Bluford is a village in Jefferson County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, in the

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. As of the 2010 census the village population was 688, down from 785 at the 2000 census. It is part of the

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Bluford is in eastern Jefferson County, south of

Illinois Route 15 Illinois Route 15 (IL 15) is a east–west highway in southern Illinois with its western terminus at Illinois Route 3, U.S. Route 40, I-55, and I-64, and its eastern terminus at Wabash River at the Illinois/Indiana Border where it meets S ...

and east of

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

. According to the 2010 census, Bluford has a total area of , of which (or 99.45%) is land and (or 0.55%) is water.

History

The town of Bluford was named after Bluford "Bluf" Green (1868–1912) when he was a small boy by his father Wiley Green (1835–1878), who was the local justice of the peace. An extended story about Bluford by Mrs. Opal H. Wood, follows: In 1881, before there was a Bluford, construction was started on the Air Line Railroad, later the Southern Railroad. George Evans, Mt. Vernon banker, laid out the town on 40 acres of land bisected by the railroad. In 1882, Rev. Z. H. Byard, a United Brethren preacher, built the first store building and dwelling. Byard also was the first postmaster in Bluford, and the first railroad station agent. Bluford was incorporated in 1925. Dwight Bressler was its first mayor. Bluford spread on both sides of the railroad. The south section unofficially was called Tilford, and the north, Bluford, both being names of the sons of Minerva (Flint) and Wiley Green. When son Tilford died, all the town became Bluford. No reason was given why the boys should have been so honored.Jefferson County Historical Society (1978), ''Facts and Folks A History of Jefferson County, Illinois'', Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, TX, 61

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 785 people, 283 households, and 223 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 310 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.09%

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, 0.13% Native American, 0.13%

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, 1.02% from

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, and 0.64% from two or more races.

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of any race were 1.15% of the population. There were 283 households, out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were non-families. 16.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% 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 3.09. In the village, the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $38,250, and the median income for a family was $40,515. Males had a median income of $29,205 versus $16,641 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $15,537. About 8.8% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Villages in Jefferson County, Illinois Villages in Illinois Mount Vernon, Illinois micropolitan area