1848, and a public school which operated from the 1880s to the 1920s. The community's economy has historically been based on farming.