Beason is an

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in Oran Township,

Logan County, Illinois Logan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 30,305. Its county seat is Lincoln. Logan County comprises the Lincoln, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included i ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The town lies one mile (1.6 km) south of

Illinois Route 10 Illinois Route 10 (IL 10) is an arterial east–west state highway that runs from rural Mason County east to Champaign, a distance of . Route description Illinois 10 starts at US 136 about 12 miles east of Havana. The highway heads south to ...

. At the 2010 census, Beason had a population of 189. Beason has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

with ZIP code 62512.

History

Beason was established on July 29, 1872, by Silas Beason, for whom the town is named. It was founded as a stop on the Havana, Lincoln, and Eastern Railroad, which is now a branch of the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also c ...

. The first store in Beason was a grocery opened by Berryman H. Pendleton, who later became Beason's first postmaster. Beason's school was built in 1893 and its

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

church was built in 1904.

Geography

Beason is located at at an elevation of .

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, Beason has a population of 147.

Race

146 people are white, 1 person is Hispanic or Latino, and 1 person is black.

2009 murders

In September 2009, five members of the Gee family were murdered in their home in Beason. Investigators said that all five died of

blunt force trauma Blunt trauma, also known as blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, is physical traumas, and particularly in the elderly who fall. It is contrasted with penetrating trauma which occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue ...

. On May 31, 2013, Christopher Harris, the former husband of the Gees' oldest daughter, was convicted of murdering them and the attempted murder of the family's three-year-old daughter, among other crimes committed during the murders. Harris was given five

life sentences Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes ...

for the crimes. His brother, Jason, who eventually admitted being outside the house that night, then testified to what he heard and saw outside the home during the murders, including Christopher entering the house with a tire iron that was consistent with the weapon used on all six victims. Jason received a 20-year sentence for

obstruction of justice Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other gov ...

. Before Jason's testimony, Christopher had admitted to being at the house but had tried to make a case that he was a hero who walked in on the family's teenage son, Dillen, murdering his family and killed the teen in self-defense.

References

External links

History of Beason, Il.NACo
{{authority control Census-designated places in Logan County, Illinois Census-designated places in Illinois Unincorporated communities in Illinois Populated places established in 1872 1872 establishments in Illinois