Shirley Illinois Map

About Shirley, Illinois

Shirley is a locality in Jefferson County, Illinois, United States. It is a small community with a population of 135. The population density is 592.3 people per km². Shirley is located at 40.4075°N, 89.0643°W. It observes the Central Time (America/Chicago) timezone. ZIP codes: 62872, 61772.

Shirley emerges from the flat, expansive horizon of the prairie where the sky claims more territory than the earth itself. It lies 4.2 miles east-southeast of Mount Vernon, IL (from Mount Vernon, IL: bearing 122°T), and is situated 17.6 miles northeast of Sesser. The landscape surrounding Shirley is a study in precise geometry, defined by the relentless, seasonal pulse of corn and soybean fields that stretch toward a distant, hazy line of Fleming Ridge. A quiet stillness hangs over the land, broken only by the thin, silver ribbon of Sevenmile Creek as it winds through the soil a mile away, feeding the thirsty roots of the bottomlands. On humid summer evenings, the light turns a bruised gold, casting long, thin shadows that stretch across the fields until the world feels vast and solitary.

Shirley maintains the steady, measured pace of a place built upon the labor of the soil and the iron arteries of the railroad. The local economy remains tethered to the rhythmic demands of agriculture, an industry that has dictated the fortunes of the families here for generations. While the pace of life favors the deliberate over the frantic, residents often seek the quiet margins of Airport Park to watch the horizon, or look toward the Louisville and Nashville Reservoir five miles distant for a reprieve from the heat. In the quiet intersections of Shirley, the history of the plains remains quiet but present, written into the sturdy, unadorned architecture that stands firm against the prairie wind.

About This Shirley Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Shirley, Illinois. Coordinates: 40.407464, -89.064271. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Shirley includes the ZIP code (62872, 61772), telephone area code (618, 309), county seat of Jefferson County (Mount Vernon), and school district assignment (Heyworth Community Unit School District 4).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.