Emergency Biohazard Cleanup Near West Hamel Hamel, IL

Hamel is a village in northeastern Madison County, Illinois, part of the Metro East portion of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area.

Hamel's post office opened in 1871, and by 1880 Hamel Township had 1,222 residents with a general store, blacksmith shop, wagon shop, shoemaker, and two churches.

Hamel was officially incorporated as a village on May 6, 1955, at a time when it had a record population of just 331 people.

Hamel sat directly on historic U.S. Route 66, which ran through the village from 1926 until 1965, when the highway was moved to the alignment of present-day Interstate 55.

Hamel retains Route 66-era landmarks, including the blue neon cross at St. Paul Lutheran Church, placed in memory of a local son killed in World War II, and a 1930s roadhouse on the old highway now known as Weezy's Route 66.

Hamel is crossed by Interstate 55 and Illinois Routes 140 and 157, putting it 30 miles southwest of St. Louis in one direction and 65 miles from Springfield, the state capital, in the other.

Hamel had a population of 929 at the 2020 census, up from 816 in 2010 and just 570 in 2000, a gain of more than 60 percent in two decades.

Hamel's growth is credited in its comprehensive plan in part to its strategic spot beside Interstate 55, letting residents live in a rural village while commuting to St. Louis-area jobs.

Hamel is served locally by Hamel Community Park and the Hamel Community Center.