The Village of St. Peter is located in Lone Grove Township, Fayette County Illinois. St. Peter is located along Illinois Route 185, 18 miles southeast of Vandalia, the oldest Illinois State Capital. The Village is 12 miles south of Interstate 70 exit 76 and 6 miles west of Interstate 57 exit 135. It has about 400 residents and boasts a strong German influence from its earliest settlers, who began moving into the area between 1820 and 1835.The first business was started in 1873, but there was no formal government here at that time. A Post Office was established in 1894. On September 1, 1909 a group of 44 people met to ask the County Judge to form the "Village of St. Peter", an area made up of less than two square miles and more than 300 people. After consideration of the petition the judge set the election date for September 21, 1909. After canvassing the votes the Judge declared the "Village of St. Peter" incorporated on September 22, 1909.Electricity was first furnished to the Village by C.I.P.S. in June of 1928. In 1948 $12,000 in bonds were issued to purchase a new fire truck and build a Village Hall which was completed in 1950.In 1961 the Village adopted an ordinance to issue $100,000 in revenue bonds to construct a sewer system and the St. Peter Sanitary District issued $44,000 in bonds for the same purpose.A contract was signed with the City of St. Elmo in October of 1970 to provide water to the Village.In December of 1970 the Village purchased 15 acres of land from the Anna Gehle Estate on which to construct a park which now consists of picnic pavilions, play ground, ball diamond, walking track, etc.September, 1988, the E.P.A. notified the Village it would fund 70 percent of the sewer construction project.Adoption of village map and numbering system for all home and businesses in town was approved in December, 1993.St. Peter has one church within the village limits. The St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church was established on January 8, 1869. The community also supports the St. Peter Lutheran Elementary School, located directly east of the church.St. Peter is located in the South Central Community Unit School District #401, with a high school in Farina and grade schools in Farina and Kinmundy. The village is located in the LakeLand Community Junior College District at Mattoon, Illinois.The village is proud of its 30 member Volunteer Fire Department and the First Responders. The village has a Police Department consisting of one full-time and one part-time officer.The community hosts one of the area's largest celebrations each August when it holds "Prairie Days". The celebration began in 1976 and includes one of the largest parades in this area."The Best Pie Doesn't Always Come From the Biggest Apples". St. Peter is a small community but it consists of people who take pride in their community appearance. Just a drive through the village will usually elicit compliments from passersby. Its "smallness" has made St. Peter a close-knit community where everyone knows and cares about his neighbor. St. Peter is proud of its heritage and invites you to come and visit, anytime.