Junction is a village in Gold Hill Township, Gallatin County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States. The population was 56 at the 2020 census.

History

Junction was founded in the 1880s, and was named for its location at the junction of the L&N and B&O railroads. When a post office was established in 1884, it was named "Cypress Junction." The name was changed to "Junction City" in 1888, and shortened to "Junction" in 1894. Junction's location in a relatively flat area leaves it prone to flooding along the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

, which can cause waters in the nearby Saline River to back up. A major flood in March 1997 displaced several area residents and blocked all but one road leading into the village. On June 1, 2022, Junction General Baptist Church burned down after lightning struck the steeple.

Crenshaw House

The Hickory Hill mansion, almost five miles west of Junction, is the 19th-century home of illegal slave trader and slave breeder John Hart Crenshaw. It was infamously known as the "Old Slave House," as it was used as a criminal front for the kidnapping of free blacks who were illegally sold into the Southern slave trade on the Reverse Underground Railroad, as well as a farm for slave breeding.

Geography

Junction is located at the center of Gallatin County at (37.722726, -88.237973). The village lies along Illinois Route 13, a few miles west of the

, and north of the Shawnee National Forest. The Saline River, a tributary of the Ohio, passes just to the south. According to the 2010 census, Junction has a total area of , of which (or 99.66%) is land and (or 0.34%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 56 people, 35 households, and 38 families residing in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 92.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.79% of the population. There were 35 households, out of which 10.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 22.9% had a female householder with no husband present. The median income for a household in the village was $32,375, and the median income for a family was $42,500. 45.5% of those over 64 were living below the poverty line.

Notable people

* John Hart Crenshaw, landowner, salt maker, illegal slave trader kidnapper, and illegal slave breeder

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Gallatin County, Illinois Villages in Illinois