| Albion | |
| City | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | Edwards |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 2.2 sq mi (6 km²) |
| - land | 2.2 sq mi (6 km²) |
| Population | 1,933 (2000) |
| Density | 903.8 /sq mi (349 /km²) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | XXXXX |
| Area code | XXX |
   Location of Albion within Illinois
| |
| Wikimedia Commons: Albion, Illinois | |
Albion is a city in Edwards County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,933 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Edwards County.GR6
Contents |
Geography
Albion is located at (38.377300, -88.061028).GR1 In it, Illinois Route 130 and Illinois Route 15 meet. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), of which, 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (2.28%) is water.
History
Albion was founded soon after the end of the War of 1812 by a colony of Englishmen led by George Flower. The American settlers in Edwards County, many veterans of the War, mostly from Kentucky, viewed the English colony with great suspicion: Were these spies sent by England to prepare for the next attempt to take over the Northwest Territory? In 1816 a wealthy Englishman named George Flower came to America. He and another Englishman, Morris Birkbeck met and agreed to explore the western country with the idea of starting a colony of their own countrymen. After a long voyage of prospection through Ohio, Indiana, and the Illinois Territory, they were so impressed with the beauty they saw in the countryside when they reached Boultinghouse Prairie, they knew they had found the site for which they were searching. They soon bought up all the land they could afford, and eventually brought over from England more than 200 settlers, £100,000 in capital, and a carefully thought out selection of good livestock and agricultural implements: the area became known as the English Settlement. In 1824, the county seat of Edwards County was moved from Palmyra to Albion.[1] Residents of Mt. Carmel felt the county seat should be in Mt. Carmel and not Albion. Four companies of militia marched from Mt. Carmel toward Albion to obtain the county documents stored in the courthouse. The situation was resolved by separating Wabash County from Edwards County at the Bon Pas Creek in 1824[2]. The divided counties remain two of the smallest in Illinois.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 1,933 people, 861 households, and 538 families residing in the city. The population density was 903.8 people per square mile (348.8/km²). There were 957 housing units at an average density of 447.5/sq mi (172.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.71% White, 0.16% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 0.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population. There were 861 households out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.82. In the city the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 24.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,476, and the median income for a family was $36,917. Males had a median income of $26,182 versus $17,375 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,747. About 8.6% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
- Louis Lincoln Emmerson, Republican served as Secretary of State of Illinois and then Governor of Illinois, serving as governor from 1929 to 1933, was born in Albion.
- Guy U. Hardy, former U.S. Representative from Colorado, attended school in Albion.
- Jeff Keener, former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1982 to 1983, grew up and attended school in Albion.
- On Thursday, July 12, 2007, Bruce Mendenhall, a truck driver, a resident of Albion, and now a confessed serial killer was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee in connection with 6 murders in 4 different state: Tennessee, Alabama, Indiana, and Georgia. [3]
References
4.A History Of Edwards County, Illinois, Volume One, 1980 Library of Congress Card number 80-70649
External links
- Albion, Illinois is at coordinates Coordinates:
- http://www.southeastillinois.com
Municipalities and communities of Edwards County, Illinois | ||
|---|---|---|
| County seat: Albion | ||
| Cities | Albion | Grayville |  |
| Villages | Black | Bone Gap | Browns | West Salem | |
| Precincts | Albion | Bone Gap | Browns | Dixon | Ellery | French Creek | Salem | Shelby | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
