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Quincy, Illinois

Quincy is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The population was 39,463 as of the 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy micropolitan area had 114,649 residents.

Known as Illinois's "Gem City", Quincy was a thriving transportation center as riverboats and rail service linked the city to many destinations west and along the river during the 19th century. It was Illinois' second-largest city, surpassing Peoria in 1870. The city has several historic districts, including the Downtown Quincy Historic District and the South Side German Historic District, which display the architecture of Quincy's many German immigrants from the late 19th century.

Early history
Quincy's location along the Mississippi River has attracted settlers for centuries. The French became the first European presence to colonize the region, after Louis Jolliet, Jacques Marquette, Jamison Knapp and the La Salle Expeditions explored the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Fur goods became a valuable commodity of the region, and European explorers and merchants alike were attracted to the prospects of the growing fur trade of the North American frontier. The Mississippi River, acting as a superhighway for transporting goods downstream, became the area's most vital transportation asset.

Following the events of the Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763, Great Britain took control of New France, and the area that is now Illinois became part of the Indian Reserve. After the American Revolutionary War a few decades later, the area became part of the Northwest Territory of the United States, and eventually the State of Illinois in 1818.

19th century
After the War of 1812, the American government granted military tracts to veterans as a means to help populate the West. Peter Flinn, having acquired the land from veteran Mark McGowan for his military service in 1819, ended up selling 160 acre of land acquisitions to Moravia, New York native John Wood for $60 (~$ in ). John Wood later founded Quincy, which at the time was coined Bluffs, Illinois.

In 1825, Bluffs renamed their community Quincy and became the seat of government for Adams County, both named after newly elected President John Quincy Adams. In addition, they originally named the town square John Square until eventually changing it to Washington Square. In June 1834, Quincy was incorporated, with Archibald Williams, Joseph T. Holmes, S. W. Rogers, Levi Wells, and Michael Mast elected as trustees. Quincy incorporated as a city in 1840, with Ebenezer Moore elected as its first mayor.

In 1837, following the signing of Missouri Executive Order 44, which called for the expulsion of Mormons from Missouri and the extermination of those who refused, many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fled persecution in Missouri and found shelter in Quincy. Despite being vastly outnumbered by Mormon refugees, residents provided food and lodging for the displaced people. Joseph Smith then led members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 40 mi upstream to Nauvoo, Illinois, in hopes of finding a permanent home. Also in 1838, Quincy sheltered the Pottawatomie tribe as they were forcibly relocated from Indiana to Kansas.

The 1850s and 1860s brought increased prosperity to Quincy. Steamboats and railroads began linking Quincy to places west, making the city a frequent destination for immigrants. The founding of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1855, and the construction of the Quincy Rail Bridge, were major drivers for creating a transportation hub in the region to further commerce. It is during this time that the city's population grew enormously, from just under 7,000 residents in 1850 to 24,000 by 1870, helping Quincy surpass Peoria in becoming the second-largest city in the state (at that time).

One famous former resident of Quincy is George E. Pickett. The future Confederate general as a young man came to Quincy to live, and learn the law, from his uncle Alexander Johnson in the 1840s. Johnson was acquainted with Abraham Lincoln, and Pickett and Lincoln may have even met each other in Quincy.

In 1860, Quincy founder and Lieutenant Governor John Wood inherited the governorship after William H. Bissell died while in office. At the time, he was overseeing business interests and the construction of his mansion. The Illinois legislature allowed him to stay in Quincy during his tenure, effectively making Quincy a "second" capitol for the state. His absence from the official governor's office in Springfield provided Abraham Lincoln a space for planning his presidential run.

Slavery was a major religious and social issue in Quincy's early years. The Illinois city's location, separated only by the Mississippi River from the slave state of Missouri, which was a hotbed of political controversy on the issue, made Quincy itself a hotbed of political controversy on slavery. Richard Eells, who was a staunch abolitionist, built his home in Quincy in 1835 and sheltered formerly enslaved people who had escaped and were on their way to Chicago. His home became a major stop on the Underground Railroad. The divide over slavery climaxed in 1858, when Quincy hosted the sixth Senatorial debate by U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas and his challenger, Abraham Lincoln. With a crowd of 12,000 in attendance, Quincy was the largest community at which Lincoln and Douglas debated.

Lincoln and Douglas again confronted each other in the 1860 Presidential election and the resulting campaign again divided Quincy and the surrounding region. Lincoln enthusiasts and Quincy's chapter of the Republican Party's para-military organization Wide Awakes, while en route to a political rally in Plainville, marched upon nearby Payson, which was a community predominantly filled with Douglas supporters. Although a confrontation was avoided while en route to Plainville, Douglas supporters shot upon the Wide Awakes on their journey back to Quincy, resulting in a skirmish known as the Stone Prairie Riots.

The Civil War brought increasing prosperity to Quincy. Although the battles took place far from the city, Quincy was the organization site for several Illinois volunteer work infantry regiments, including the Union Army’s 16th, 50th, 78th, 84th, 119th, 137th, 138th, and 151st. Following the Reconstruction Era, Quincy was selected as the location for Illinois' first Veteran's Home in 1886.

Immigration to Quincy
Early immigrants to Quincy came predominately from New England, seeking better land. They brought with them progressive values, such as public education and abolitionism. Starting in the 1840s, migrants from Germany settled in Quincy to escape revolutions among the German provinces and conflicts between the European powers. German migrants mainly lived in close proximity to one another and settled predominantly in the southern parts of the city, influencing much of Quincy's historic architecture and creating the South Side German Historic District. Collectively, the south side of Quincy became known as Calftown, due to the fact that nearly every household possessed a cow. Among the notable German-Americans from Quincy's Southside was Louise Maertz (1837–1918), a nurse during the American Civil War.

In 1860, a group of Franciscan friars founded the St. Francis Solanus College, which later developed into Quincy University.

20th and 21st centuries

Throughout the 19th century, Quincy had grown from a backwater hamlet along the Mississippi River to become one of the state's most important cities and ports. Activity from rail and steamboat continued to flourish and Quincy benefited from the increased traffic. It was during the early decades of the 20th century that many of the city's historic buildings in the Downtown Quincy Historic District were constructed, including the city's first skyscraper, the Western Catholic Union Building, in 1925.

The increasing presence of the automobile led Quincy to consider alternatives to Mississippi River crossings. Prior to the automobile, the most common means of crossing the near-mile wide river was by boat or ferry. In 1928, construction began on the Memorial Bridge which was a two-lane truss toll bridge; it opened in May 1930. By 1945, the city had repaid its outstanding bonds and eliminated the toll.

On April 12, 1945, a tornado ripped through the business district of Quincy and severely damaged the courthouse. The wind was so severe that it blew the roof off the structure, damaging it beyond repair. Because the incident occurred a few hours after news reached Quincy of President Roosevelt's death, several residents joked that "FDR and God were just fighting over the power-up there." Five years passed before a new courthouse was completed.

On September 27, 1976, three improvised explosive devices were detonated at the Colt Industries Inc. Quincy Compressor Division Plant. A team of EOD Specialists from Fort Leonard Wood, in the area in support of the Secret Service during a visit to Quincy by Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Bob Dole, was called to respond. A fourth unexploded IED was discovered by Quincy firefighters during a search of the plant. During an examination of the device, it detonated, killing the EOD team supervisor, Sergeant Major Kenneth Foster, Sr. and seriously injuring the Illinois State Arson Inspector.

In 1987, the cable-stayed Bayview Bridge was constructed with the intent of alleviating traffic on the aging Memorial Bridge. Today, both bridges complement each other by carrying westbound (Bayview) and eastbound (Memorial) traffic. Although the lighting was originally intended for the Bayview Bridge during its construction phase, the actual installation of lights didn't occur until 2015.

During the Mississippi River flood of 1993, riverside businesses and industries suffered extensive damage when the river crested at a record 32.2 feet (9.81 m), 15 ft above flood stage. For a time, the Bayview Bridge, one of Quincy's two bridges, was the only bridge open across the Mississippi River between Alton, Illinois and Burlington, Iowa. The Memorial Bridge was closed from the end of June, due to water over its western approach. On July 16, 1993, the Bayview Bridge closed when the river submerged the land on the west side of the Mississippi River at Taylor, Missouri; Quincy's bridges reopened 73 days later on September 26, 1993.

On November 19, 1996, the United Express Flight 5925 collided on landing at Quincy with another Beechcraft, a private King Air, that was taking off from an intersecting runway. All occupants of both planes, twelve on board the 5925 and two on board the King Air, were killed as a result.

A flood in June 2008 submerged much of Quincy's riverfront and low-lying regions not protected by the bluffs. Record Mississippi River levels occurred on June 22, 2008. The Red Cross accepted donations for Quincy and other communities in Adams County, as natural disaster funds were depleted in 2010.

Quincy has been twice recognized as an All-America City and is a participant in the Tree City USA program. In the fall of 2010, Forbes Magazine listed Quincy as the eighth "Best Small City To Raise A Family."

Geography
Quincy is located at 39.93222°N, -91.38861°W (39.932335, -91.388737). It is adjacent to the Mississippi River and Quincy Bay, a large inlet of water fed by Cedar and Homan Creeks. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Quincy has a total area of 15.81 sqmi, of which 15.77 sqmi (or 99.73%) is land and 0.04 sqmi (or 0.27%) is water.

The city is situated on bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. Adjacent to Quincy, on the Missouri side of the river, is West Quincy, Missouri and a vast floodplain used primarily for farming. East of Quincy lies the Quincy Hills geographic region, a region of hills that are similar to the Lincoln Hills in Missouri, where a mixture of rolling hills, woods, and farming shape the landscape. Flat prairie lie north of Quincy and, as the Mississippi turns sharply to the southwest; bluffs, floodplain, and farmland lie to the south and southwest of the city.

The Quincy micropolitan area includes Adams County, Illinois and Lewis County, Missouri and together hold a population of 75,546. Due to its proximity to Hannibal, Missouri, the two communities have been bulked into Quincy-Hannibal, IL-MO Combined Statistical Area which holds approximately 116,000 residents. As of the 2010 Census, it is currently ranked as the 156th most populated CSA in the United States.

Geographically, Quincy is the largest city and central hub of the Tri-State region, encompassing western Illinois, northeastern Missouri, and southeastern Iowa.

Quincy has several suburbs. North Quincy is the city's most populated suburb and lies to the north, beyond a rail line and a large creek. Hickory Grove, Illinois is an edge town and lies adjacent to Quincy to its east, bordered by Interstate 172. The town of Marblehead lies to the south, and West Quincy to the west.

The Hannibal–Quincy micropolitan area is also technically not located within the nearby St. Louis metropolitan, but are regionally associated due to their proximity and accessibility to Greater St. Louis.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 39,463 people, 17,226 households, and 9,940 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,496.55 PD/sqmi. There were 19,028 housing units at an average density of 1,203.77 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 86.3% White, 5.87% African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races, and 5.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.33% of the population.

There were 17,226 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.52% were married couples living together, 11.26% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.30% were non-families. 36.06% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.12% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 2.26.

The city's age distribution consisted of 21.4% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,935, and the median income for a family was $64,891. Males had a median income of $40,636 versus $26,977 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,105. About 11.4% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.7% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
Companies based in Quincy include Niemann Foods, Gardner Denver and The Knapheide Manufacturing Company. GatesAir Television and Radio Transmission has a facility in town, as does Broadcast Electronics. Titan Wheel (Titan International) is also located in Quincy. Blessing Hospital, the Quincy Public Schools and Titan are the top three employers in the area.

In 1978, Quincy formed the Great River Economic Development Foundation, a private, non-profit organization designed to retain existing businesses and attract new ones to the area. This organization has been instrumental in putting the Quincy-Hannibal Area on the map as a distinct region in conjunction with the major metropolitan areas nearby such as Chicago, IL, St. Louis, MO, and even Kansas City, MO. As a whole, Quincy falls from average to just above average in several economic categories in comparison to the national averages.

The cost of living in Quincy is well below the national average. The city is also below the national averages in cost of food, utilities and other miscellaneous costs. In the fall of 2010 Quincy was listed as eighth in the top fifteen small cities to raise a family in the United States by Forbes magazine for its commute times, high school graduation rate, median household income, home ownership rate and cost of living. Forbes compared 126 cities with a population under 100,000 and ranked them on these five quality-of-life measures.

Arts and culture
Quincy and the surrounding region lie in a blended zone of midwestern culture, where influences from the Heartland and Rust Belt converge. It is also a community that deeply admires the arts, as it is home to America's first Arts Council, Quincy Society of Fine Arts, which was founded in 1947 by George M. Irwin. Irwin also founded Quincy Little Symphony (now known as the Quincy Symphony Orchestra Association) in 1947. Numerous nonprofit arts organizations provide the community with opportunities for entertainment, workshops, hands-on creative experiences, annual festivals, gallery and museum exhibit openings, theatre, architecture, education and much more. Quincy was also named to Expedia's list of America's Most Artistic Towns in 2017 and 2018.

The Dogwood Parade and festival is an annual event held in early-May celebrating the blossoming Dogwoods located throughout the city. Washington Park hosts amusement rides and a parade marches down Maine Street. Washington Park and downtown also become the focal point of activity for farmer's markets, Q-Fest, formerly the Midsummer Arts Faire, the Tin Dusters, and the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball tournament.

The Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County engage the community in various events at the History Museum, the John Wood Mansion and Woodland Cemetery. In 2018, Quincy Community Theatre opened its 81st season. Quincy Art Center and Quincy Museum host the annual Art Fest & Folk Life Festival on Maine Street each September and provide various educational opportunities.

Quincy's riverfront is also a center for popular activities throughout the year, including the Fourth of July display on the Quincy Bay, outdoor showings of movies, and concerts. The Quincy Area Convention and Visitors Bureau is housed in a unique example of Mediterranean Revival architecture, the Villa Kathrine, along the river bluff and provides visitors and those traveling along the Great River Road a stop with informational materials about Quincy and the surrounding area.

The Historic Downtown District is the premier destination for dining, entertainment and shopping. With the backdrop of historic architecture, The District merges the past with a touch of modern flair to bring customers all the modern conveniences they would want. Broadway Street leads from the Mississippi River through the east end of the town. Along the route are numerous chain franchises, stores, Quincy Mall and various strip malls for additional shopping opportunities. The Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce was established in 1887 to promote and enhance the business climate and economic well-being of the Quincy area.

The Quincy YMCA and The Salvation Army Kroc Center provide fitness and recreational activities. There also several dance and yoga studios available. The Quincy Park District also offers public access to numerous parks, trails, facilities and programs throughout the city.

Architecture
Quincy is home to a diverse and vibrant collection of buildings that have come to be a tourist attraction in and of themselves. South of downtown is the South Side German Historic District, which holds many of the German-influenced structures that early immigrants built. A central site in the district is the Dick Brothers Brewery Buildings, which were constructed in 1857 and rivaled many larger breweries. The lager tunnel system and natural aquifer can still be found underground. Although the brewery survived Prohibition by bottling water and other beverages, slow modernization efforts forced the brewery into bankruptcy. However, the buildings remain and are being renovated for public use and commercial space. Other examples of rich German-influence in Quincy can also be seen in the many brick homes within the district.

Francis Hall of Quincy University is another example of German influence in the city's structures.

Other than the South Side, Maine Street and the East End are popular strips where Quincy's rich architectural history is displayed. Once housing some of Quincy's elite, many of the homes in these regions are influenced mainly by Victorian schools. Known residents of this part of town included Richard Newcomb and city founder John Wood. Today, the Newcomb residence functions as the Quincy Museum and was once featured on the cover of National Geographic as "one of the most architecturally significant corners in the United States." There are many organizations in the town that continue to oversee renovations to structures, such as the Historical Society of Quincy & Adams County, and some residents allow for tours of their 19th Century homes.

There is also a significant Mediterranean influence to Quincy with the Villa Kathrine and B'nai Sholom Temple. In 1900, Quincy resident W. George Metz commissioned George Behrensmeyer to design a Moroccan-style home overlooking the river. It included a harem, courtyard, and reflecting pool. Today, the Villa Kathrine functions as the visitor's center. The Temple B'nai Sholom is another structure that was heavily influenced by the Moorish revival in the United States.

Parks and recreation
The Quincy Park District was founded in 1940 when five commissioners were elected to govern the district. Today the board for the Park District is made up of seven volunteers who serve four-year terms. Quincy Park District is made up of 1000 acres which is divided into 26 parks. The 26 parks located in Quincy are All-American Park, Berrian Park, Bob Bangert Park, Bob Mays Park, Boots Bush Park, Clat Adams Bicentennial Park, Edgewater Park, Emerson Park, Gardner Park, Indian Mounds Park, Johnson Park, Kesler Park, Leon Bailey Park, Lincoln Park, Madison Park, Moorman Park, Parker Heights Park, Quinsippi Island, Reservoir Park, Riverview Park, South Park, Sunset Park, Washington Park, Wavering Park, and Westview Park. Washington Park was the first park in Quincy, IL. It is located downtown and sits on 4 acres. Washington Park served as one of the locations in Illinois for the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Quinsippi Island is accessible through the All-American Park and comprises 130 acres. Bob Mays Park sits on fifty acres of land and opened in 2008. The site of the first public pool was at Indian Mounds Park. It also sits on 37 acres of land. Moorman Park where visitors can find baseball and softball diamonds. Moorman Park sits on 80 acres and includes a batting cage and mini-golf course. Besides a swimming pool and baseball/softball diamonds, there are also tennis courts for the community to use. One park that has tennis courts is Reservoir Park where many city tennis tournaments are held. This is just some of the information regarding the parks in Quincy.

Education
Quincy has a number of educational institutions within the city or close by. Quincy Senior High School is located on Maine Street in Quincy. Quincy Notre Dame High School, a private Catholic high school, is also located in Quincy. Quincy University is located in Quincy and established in the 1860s. On the city's east side, John Wood Community College is the regional community college. Gem City College is located in the heart of downtown Quincy and the Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing is located next door to Blessing Hospital. Regionally, Quincy is within driving distance of Western Illinois University in Macomb, Hannibal-LaGrange College downriver in Hannibal, Missouri, and Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri.

Media
Quincy's television market includes the cities of Quincy, Hannibal, Macomb, and Keokuk. The market was widely served by Insight Communications through 2007. In January 2008, Comcast took control of the cable television system. Satellite television services are provided by DirecTV or Dish.

The city is usually combined with Hannibal due to its proximity and labeled as the 170th market on the DMA chart. With regards to television service, Quincy and the surrounding region are served by affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and the CW networks. STARadio Corporation and Quincy Media own many of the local media outlets in the region. As of February 2006, Quincy can receive 17 FM stations, 5 AM stations, and one NOAA Wideband Weather Radio station.

Highways
Interstate 72 passes approximately 12 mi south of Quincy. Its spur route, Interstate 172, passes just east of town. In recent years, the Prairie Trails Shopping Complex has been a focal point for development in this area. Illinois Route 104 (Broadway) is a main east–west artery from the Mississippi River bridges to Interstate 172. Illinois Route 96 enters the city from the southeast and travels north (through the east side of Quincy) to U.S. Route 24. Illinois Route 57 branches south from U.S. 24 downtown and passes Quincy's Civic Center on its way to Interstate 172 southeast of the city. Illinois 96 also serves as the Great River Road, which follows the path of the Mississippi River. Eastbound U.S. 24 crosses the Mississippi River from Missouri on the Quincy Memorial Bridge, while westbound traffic uses the newer Bayview Bridge. Bayview bridge was constructed in 1986, but was not built as a four-lane bridge because of budget cuts, as the cable suspension made it unaffordable to build a four-lane bridge. Other groups claimed that business in the downtown part of Quincy would decline if the Memorial bridge was shut down.

On the Missouri side, U.S. 61 carries the Avenue of the Saints, a four-lane highway connecting Saint Louis to Minneapolis–Saint Paul. The Avenue of the Saints derives its name from Saint Louis and Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Quincy is at the center of four-lane highways in all directions:
 * The Avenue of the Saints passes just five miles to the west and is four-lane from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
 * Illinois Highway 172 is part of the newly designated Route 110/CKC (Chicago–Kansas City Expressway) which offers a less-congested alternative route to these popular Midwest destinations.

Air
The Quincy Regional Airport is to Quincy's east, about 5 mi outside of the city limits. Cape Air operates daily flights to Chicago-O'Hare, which is 222 flying miles from Quincy and St. Louis-Lambert, which is 93 miles away. It is the 425th busiest airport in America based on passenger counts. Flight instruction, plane rentals and hangar space are also available at the airport. Longest Runway: 7,098 ft. Width: 150 ft.

Rail
Quincy is an Amtrak community with a railroad station on the north side of town. Two state-supported trains, the Illinois Zephyr and the Carl Sandburg link Quincy with Chicago, Amtrak's main hub, with connections to hundreds of cities across the country. The Illinois Zephyr departs in the morning and arrives in the evening, while the Carl Sandburg arrives mid-day and departs in the late afternoon. Both make the same stops to Chicago's Union Station.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Norfolk Southern offer multiple freight trains daily and Burlington Junction Rail Road offers short line service many sites and development districts.

River
Quincy is home to the northernmost port on the Mississippi River for 12-month barge traffic. The municipal barge dock currently serves multiple industries in the South Quincy Development District. The Mid America Intermodal Port Commission is working to secure funding for an additional multimillion-dollar intermodal port facility.

Public transit
Quincy Transit Lines provides fixed-route and paratransit bus service throughout Quincy. There are four fixed routes, and each route is split into two branches. Those routes run Monday–Saturday, between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm. During Sundays and holidays, Quincy Transit Lines operates a pared-down version of the fixed-route system that is made up of two routes – the North route and the South route.

Quincy Transit Lines route Route 4 stops near the city's Amtrak station at Wissman Lane/30th Street intersection.

Health and medicine
Quincy is home to Blessing Hospital and Quincy Medical Group. Specialty areas include a cancer center, cardiovascular center, outpatient surgery center, Level 2 trauma center, and rehabilitation. Blessing also operates the Blessing Rieman College of Nursing.

Notable people

 * Mary Astor, Academy Award-winning actress
 * Avenue Beat, pop/R&B trio
 * Cora Agnes Benneson, attorney, lecturer, and writer
 * Zachary Bruenger, racing driver
 * Helen Calkins, American mathematician
 * Bruce Douglas, American professional basketball player
 * Nina Gomer Du Bois, African-American civil rights activist
 * Bruce Edwards, American professional baseball player
 * William F. Gibbs, Illinois state legislator, farmer, and businessman
 * Jake Griffin, racing driver
 * John W. Henry, businessman
 * Caren Kemner, Olympic volleyball player
 * Alys Lorraine. operatic soprano
 * Elmo McClain, Illinois state representative and teacher
 * Isaac S. Moses, rabbi
 * Fritz Ostermueller, Major League Baseball pitcher
 * Arthur Pitney, inventor of postage meter and co-founder of Pitney Bowes
 * Rick Reuschel, Major League Baseball player
 * Paul Reuschel, Major League Baseball player
 * Ike Samuels, Major League Baseball player
 * James B. Stewart, lawyer, journalist and author
 * William Bushnell Stout, inventor
 * Michael Swango, serial killer and former physician
 * Paul Tibbets, pilot who flew the Enola Gay
 * Augustus Tolton first recognized African-American Roman Catholic priest in the United States
 * Jonathan Van Ness, hairstylist and member of the Fab Five on Netflix's Queer Eye
 * Irma Voigt, Dean of Women at Ohio University
 * Elmer H. Wavering, president of Motorola and inventor of the car radio, automotive alternator, and walkie-talkie
 * John Wood, 12th Governor of Illinois
 * James Scott, 1993 Natural Disaster
 * James Ziliak, economist, educator, and author
 * Stephen Ziliak, economist, educator, and author

Sister cities
Quincy, Illinois has two sister cities.
 * 🇩🇪 Herford, Germany
 * Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China

title: Quincy, Illinois


text:
Ursa, Illinois

Ursa is a village in Adams County, Illinois, United States. The population was 609 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Quincy, IL–MO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
Ursa is located at 40.07472°N, -91.37083°W (40.074653, -91.370776).

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Ursa has a total area of 0.69 sqmi, all land.

History
The first settlers came to Ursa in 1823.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 609 people, 245 households, and 144 families residing in the village. The population density was 882.61 PD/sqmi. There were 268 housing units at an average density of 388.41 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 93.27% White, 0.16% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 1.64% from other races, and 4.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.49% of the population.

There were 245 households, out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.61% were married couples living together, 8.16% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.22% were non-families. 33.47% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.24% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 2.21.

The village's age distribution consisted of 24.4% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $46,719, and the median income for a family was $72,500. Males had a median income of $42,361 versus $30,000 for females. The per capita income for the village was $29,957. About 1.4% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.

Registered Historic Place

 * Ursa Town Hall

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Ursa, Illinois


text:
Cairo, Illinois

Cairo (, sometimes ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. A river city, Cairo has the lowest elevation of any location in Illinois and is the only Illinois city to be surrounded by levees. It is in the river-crossed area of Southern Illinois known as "Little Egypt", for which the city is named, after Egypt's capital on the Nile. The city is coterminous with Cairo Precinct.

The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, two of the largest rivers in North America, and is near the Cache River complex, a Wetland of International Importance. Settlement began in earnest in the 1830s and busy river boat traffic expanded through the 1850s. Fort Defiance, a Civil War base, was located here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses S. Grant to control strategic access to the rivers, and launch and supply his successful campaigns south. Developed as a river port, Cairo was later bypassed by transportation changes away from the large expanse of low-lying land, wetland, and water, which surrounds Cairo, and due to industrial restructuring, the population peaked at 15,203 in 1920, while in the 2020 census it was 1,733.

Several blocks in the town comprise the Cairo Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Old Customs House is also on the NRHP. The city is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO–IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The entire city was evacuated during Mississippi River floods in 2011, after the Ohio River rose higher than the 1937 flood levels, with the possibility of 15 feet of water inundating Cairo. The United States Army Corps of Engineers breached levees in the Mississippi flood zone near Cairo in Missouri to prevent flooding in Cairo and other more populous areas further downstream along both the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

Beginnings
Cairo was named after the Egyptian city of the same name because its location at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers was reminiscent of the Nile Delta.

The first municipal charter for Cairo and for the Bank of Cairo were issued in 1818, but without any settlement and without any depositors. A second and successful effort to establish a town was made by the Cairo City and Canal Company in 1836–37, with a large levee built to encircle the site. However, this effort collapsed in 1840, with few settlers remaining.

Charles Dickens visited Cairo in 1842, and was unimpressed. The city would serve as his prototype for the nightmare City of Eden in his novel Martin Chuzzlewit. In 1846, 10,000 acres in Cairo were purchased by the trustees of the Cairo City Property Trust, a group of investors including writer John Neal who planned to make it the terminus of the projected Illinois Central Railroad, which finally arrived there in 1855.

Cairo had been growing as an important river port for steamboats, which traveled all the way south to New Orleans. The city had been designated as a port of delivery by Act of Congress in 1854.

A new city charter was written in 1857, and Cairo flourished as trade with Chicago to the north spurred development. By 1860, the population exceeded 2,000.

During the Civil War, Admiral Andrew Hull Foote made Cairo the naval station for the Mississippi River Squadron on 6 September 1861. Since Cairo had no land available for base facilities, the navy yard repair shop machinery was afloat aboard wharf-boats, old steamers, tugs, flat-boats, and rafts. In January 1862, General Ulysses S. Grant occupied the city, and had Fort Defiance constructed to protect the confluence. Cairo became an important Union supply base and training center for the remainder of the war.

Military occupation caused much of the city's trade to be diverted by railroad to Chicago. Cairo failed to regain this important trade after the war, as more railroads converged on Chicago and it developed at a rapid pace, attracting stockyards, meat processing, and heavy industries. Instead, agriculture, lumber, and sawmills now dominated the Cairo economy.

Post-war prosperity
The strategic importance of Cairo's geographic location during the Civil War sparked prosperity in the town. Several banks were founded during the war years, and the growth in banking and steamboat traffic continued after the war.

In 1869 construction began on the United States Custom House and Post Office, which was designed by Alfred B. Mullet, the Supervising Architect. The custom house was completed in 1872. It served as a custom house, post office, and United States Court. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois met at the building until 1905.

From 1905 to 1942, the Custom House was used for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois. The building also housed the U.S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Illinois from 1905 to 1912. At the height of Cairo's prosperity, the post office in the building was the third busiest in the United States. It is one of only seven of Mullet's Victorian structures remaining in the nation, and the building has been converted for use as a museum. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

After the Civil War, the city became a hub for railroad shipping in the region, which added to its economy. By 1900 several railroad lines branched from Cairo. In addition to shipping and railroads, a major industry in Cairo was the operation of ferries. Into the late 19th century, nearly 250,000 railroad cars could be ferried across the river in as little as six months. Vehicles were also ferried, as there were no automobile bridges in the area in the early 20th century. The ferry industry created numerous jobs in Cairo to handle large amounts of cargo and numerous passengers through the city.

Wealthy merchants and shippers built numerous fine mansions in the 19th and early 20th century, including the Italianate Magnolia Manor, completed in 1872, and the Second Empire Riverlore Mansion, built by Capt. William P. Halliday in 1865. Across the street from the customs house, the Cairo Public Library was constructed in 1883 of Queen Anne-style architecture, finished with stained glass windows and ornate woodwork. The library was dedicated on July 19, 1884, as the A. B. Safford Memorial Library. Anna E. Safford paid for the construction of the Library and donated it to the city. These and other significant buildings are also listed on the National Register.

For protection from seasonal flooding, Cairo is completely enclosed by a series of levees and flood walls, due to its low elevation between the rivers. Several buildings, including the old custom house, were originally designed to be built to a higher street level, to be at the same height as the top of the levees. That plan was scrapped as the cost of fill to raise the streets and surrounding land to that height proved to be impractical. In 1914 a large flood gate was constructed by Stupp Brothers of St. Louis, Missouri. The flood gate is known as the "Big Subway Gate", and it was designed to seal the northern levee in Cairo by closing over U.S. Highway 51. The gate weighs 80 tons, is 60 feet wide, 24 feet high, and five feet thick. With the addition of the gate, Cairo could become an island, completely sealed off from approaching flood waters.

Following the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the levee system around Cairo was strengthened. As part of this project, the Corps of Engineers established the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway. The Ohio River flood of 1937 brought a record water level to Cairo that crested at 59.5 feet. To protect Cairo, Corps of Engineers closed the flood gate and blew a breach in the Bird's Point levee for the first time to relieve pressure on the Cairo flood wall. Following the flood, the concrete flood wall was raised to its current height. It is designed to protect the town from flood waters up to 64 feet.

In 1942 the federal government constructed a new U.S. Post Office and Court House in Cairo. Still growing, the city had a population approaching 15,000. The new federal court house, located at 1500 Washington, was designed by the architects Louis A. Simon and George Howe. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois moved into the new court house in 1942, from the old U.S. Custom House and Post Office.

After the U.S. district court structure in Illinois was reorganized in 1978, the court house was used for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. The building remains in use by the federal courts and as the active post office for Cairo. The court house was built and is operated by the U.S. General Services Administration.

Lynchings

Cairo's turbulent history of race relations is marked by the 1909 spectacle lynching of black resident William James. In 1900, Cairo had a population of nearly 13,000. Of that total, approximately 5,000 residents were African-American, or 38 percent. In 1900, this was an unusually high black population for a town of Cairo's size in the North. Five percent of all black residents in the state of Illinois lived here. Later in the early 20th century, Chicago became the center of black life in the state, as it was the destination of tens of thousands of migrants during the Great Migration.

The Illinois constitution of 1818 allowed for limited slavery in the salt mines and allowed current slave owners to retain their slaves. The General Assembly also passed legislation that severely curtailed the rights of free blacks residing in the state and discouraged the migration of free blacks. If a black person was unable to present proof of their freedom they could be fined $50 or sold by the sheriff to the highest bidder. Not long after the passage of the constitution, the state's general assembly adopted a pro-slavery resolution that announced its approval of slavery in slave-holding states and at the same time condemned the formation of abolition societies within Illinois’ boundaries.

Although Black people comprised a large proportion of the Cairo population, they were frequently discriminated against in jobs and housing. Race relations were strained in 1900. The state passed an anti-lynching law in 1905.

On the night of November 11, 1909, two men were lynched. The first was William James, an African American accused of the murder of Anna Pelly, a young white woman killed three days earlier, although there was no physical or circumstantial evidence connecting him to the crime. The second man lynched was Henry Salzner, a white man who had allegedly murdered his white wife the previous August.

James was accused of killing Pelly by choking her to death in an alley with pieces of a flour sack on the evening of November 8, 1909. Pelly's body was discovered the next morning. Police believed that James was large enough to have committed the crime, especially as there were rumors of an accomplice. James was placed in police custody on Tuesday, where he remained until Wednesday evening. No physical evidence linked him to the crime. As word of the crime spread, whites in Cairo demanded an immediate trial of James, but the case was delayed by the court. The white townspeople grew infuriated by the delay in a speedy trial, and the threat of mob violence quickly developed. On November 10, Sheriff Frank E. Davis arranged to take James out of the city jail on an Illinois Central train to avoid mob violence.

But the increasingly large mob in Cairo learned of this and seized another train, racing to catch up with the sheriff and James. Sheriff Davis' attempt to save James from the mob proved futile when the mob intercepted Davis and his prisoner. The mob returned James to Cairo and took him to the intersection of Commercial Avenue and Eighth Street. Approximately 10,000 people had gathered for a spectacle lynching as the leaders attempted to hang James from large steel arches that spanned the intersection. The rope broke and James survived the hanging, but members of the armed mob shot him more than 500 times, killing him. The mob dragged James' body to the scene of Pelly's murder. His head was cut from his body and displayed on a pole that was stuck into the ground, and his body was burned.

Hundreds of townspeople conducted a search for the alleged accomplice, Arthur Alexander. Unable to locate him and still bloodthirsty, they entered the court house jail and broke into the cell where Henry Salzner was being held. The mob hanged Salzner from a telegraph pole near the courthouse, and the crowd shot his body many times. After hanging Salzner, the mob continued searching for Alexander long into the night. Police and sheriff deputies located Alexander before the mob did, and they took him to the county jail disguised as a police officer. Some newspapers mistakenly reported that he was lynched.

The mob continued to search for Alexander, also threatening the mayor and chief of police, who were guarded in their homes by more police against the mob. Governor Charles S. Deneen of Illinois dispatched 11 companies of militia to Cairo to suppress the violence. By the time the mob discovered the next morning that Alexander was held at the jail, the soldiers had arrived and prevented further violence.

A group of civil rights activists in Chicago hired journalist Ida B. Wells to investigate the lynchings. After the residents had calmed down, Governor Deneen enforced the 1905 anti-lynching law by dismissing Sheriff Davis for failing to protect James and Salzner. Wells sided with the governor against reinstatement.

Economic decline
The slow economic decline of Cairo can be traced to local and regional changes back to the early 20th century. In 1889, the Illinois Central Railroad bridge was completed over the Ohio River, which brought about a decline in ferry business. The immediate economic impact was not severe, as the railroad traffic still was directed through Cairo, and automobile and truck traffic increased in the early 20th century.

In 1905, a second bridge was constructed across the Mississippi River at Thebes, Illinois. The effects of the second bridge were more severe, as rail traffic through Cairo was now reduced and railroad ferry operations were no longer necessary. As the steamboat industry was replaced with barges, river traffic had less reason to stop in Cairo.

In 1929, the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge was completed, linking Missouri with Illinois to the south of Cairo. In 1937, the Cairo Ohio River Bridge was completed. Completion of the two bridges ended the ferry industry in Cairo, putting many people out of work. As the town was bypassed by two bridges to the south, it also lost the benefit of motorist travel and trade between the states. Motorists cross the southern tip of Illinois between Missouri and Kentucky, completely bypassing the city of Cairo. While the city was protected by its levees from destruction when the Ohio River rose to record heights during the 1937 flood, the city's economic decline continued.

Racial tensions and further decline
Between the 1930s and 1960s, the population in Cairo remained fairly steady; however, many jobs were gone as the shipping, railroad, and ferry industries left the city. Population decline began as workers moved to other cities.

Racial tensions rose in the late 1960s as African-Americans sought implementation of gains under new federal civil rights laws passed as a result of the Civil Rights Movement. The police, fire department, and most city jobs were still overwhelmingly dominated by whites. African-Americans were allegedly harassed by the police and unjustly targeted. On July 16, 1967, Robert Hunt, a 19-year-old black soldier home on leave, was allegedly found hanged in the Cairo police station. Police reported that Hunt had hanged himself with his T-shirt, but many members of the black community of Cairo accused the police of murder. There had been an alleged history of police discrimination and violence against black residents of the city.

The death of Robert Hunt sparked aggressive protests in Cairo's black community. On July 17, 1967, a large portion of the black population in Cairo began rioting. The black rioting that erupted in 1967 was not confined to Cairo; it was part of a larger pattern of more than 40 racially motivated riots that broke out in major cities in the United States in the summer of 1967. During the night of rioting on July 17, three stores and a warehouse in Cairo were burned to the ground, and windows were broken out of numerous other buildings. The National Guard unit at Cairo was activated to respond to the violence.

On July 20, 1967, one of the leaders of the violence in Cairo warned white city officials, "Cairo will look like Rome burning down" if city leaders did not meet the demands of the black groups in Cairo by Sunday, July 23, 1967. The spokesman represented approximately one hundred black residents of the Pyramid Court housing project. They demanded new job opportunities, organized recreation programs for their children, and an end to police brutality. Cairo Mayor Lee Stenzel and other city leaders met with federal and state representatives to ensure that a plan was developed to satisfy the demands by the deadline in an effort to head off any additional rioting.

In response to the rioting, the white community in Cairo formed a citizens protection group that was deputized by the sheriff. The protection group became known as the "White Hats", because many of its 600 members began wearing white construction hats to show their membership while patrolling the streets to maintain order. In the following two years, accusations of White Hat bullying incidents in the black community began to increase. In early 1969, a few activists of the civil rights struggle formed the Cairo United Front, a civil rights organization to bringing together the local NAACP, a cooperative association, and a couple of black street gangs. The Cairo United Front was formed to organize the efforts of the black population in Cairo to counter the White Hats. The United Front formally accused the White Hats of intimidating the black community, and presented a list of seven demands to the City of Cairo. The seven demands included appointment of a black police chief, appointment of a black assistant fire chief, and an equal black-white ratio in all city jobs.

Racial violence in Cairo reached a peak during summer 1969 as the Cairo United Front began leading protests and demonstrations to end segregation and draw attention to its seven demands. The protests led to a rash of violence that was stopped only when Illinois Governor Richard Ogilvie deployed National Guardsmen to restore the peace. In summer 1969, the Cairo United Front also began what became a decade-long boycott of white-owned businesses, which had generally not hired blacks as clerks or staff. The boycott encompassed virtually all the businesses in the town.

In December 1969, violence escalated again and several businesses were burned on Saturday, December 6. Early that morning, residents of the Pyramid Courts housing project opened fire on three firemen and the Chief of Police while they were responding to one of the intense fires. During the shootout, the Chief of Police and one of the firemen were shot by a high-powered rifle. Thirteen people were eventually arrested during the conflict. The Cairo Chief of Police resigned the next month, stating that Cairo lacked both the legal and physical means to deal with the "guerrilla warfare tactics" that had left the town in a state of turmoil for over two years.

To enforce the boycott, African-American picketing of businesses continued throughout 1970. In December, the city enacted a new city ordinance banning picketing within 20 feet of a business. Another large violent clash erupted as a result of the new city ordinance. Following the violence, the United Front called for another large rally and resumed picketing at white-owned businesses despite the new ordinance. The picketing turned violent after police heard shots fired and moved on the crowd.

In 1978, the Cairo I-57 Bridge across the Mississippi River was opened. The interstate largely bypassed Cairo to the north, crippling the remaining hospitality industry in the city. Cairo's hospital closed in December 1986, due to high debt and a dwindling number of patients.

Current status
With the decline in river trade, as has been the case in many other cities on the Mississippi, Cairo has suffered a marked decline in its economy and population. Its highest population was 15,203 in 1920; in 2020 it had 1,733 residents, about an 89% loss of population from its peak a century earlier. The city has decreased in population for eight consecutive US census reports from 1950 to 2020.

The city faces many significant socio-economic challenges for the remaining population, including poverty, crime, issues in education, unemployment and rebuilding its tax base.

The closure of the Elmwood and McBride housing projects was announced by the federal government in 2017. In August 2017, Ben Carson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development at the time, visited the city. Some 10 families had found new housing, but an estimated 400 people will be affected by the closure.

The community and region are working to stop abandonment of the city. They are restoring some architectural landmarks, and plan to develop heritage tourism focusing on the city's history and relationship to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Other cities have used such strategies to attract visitors and build new businesses to their communities.

A community clinic offers medical and dental care, and several mental health services. Local media include the Cairo Citizen weekly newspaper.

Geography

Cairo is located at the confluence of the Ohio River with the Mississippi, near Mounds, Illinois. The elevation above sea level is 315 ft. The lowest point in the state of Illinois is located in Cairo at the Mississippi River.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Cairo has a total area of 9.11 sqmi, of which 6.99 sqmi (or 76.72%) is land and 2.12 sqmi (or 23.28%) is water.

Climate
The city of Cairo has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) and has many characteristics of a city in the Upper South. Summers are warm and humid, with a daily average in July of 79 °F and temperatures reaching 90 °F on an average of 40 days annually. Winters are generally cool with mild periods, though extended stretches of cold can occur. Cairo's winter is typically mild by Illinois standards, as the January daily average is 34 °F. Precipitation is spread relatively uniformly throughout the year. On average, Cairo's low elevation and proximity to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers prevent strong winter lows and plunging temperatures; however, during the summer months, those similar features retain heat and humidity, creating muggy conditions.

2020 census
''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' As of the 2020 census there were 1,733 people, 828 households, and 377 families residing in the city. The population density was 190.29 PD/sqmi. There were 1,036 housing units at an average density of 113.76 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 25.33% White, 68.96% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.63% from other races, and 4.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population.

There were 828 households, out of which 18.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 23.07% were married couples living together, 20.29% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.47% were non-families. 52.29% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.55% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.42 and the average family size was 2.16.

The city's age distribution consisted of 21.7% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 16.9% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 23.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,661, and the median income for a family was $31,280. Males had a median income of $14,464 versus $21,188 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,661. About 32.9% of families and 36.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 72.1% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,831 people, 1,268 households, and 677 families residing in the city. There were 1,599 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 69.6% Black or African American, 27.9% White, less than 0.1% Native American, less than 0.1% Asian, less than 0.1% Pacific Islander, less than 0.1% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were less than 0.1% of the population.

There were 1,268 households, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.2% were married couples living together, 28.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.6% were non-families. 43.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 3.00.

The distribution of the population by age was 31.6% 19 or under, 6.3% from 20 to 24, 19.2% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% 65 or older. The median age was 36.9 years.

The median income for a household in the city was $16,682, and the median income for a family was $31,507. Males working full-time, year-round had a median income of $37,750 versus $21,917 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,461. About 33.0% of families and 44.2% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 71.7% of those under the age of 18 and 20.6% of those ages 65 and older.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,632 people, 1,561 households, and 900 families residing in the city. The population density was 515.1 PD/sqmi. There were 1,885 housing units at an average density of 103.2 per km$2$ (267.3 per sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 35.93% white, 61.70% black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.

There were 1,561 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.3% were married couples living together, 25.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.08.

The distribution of the population by age was 30.4% under 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $21,607, and the median income for a family was $28,242. Males had a median income of $28,798 versus $18,125 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,220. About 27.1% of families and 33.5% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 47.0% of those under the age of 18 and 20.9% of those ages 65 and older.

Education
The city is served by Cairo Community Unit School District 1. Based on census estimates, the Cairo school district has the highest percentage in Illinois of children in poverty, 60.6%. This is the fifteenth highest percentage of any city in the United States. The district has one elementary school, Emerson Elementary School. Middle and high school students attend Cairo Junior/Senior High School. Bennett Elementary School closed in 2010.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville formerly operated St. Joseph Grade School. It was previously K-12, but by 2001 it had only elementary grades. Enrollment was over 130 during the 1976–1977 school year. This figure dropped to 63 in 2000, and then 25, including 7 Catholic students, in the 2002–2003 school year. The school closed in 2003.

Shawnee Community College opened an extension center in Cairo in January 2019.

Government
Cairo is in Illinois's 12th congressional district and is represented in Congress by Republican Mike Bost. In 2020, 42.60 percent of Alexander County voters cast ballots for Democratic candidate and the 46th President Joe Biden.

Transportation
Amtrak's Chicago–New Orleans City of New Orleans served Cairo until October 25, 1987; since then, its closest stops to Cairo are Carbondale, Illinois, 53 mi to the north, and Fulton, Kentucky, 43 mi to the south.

Major highways include:

Cairo's location on a spit of land that lies between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers made overlapping US 60 and 62 briefly through Illinois more practical than directly connecting Missouri and Kentucky.

Cairo Regional Airport provides general aviation service to the city.

The closest airports with regular service are Barkley Regional Airport and Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. The airports are approximately 23 miles and 26 miles away, respectively.

Landmarks and points of interest
Magnolia Manor is a postbellum manor, built by the Cairo businessman Charles A. Galigher in 1869. It is a 14-room red brick house which features double walls intended to keep out the city's famous dampness with their ten-inch airspaces. Inside the home are many original, 19th-century furnishings. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since December 17, 1969. The house is operated as a Victorian period historic house museum by the Cairo Historical Association.

Other points of interest include:
 * Fort Defiance Park
 * Gem Theatre
 * The Hewer, a 1902 public sculpture by George Gray Barnard
 * Cairo Custom House & Post Office
 * The Riverlore
 * A. B. Safford Memorial Library

In popular culture

 * Filmmakers Jacob Cartwright and Nick Jordan's feature-length documentary Between Two Rivers (2012) is about the social, economic and environmental problems faced by Cairo.
 * Cairo was the original destination for Huck and Jim in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as they planned to paddle up the Ohio River to obtain freedom for Jim. They drifted past Cairo by mistake and ended up in the slave state of Arkansas instead. Twain also noted Cairo in his non-fiction Life on the Mississippi.
 * Charles Dickens visited Cairo in 1842 and was unimpressed with what he saw as a disease-ridden backwater. It became the model for the town of Eden in his 1843–44 novel Martin Chuzzlewit.
 * The musician Stace England produced a concept music CD called Greetings From Cairo, Illinois (2005), inspired by the city's turbulent history.
 * In the Disney Channel series So Weird episode 58 season 3 episode 19, an Egyptology museum in the town of Cairo, Illinois, turns out to be inhabited by a reanimated mummy.
 * The town serves as a plot point in Neil Gaiman's 2001 novel American Gods.
 * In the John Wayne movie True Grit, Matti Ross asks Rooster what he did after the war. His answer was he robbed a pay master for a grub stake, then a little bank in New Mexico. After that he moved to Cairo, Illinois and opened an eatery called the Grass Frog.

Sports

 * Cairo had its own minor-league baseball team (variously known as the Egyptians, Champions, Giants and Dodgers) in the Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League in 1903–06, 1911–14, 1922–24 and 1946–50.
 * The St. Louis Cardinals of the National League held their annual spring training camp in Cairo from 1943 to 1945, due to travel restrictions imposed by Major League Baseball during World War II.
 * The town of Cairo is known for its love of basketball. In 2017, the Cairo Pilots high school basketball team came close to their first state championship, finishing 23–6 for the season. Finishing within four games of a state championship was especially noteworthy given the school's size. Enrollment in fall 2017 was only 97 students.

title: Cairo, Illinois


text:
East Cape Girardeau, Illinois

East Cape Girardeau is a village in Alexander County, Illinois, United States. The population was 289 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
A post office was established at East Cape Girardeau in 1874, and remained in operation until 1913. The village lies east of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, hence the name.

Geography
East Cape Girardeau is located at 37.29611°N, -89.49528°W (37.296030, -89.495237).

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, East Cape Girardeau has a total area of 2.00 sqmi, of which 1.96 sqmi (or 98.30%) is land and 0.03 sqmi (or 1.70%) is water.

East Cape Girardeau is across the Mississippi River from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The two are connected by the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge which opened in December 2003 following the demolition of the Old Mississippi River Bridge constructed in 1928.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 289 people, 153 households, and 83 families residing in the village. The population density was 144.86 PD/sqmi. There were 161 housing units at an average density of 80.70 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 82.70% White, 7.27% African American, 0.35% Asian, 0.69% from other races, and 9.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.77% of the population.

There were 153 households, out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.75% were married couples living together, 2.61% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.75% were non-families. 33.33% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.57% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.33 and the average family size was 2.80.

The village's age distribution consisted of 26.8% under the age of 18, 1.4% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 117.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $37,875, and the median income for a family was $48,194. Males had a median income of $34,554 versus $20,313 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,811. About 8.4% of families and 27.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.7% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

title: East Cape Girardeau, Illinois


text:
Tamms, Illinois

Tamms is a village in Alexander County, Illinois, United States. The population was 430 at the 2020 census, down from 632 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Tamms was established under the name of Idlewild in 1883.

The railroad service ended in the 1970s and therefore the economy declined.

Tamms is the location of the Tamms Correctional Center, a super-maximum correctional facility that was operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections and housed the State of Illinois execution chamber. Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011. This prison was closed in 2013.

Geography
Tamms is located at 37.24028°N, -89.26472°W (37.240207, -89.264822).

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Tamms has a total area of 2.33 sqmi, all land.

2020 census
''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

As of the 2020 census there were 430 people, 220 households, and 148 families residing in the village. The population density was 184.39 PD/sqmi. There were 238 housing units at an average density of 102.06 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 67.91% White, 28.60% African American, 0.93% Native American, and 2.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.63% of the population.

There were 220 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.36% were married couples living together, 10.45% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.73% were non-families. 28.18% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.18% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.63 and the average family size was 2.91.

The village's age distribution consisted of 25.2% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 34.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 166.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 151.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $45,227, and the median income for a family was $47,045. Males had a median income of $38,295 versus $39,605 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,068. About 8.8% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.3% of those under age 18 and 25.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure
Tamms was the location of the former Tamms Correctional Center, a super-maximum correctional facility operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections which was closed in January 2013. The State of Illinois execution chamber was at Tamms. Prior to the January 11, 2003 commutation of death row sentences, male death row inmates were housed in Tamms, Menard, and Pontiac correctional centers. After that date, only Pontiac continued to host the male death row. The death penalty was abolished in Illinois in March 2011.

Education
The school district is the Egyptian School District.

In previous eras Tamms Community High School was the public high school.

title: Tamms, Illinois


text:
Thebes, Illinois

Thebes is a village in and the former county seat of Alexander County, Illinois, United States. The population was 208 at the 2020 census, down from 436 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1860 the county seat was moved to Cairo, Illinois, at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

History
Thebes was established in 1835. At first it was known as Sparhawk Landing. It was the county seat of Alexander County from 1846 until 1859.

Thebes, like the city of Cairo, also in Alexander County, is named after the Egyptian city of the same name. This part of southern Illinois is known as Little Egypt.

Abraham Lincoln practiced law here. Legend holds that Dred Scott, a slave whose freedom suit reached the Supreme Court, may have been imprisoned in the local courthouse jail for a time while his case was heard. He had claimed freedom after being held in a free state but, setting aside decades of precedent, the US Supreme Court held that African Americans had no rights under the constitution, and slaves had no standing to sue for freedom (see Dred Scott v. Sanford).

As the Mississippi River at Thebes is more than four feet deep, the town became a busy steamboat port. Union troops passed through Thebes on their way to attack the South during the American Civil War. Thebes was the site of the lynching of William Johnson on April 26, 1903. Thebes Bridge, an important railroad bridge, opened for rail traffic in 1905 and is still in use today.

In 1923, Thebes elected a woman Nora Gammon to the mayorship and an all-woman slate of alderman, running on a law enforcement platform.

In literature, Thebes is the home village of Captain Andy Hawks, his wife Parthenia Ann Hawks, and daughter Magnolia in the Edna Ferber novel Show Boat (1926).

Geography
Thebes is located at 37.21917°N, -89.45694°W (37.219177, −89.456915).

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Thebes has a total area of 2.31 sqmi, of which 1.75 sqmi (or 75.44%) is land and 0.57 sqmi (or 24.56%) is water.

2020 census
''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

As of the 2020 census there were 208 people, 136 households, and 107 families residing in the village. The population density was 89.93 PD/sqmi. There were 111 housing units at an average density of 47.99 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 88.94% White, 3.37% African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.96% from other races, and 6.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.25% of the population.

There were 136 households, out of which 51.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.68% were married couples living together, 21.32% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.32% were non-families. 15.44% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.62% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.77 and the average family size was 4.04.

The village's age distribution consisted of 47.6% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 16.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 20.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 67.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 54.0 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $38,929, and the median income for a family was $43,750. Males had a median income of $30,417 versus $21,429 for females. The per capita income for the village was $12,080. About 31.8% of families and 33.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.6% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Residents are zoned to the Egyptian School District.

title: Thebes, Illinois


text:
Donnellson, Illinois

Donnellson is a village in Montgomery and Bond counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 153 as of the 2020 census, down from 210 in 2010.

History
Donnellson was laid out ca. 1858. The village's name honors Thomas Carson Donnell, an early settler. Donnellson was incorporated as a village in 1897.

Geography
Donnellson is mainly in Montgomery County, with a small portion extending south into Bond County. Illinois Route 127 passes through the village center as Washington Street, leading north 9 mi to Hillsboro, the Montgomery County seat, and south 11 mi to Greenville, the Bond County seat.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Donnellson has a total area of 0.37 sqmi, all land. The village drains south to the headwaters of Yankee Creek, a southwest-flowing tributary of Shoal Creek and part of the Kaskaskia River watershed.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 153 people, 70 households, and 44 families residing in the village. The population density was 413.51 PD/sqmi. There were 87 housing units at an average density of 235.14 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 87.58% White, 1.31% Asian, and 11.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.31% of the population.

There were 70 households, out of which 15.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.29% were married couples living together, 14.29% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.14% were non-families. 35.71% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.82 and the average family size was 1.63.

The village's age distribution consisted of 7.9% under the age of 18, 1.8% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 35% from 45 to 64, and 28.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.9 males.

Males had a median income of $50,313 versus $34,375 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,109. About 47.7% of families and 49.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 55.6% of those under age 18 and 36.4% of those age 65 or over.

title: Donnellson, Illinois


text:
Greenville, Illinois

Greenville is a city in Bond County, Illinois, United States, 51 mi east of St. Louis. The population as of the 2020 census was 7,083, up from 7,000 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Bond County.

Greenville is part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is also considered part of the Metro East region of Illinois.

Greenville celebrated its Bicentennial in 2015 as one of the oldest communities in Illinois. It is home to Greenville University, the Richard Bock Museum, the American Farm Heritage Museum, the Armed Forces Museum and the Demoulin Museum and a federal prison, Federal Correctional Institution, Greenville (FCI Greenville). It is also home to internationally known companies, including Nevco Scoreboard, the largest privately owned scoreboard company in the world, and DeMoulin Brothers, the world's oldest and largest manufacturer of band uniforms.

History
Greenville was founded by George Davidson in 1815 in what was then the Illinois Territory, when he purchased 160 acre along the bluff overlooking Little Shoal Creek, in what was then still part of Madison County. Davidson built a tavern near the present-day intersection of Main and Sixth streets, and by 1816 he was selling individual lots. The federal government established its first federal post office in Greenville in 1819. It was incorporated as a town in 1855 and as a city in 1872. At one time, it had neighborhoods called New Jerusalem, Piety Hill, Cobtown, and Buzzard Roost. A few possible reasons have been put forth for the naming of the town. Some think the town was named after Greenville, North Carolina, which had been named after Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene. Others say that Greenville was named by early settler Thomas White because it was "so green and nice". A third possibility is that Greenville was named after Green P. Rice, the town's first merchant.

Greenville became the county seat of Bond County in 1821. The earlier seat of Perryville was annexed into Fayette County when it was formed from part of Bond County, requiring the naming of a new seat. Davidson offered to give the county government land around the present-day town square. His offer was accepted, and a courthouse was built in 1821 on the site of the current courthouse.

During the 1840s, some Bond County residents conducted slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Slaves were often spirited from Missouri, sometimes through Carlyle to Bond County. Rev. John Leeper was able to disguise his Underground Railroad activities due to his milling business. Dr. Henry Perrine practiced medicine near Greenville and helped with the secret railroad activities. Rev. George Denny's house was found in the 1930s to conceal a secret chamber that had been used in the Railroad.

Greenville University was founded as Almira College, a women's college, in 1855. Former GU history professor Donald Jordahl has written that Almira College was "one of the earliest extensions westward of an eastern idea favorable toward female education, an early step in the women's suffrage and liberation movement." In 1941, college president H.J. Long "declared the founding of Almira and Greenville ran parallel, for both were founded on prayer." Women in Bond County could vote for the first time in 1914.

When Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas gave speeches in Greenville in 1858 during a campaign for the United States Senate, Douglas said: "Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great and supreme gratification and pleasure to see this vast concourse of people assembled to hear me upon this my first visit to Old Bond." The Illinois State Register reported of the occasion: "I've seen many gatherings in Old Bond county but I never saw anything equal to this and I never expect to."

On November 21, 1915, the Liberty Bell passed through Greenville on its nationwide tour returning to Pennsylvania from the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. After that trip, the Liberty Bell returned to Pennsylvania and will not be moved again.

The Greenville Public Library was established as a Carnegie library and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hogue Hall at Greenville College also appeared on the National Register (it was demolished in 2008).

On April 18, 1934, during the Great Depression, a group of 500 protesters marched to the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission to lodge complaints about the delivery of emergency supplies from the state and federal governments.

Illinois native Ronald Reagan visited Greenville on the campaign trail in 1980 and gave a speech on the street in front of the courthouse; his visit is commemorated by a plaque. Barack Obama visited Greenville while campaigning for his Senate seat in 2004, in a visit hosted by the Bond County Democrats.

Historic businesses
While Greenville once hosted three newspapers, The Item, The Sun, and The Advocate, it now has only the twice-weekly Greenville Advocate. The Advocate is the oldest business in Bond County and one of the oldest newspapers in Illinois. Original Advocate owner Jediah Alexander was friends with Abraham Lincoln and instrumental in bringing Lincoln to Greenville for a visit.

Historic Greenville businesses also include the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company, which later became the Pet Milk Company. The condensing plant, built in 1899, was the oldest in the world for many years until it was torn down in the early 1990s. Pet also maintained its research and testing center in Greenville. Many products. including Instant Pet, Pet-Ritz pies, Sego diet foods, and Old El Paso products were developed there, along with the first use of food irradiation to increase the Vitamin D content of milk. The remaining research buildings and warehouses were sold to Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals in the 1990s, which continues to operate there today.

Other historic businesses in Greenville included shoe manufacturer Mayer and Bannister, cigar manufacturers Thomas D. Scheske and H.H. Wirz, and a glove factory, the Greenville Glove Manufacturing Co. In the early 1900s, Greenville had its own power company, Greenville Electric Gas and Power Company, which later was bought by Illinois Power and Light Service.

The Watson family operated a pharmacy in Greenville for over 125 years, since 1881; it was sold in 2006, but still maintains the name Watson's Drug Store. Greenville once had a silent movie theatre, the Lyric, and now has a first-run movie theatre, the Globe.

Bradford National Bank was founded in 1867 by James Bradford and his son Samuel and was originally known as the Banking House of Bradford and Sons. In 1910, the bank received its national charter to become Bradford National Bank. In 2017, the bank celebrated its 150th anniversary and is the 10th oldest bank in Illinois.

Today, the bank has locations in Greenville, Highland, and Marine, Illinois.

Geography
Greenville is located near the center of Bond County. U.S. Route 40 and Interstate 70 pass to the south of downtown, both highways leading west 49 mi to St. Louis and east 19 mi to Vandalia.

Greenville is also located on Illinois Route 127, which is a major north-south route connecting Southern Illinois to Springfield.

The National Road passes through Greenville. East of Greenville it follows Illinois Route 140, and west it follows U.S. Route 40. Its route west of town was the source of a historic controversy. Original plans were to connect Greenville to St. Louis. However, the Illinois General Assembly preferred a route to Alton to favor an Illinois city directly on the Mississippi River. When federal money for the road ran out in 1840 at Vandalia, 19 miles east of Greenville, the State Legislature refused to fund it further. Residents of Greenville, Highland, Troy, and Collinsville paid to complete the road to East St. Louis. The "State Policy" of favoring Alton over St. Louis remained a major political issue in Illinois until the Civil War.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Greenville has a total area of 6.31 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 7,083 people, 2,351 households, and 1,222 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,122.68 PD/sqmi. There were 2,403 housing units at an average density of 380.88 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 75.35% White, 13.84% African American, 0.47% Native American, 1.23% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 4.62% from other races, and 4.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.54% of the population.

There were 2,351 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.17% were married couples living together, 11.87% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.02% were non-families. 36.62% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.27% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 2.10.

The city's age distribution consisted of 14.8% under the age of 18, 15.5% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 137.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 130.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,625, and the median income for a family was $59,271. Males had a median income of $29,233 versus $25,985 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,551. About 10.0% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.5% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The first mayor of Greenville, James Bradford, was elected in 1873. He was the owner of Bradford and Son bank, which is still in existence today as Bradford National Bank. Bradford later went on to serve in the Illinois Legislature.

During the first half of the 20th century, the Anti-Saloon Party was a player in local politics, with aldermen and mayors being elected from the ticket in 1911, 1913, 1917, and 1953. After the 1953 election, a "city manager" style of government was voted in, which provided for non-partisan city council members.

Greenville has had a mayor and city council form of government since 1957. Fire services are provided by the Greenville Fire Protection District.

Education
In 1992, private Free Methodist college Greenville University celebrated its 100th anniversary and was featured on NBC's Today Show. In 2006, the college was again featured prominently in a Today Show story about the rapid growth of Christian colleges and universities. In 2007, GC had a record enrollment of an estimated 1,100 traditional students. The college was the first campus in America to go completely wireless with its Internet.

Enrollment topped 1,000 students for the first time in the college's history in 2006. The current student body at Greenville College contains over 1,500 students; most are from various Christian denominations. The college currently offers undergraduate degrees in over 50 different programs of study and graduate degrees in education.

Greenville also hosts a satellite center for Kaskaskia College, a community college headquartered in Centralia, Illinois.

In addition to its colleges, Greenville is home to Bond County Community Unit #2 High School (usually known as Greenville High School), home of the Comets. Since 2007, the Comets football team has appeared in the Final Four in the IHSA Class 3A state football playoffs five out of seven years: in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2007 they lost to Columbia, in 2011 they lost to Mount Carmel, and in both 2009 and 2012 they lost to Tolono Unity. The Comets' 2010 playoff run set many state records.

Students from the neighboring towns of Pocahontas and Sorento are part of Bond County School District #2 with Greenville students and attend high school in Greenville. One of these notable students was country singer Gretchen Wilson, who attended GHS but did not graduate.

Greenville Junior High, home of the Bluejays, and Greenville Elementary School, home of the Rockets, round out Greenville's local schools. Although it is referred to as a junior high, Greenville Junior High is now a middle school, with sixth through eighth grades. During the 2006 school year, Greenville Elementary was one of only 25 schools selected nationwide as a NASA Explorer school, a three-year partnership with NASA to promote math, science, and space exploration.

Media
In addition to the long-running Greenville newspaper The Advocate. Greenville's radio station WGEL covers local and county news. The station is a country music station with the tagline "The Best Country in the Country". WGRN 89.5 is a radio station also in Greenville, run by Greenville University, and also WPMB 102.7 Greenville, and 104.7 Vandalia.

Culture
For 37 years, Greenville had been the site of the annual multi-day Agape Music Festival, or AgapeFest, a Christian music festival put on by Greenville College students - the only Christian music festival in the country run by students. The festival has hosted many of the most famous Christian bands, along with more mainstream acts like Owl City in 2013. The college announced its intention to move the festival to the Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri for a one-day event in 2014 for the stated reason of appealing to new audiences, but the relocated event was instead canceled due to low ticket sales the week before it was held. The Agape organizers announced that their intention for future years is to return the festival to its traditional home at the Bond County Fairgrounds.

In the past, Greenville has served as the annual host to the World Powered Parachute Championships as the "Chute-Out on the Prairie" at Greenville Airport. The first championship ever held was held in Greenville, which is home to some notable participants of the sport.

Greenville conducts the Bond County Fair every August. In 2008, the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Traveling Wall visited Greenville to coincide with the fair activities.

The Greenville Graffiti Car Show has been held downtown for the past three years and features a large car show with appearances by nostalgic celebrities downtown. In 2013, Donna Douglas, who played Elly Mae Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, was the celebrity, and in 2014 Greenville hosted actor James Best, who played Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard.

Recreation
Because of its central location in the country, and its position directly on Interstate 70, Greenville sees many visitors undertaking cross-country walks and bike rides. It serves as a time station for the Race Across America cross-country bike ride.

Greenville Municipal Airport is located 3 mi south of downtown at 38° 50′ 10″ N, 89° 22′ 42″ W. It has one of the closest skydiving centers to St. Louis, the Gateway Skydiving Center.

Governor Bond Lake, a 775-acre man-made lake named after the first governor of Illinois, Shadrach Bond, is near Greenville. It was built in the late 1960s to supply water to the city and is now also used for fishing, boating, camping, and other recreational purposes. Greenville is 17 miles from the largest man-made lake in Illinois, Carlyle Lake, which is one of the most popular recreational areas in southern Illinois.

Places of interest
Greenville has an old-fashioned downtown, with murals and antique shops. The city has been conducting a restoration project on the downtown murals.

Lincoln - Douglas Campaign and the American Civil War

A large stone and plaque placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution mark the location where Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas gave speeches while running for the United States Senate in 1858. The city unsuccessfully applied for a grant from the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to buy the property on South Fifth Street where Lincoln spoke and to create a small Lincoln Park. A statue dedicated to county veterans of the Civil War was dedicated on the courthouse lawn in 1903; the courthouse lawn has a Veterans' Memorial in honor of all county veterans.

Sears Catalog Homes

Many Sears Catalog Homes – houses made from kits bought from the Sears and Roebuck catalog – are dotted around the town.

Greenville University

Greenville University is home to the only museum dedicated to the sculptures of Richard Bock, who was an associate of Frank Lloyd Wright and designed many of the sculptures for Wright-designed homes.

American Farm Heritage Museum and Hills Fort

Greenville hosts the American Farm Heritage Museum and Hills Fort, a museum that aims to preserve agricultural history. The museum features exhibits of tractors and other farm-related memorabilia and holds multiple festivals a year. It held its third annual Heritage Days and was the largest Oliver Corp. equipment show in America in 2007, as the national Oliver show was held outside the US. In 2006, 500 tractors were on display for the event, and 5,000 people were in attendance. In 2008, the show was the site of the Cockshutt international equipment show. The AFHM also has a 15-inch-gage train going around it with approximately one mile of track.

In 2011, the St. Louis Armed Forces Museum, which had long been located in Alton, Illinois, relocated to the American Farm Heritage Museum, due to the Greenville museum's tourist traffic and visible location on Interstate 70.

The DeMoulin Museum

One of the most unique museums in the country, the DeMoulin Museum calls Greenville home. Founded in 1892 as a manufacturer of lodge paraphernalia and regalia, DeMoulin Bros. & Co., which was headquartered in Greenville, became one of the nation's leading makers of marching band uniforms. The company's diverse production history has included graduation caps and gowns, choir robes, church and lodge furniture, and lodge initiation devices. The DeMoulin Museum, founded in 2010, pays tribute to the founders, employees, and amazing products created by this unique factory. Though the museum contains examples of many of DeMoulin's creations, the lodge initiation devices–including the Bucking Goat; Invisible Paddle Machine; and Lifting and Spraying Machine–are what have attracted visitors from over 30 states. The museum has been featured in numerous publications, including Atlas Obscura and Roadside America.

Transportation
Greenville Municipal Airport is located 3 miles from the central business district of Greenville.

Greenville rail freight shippers are served by the main lines of BNSF and CSX and the local shortline Illinois Western Railroad that has connections to both BNSF and CSX.

Highways include Interstate 70, U.S. Route 40, Illinois Route 127, and Illinois Route 140.

Bond County Transit has several bus stops in Greenville.

Notable people

 * Ernest L. Boyer, former U.S. Commissioner of Education
 * Robert Briner, Emmy Award-winning television producer
 * Job Adams Cooper, sixth governor of Colorado
 * Gerald Greider, Wisconsin legislator
 * Phyllis Holmes, former basketball coach for Greenville College and U.S. Olympic Team; member of Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
 * Enoch A. Holtwick, temperance activist and Prohibition Party candidate for President in 1956
 * Alfred Harrison Joy, astronomer
 * Edwin G. Krebs, a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist
 * Herbert Lyle Mayfield, hybrid folk instrument designer and builder, inventor of guitalin; writer, columnist, and journeyman printer
 * Tom Merritt, former executive editor on TWIT network and host of the Daily Tech News Show.
 * Henry Perrine, noted horticulturalist
 * Robert E. "Ish" Smith, president of IBAF and the United States Baseball Federation, former president of Greenville College
 * Ron Stephens, formerly of the Illinois House of Representatives
 * Manuel Velazquez, anti-boxing activist
 * Frank Watson, longtime Republican Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate
 * Howard Zahniser, environmental activist, wrote Wilderness Act of 1964

title: Greenville, Illinois


text:
Keyesport, Illinois

Keyesport is a village in Bond and Clinton counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 406 at the 2020 census.

History
Keyesport was named in honor of its postmaster, Thomas Keyes. It is on the boundary between Clinton County and Bond counties. It was incorporated as a village in 1887.

Geography
Keyesport is situated on the western shore of Carlyle Lake.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Keyesport has a total area of 0.74 sqmi, of which 0.72 sqmi (or 97.69%) is land and 0.02 sqmi (or 2.31%) is water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 406 people, 194 households, and 147 families residing in the village. The population density was 550.88 PD/sqmi. There were 232 housing units at an average density of 314.79 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 92.36% White, 0.25% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 1.48% from other races, and 5.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.

There were 194 households, out of which 50.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.60% were married couples living together, 28.35% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.23% were non-families. 23.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.73% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.54.

The village's age distribution consisted of 21.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 34.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $33,629, and the median income for a family was $33,750. Males had a median income of $21,250 versus $19,390 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,786. About 10.9% of families and 28.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.0% of those under age 18 and 22.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

 * Wilbur Clark, builder and owner of Desert Inn hotel and casino in Las Vegas
 * Frank Harter, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and Indianapolis Hoosiers

title: Keyesport, Illinois