The Village of Sainte Marie (pop. 300) is in Jasper County, Illinois. Founded in 1837, the village is about 30 miles southeast of Effingham, (site of an Amtrak station and the intersection of Interstates 57 and 70). Access highways to Sainte Marie are IL 130 or IL 33. The Embarras River is on the north edge of Sainte Marie. Miles of farmland surround the village on all sides, and huge farms now dominate where small family farms once existed.