Greenup, IL

Greenup is a Cumberland County village on the Embarras River in east-central Illinois. The 2020 census counted 1,365 residents. U.S. Route 40 follows the old National Road through the village, while Interstate 70 passes north of town and connects the Charleston–Mattoon area with Terre Haute and Effingham. Cumberland Community Unit School District 77 sends Greenup students to schools in nearby Toledo. The local map still turns on the river crossing, highway traffic, and the village’s older commercial blocks.

ATTRLyle Kruger / Public domain

William C. Greenup, a National Road surveyor, platted the town in 1834. The road brought stagecoaches, settlers, and trade, and Greenup served as Cumberland County’s seat from 1843 to 1855. A 1904 Carnegie-funded library, the original 1870 railroad depot, and the village’s porch-front buildings preserve pieces of that transportation era. A National Road kiosk and train museum keep the route’s story visible. Quinn Broom Works has operated in Greenup since 1925. The Embarras now skirts the northwest corner, but the river and National Road remain the reasons this village occupies this spot.