Wapella is a village in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 513 at the 2020 census. Wapella was founded in 1854, but settlers were arriving in Wapella as early as 1829 due to the dense timber and rich soil. The name of the village comes from Chief Wapello of the Meskwaki people. A group of settlers from Kentucky were the first Eu…Wapella is a village in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 513 at the 2020 census. Wapella was founded in 1854, but settlers were arriving in Wapella as early as 1829 due to the dense timber and rich soil. The name of the village comes from Chief Wapello of the Meskwaki people. A group of settlers from Kentucky were the first Europeans to call Wapella home. A short time later a substantial group of Irish immigrants moved to Wapella to build and work on the Illinois Central Railroad. Wapella was laid out by David Augustus Neal, vice president and a surveyor of the Illinois Central Railroad Line. The village population was approximately 500 residents by the beginning of the Civil War.
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