Cherry is a village in Bureau County,

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

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 territorie ...

. The population was 435 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is located northwest of LaSalle-

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, just a few miles north of

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

, and is about east of the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...

. Cherry was the site of the

Cherry Mine Disaster The Cherry Mine disaster was a fire in the Cherry, Illinois, coal mine in 1909, and surrounding events, in which 259 men and boys died. The disaster stands as the third most deadly in American coal mining history. History Background The Cherry ...

, which killed 259 coal miners in November 1909. This was the third most deadly mine disaster in U.S. history (as of 2005).

History

The St. Paul Coal Company sank a shaft at the Cherry Mine in 1905. The mine supplied coal for

Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced ...

locomotives, and was named for the first mine superintendent, James Cherry. The

occurred in 1909, and remains one of the worst coal mining disasters in United States history. The disaster led to changes in US and Illinois mining and labor regulations, as well as enforced of child labor laws and the requirement in Illinois that mines have fire fighting equipment and more fireproof materials. Cherry Coal Company took over operations from 1929 until 1935 when it closed.

Geography

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

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 435 people, 208 households, and 144 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 218 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.86%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.46%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.15%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.69% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.84% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 5.06% of the population. There were 208 households, out of which 44.23% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.06% were married couples living together, 2.88% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.77% were non-families. 27.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.46% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 2.30. The village's age distribution consisted of 21.9% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 18.4% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 31.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 125.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $49,583, and the median income for a family was $52,857. Males had a median income of $41,000 versus $27,813 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 $27,386. About 2.1% of families and 3.8% 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 8.7% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Bureau County, Illinois Villages in Illinois Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area