Pleasant Hill, IL

Pleasant Hill is a Pike County village in western Illinois, set along the bluffs above the river bottom. It was laid out in 1836 and incorporated in 1869, after early stores, a post office, a blacksmith shop, and a tavern gave the settlement a local center. The village’s history also carries a railroad near-miss: the Chicago and Alton line passed through nearby Lexington, leaving Pleasant Hill with a smaller footprint and a strong connection to the surrounding farm country.

The Pike County Fair is the village’s clearest recurring gathering. Its fairgrounds at 210 West Clay Street host livestock and agricultural exhibits, horse shows, truck and tractor pulls, live entertainment, and the demolition derby; the 2026 fair runs June 2–6. Pleasant Hill CUSD #3 keeps an elementary school and high school at the other end of the everyday map, on East Quincy Street. The village comes into focus through those two settings: farm-country competition and a school district serving local children.