Griggsville is a city in Pike 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 1,226 at the 2010 census.

Geography

The community is in northeast Pike County approximately four miles west of the

Illinois River The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

lies about seven miles to the southwest along

Illinois Route 107 Illinois Route 107 is a north–south state highway in western Illinois. It runs from the northern terminus of U.S. Route 54 between Pittsfield and Griggsville north to Illinois Route 99 in Mt. Sterling. This is a distance of . Route desc ...

. According to the 2010 census, Griggsville has a total area of , all land.

History

Griggsville was named for its founder, Richard Griggs. Image:Griggsville Square.jpg, Griggsville Square c. 1900 Image:Griggsville 1847.jpg, Ayres & Lombard Bank & Store Image:Weagly House.jpg, Weagley Hotel Image:Griggsville Academy 1852.jpg, Griggsville Academy Image:Griggsville Illinois 1907.jpg, Griggsville in 1907

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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 1,258 people, 500 households, and 360 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 548 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.21%

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 ...

, 0.16%

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 ...

, 0.08%

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 ...

, 0.24% 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 0.32% 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 0.24% of the population. There were 500 households, out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.92. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,875, and the median income for a family was $36,071. Males had a median income of $27,454 versus $18,182 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 city was $14,578. About 10.2% of families and 12.3% 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 15.3% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Events

Griggsville hosts an Apple Festival on the third weekend of each September, along with the Western Illinois Fair, traditionally held during the third week of June. The Western Illinois Fair, in its 120th year, is one of the oldest fairs in the state of Illinois.

Purple martins

Griggsville is located between the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

and the

and the hot muggy summers are the perfect habitat for

mosquitoes Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "litt ...

. Amid growing concern over the use of

pesticides Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampric ...

to control mosquitoes, the town came up with an alternate abatement method. J.L. Wade, a Griggsville resident and owner of a local antenna manufacturing factory realized that Griggsville was right in the migration path of the

purple martin The purple martin (''Progne subis'') is a passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It is the largest swallow in North America. Despite its name, the purple martin is not truly purple. The dark blackish-blue feathers have an iridescent s ...

, the largest bird in the swallow family, supposedly able to eat 2,000 mosquitoes in a single day.The Nature Society
/ref> J.L. Wade quickly realized that to get the purple martins to stay, he simply needed to give them a reason to stay, so he converted his antenna factory into a bird house building factory. The mosquito population dwindled, which lead the town to adopt the nickname "The Purple Martin Capital of the Nation", as well as labeling the purple martin "America's Most Wanted Bird." Additionally, Wade's purple martin business, formerly Trio Manufacturing, published a newsletter called ''The Nature Society News''. The purple martin factory has been recently sold to a Chicago businessman. Griggsville has installed over 5,000 birdhouses along the city streets, including a 562-apartment high rise, reaching a height of 70 ft.

Notable person

Lew Hitch Lewis Rufus Hitch (July 16, 1929 – February 8, 2012) was an American professional basketball player. He was born in Griggsville, Illinois. A 6'8" forward/center from Kansas State University, Hitch played six seasons (1951–1957) in the ...

, basketball player for the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

(1951–1957)

Points of interest

* The Purple Martin High-Rise is located in central Griggsville on

. *

Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area The Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area is a state park located near Griggsville in Pike County, Illinois. It borders on the Illinois River and is primarily made of steeply sloped bluffland that is part of the river's valley. Heavily woode ...

Sources

Stead, George A. "Prologue to the Genealogy of the Steads" ranscribed by JN Mahon - 1999"Griggsville--Boom, Town on the Frontier" ''retrieved from archives at the Skinner House in Griggsville, IL''. November 29, 2007 {{authority control Cities in Illinois Cities in Pike County, Illinois Populated places established in 1833 1833 establishments in Illinois