Kampsville is a village in

Calhoun County, Illinois Calhoun County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,089, making it Illinois’ third-least populous county. Its county seat and biggest community is Hardin, with a population of 801. Its smalle ...

, United States, located on the west bank 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 ...

. The population was 310 at the 2022 census.

Name

Kampsville was originally known as ''Beeman's Landing'', after James L. Beeman, a ferry operator on the Illinois River. After Stephen Farrow purchased the ferry from Beeman, the name was changed to ''Farrowtown.'' The name ''Vedder'' was used when the post office was established in 1857. The name ''Kampsville'' was made official on 6 March 1872 and refers to Michael A. Kamp, who served as president of the village board and was also a postmaster at Silver Creek, north of Kampsville.

General information

The Kampsville ferry crosses the Illinois River and connects the Kampsville segment of

Illinois Route 108 Illinois Route 108 is an east–west highway in western Illinois. Its western terminus is at Illinois Route 100 in Kampsville, Illinois, Kampsville, and its eastern terminus is at Interstate 55 in Zanesville Township near Raymond, Illinois, Ra ...

with its remainder in Greene County. The ferry is free and runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is one of two permanent ferries operated by the

Illinois Department of Transportation The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fuel ...

. The village is the base of operations for the

Center for American Archeology The Center for American Archeology, or CAA, is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) research and education institution located in Kampsville, Illinois, USA, near the Illinois River. It is dedicated to the exploration of the culture of prehistori ...

, an educational and research organization dedicated to the archeological understanding of the Native Americans and of the European settlers in the region. It contains exhibits demonstrating evidence of 7,000 years of human habitation excavated at the

Koster Site The Koster Site is a prehistoric archaeological site located south of Eldred, Illinois. The site covers more than 3 acres and extends 30 feet down into the alluvial deposits of the Illinois River valley. Over the course of its excavation betw ...

in nearby Greene County.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Kampsville has a total area of , of which (or 82.26%) is land and (or 17.74%) is water. Three highways run through the village. They are Route 100, Route 96, and a small portion of Route 108 leads to the Kampsville ferry.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 310 people, 132 households, and 96 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 175 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.29%

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 ...

, 1.29% Native American, and 7.42% 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 2.58% of the population. There were 132 households, out of which 64.39% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% were married couples living together, 15.15% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.27% were non-families. 27.27% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.36% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 2.30. The village's age distribution consisted of 29.3% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 18.7% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $49,583, and the median income for a family was $57,500. Males had a median income of $38,438 versus $32,500 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 $22,374. About 26.0% of families and 31.3% 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 56.4% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Villages in Calhoun County, Illinois Villages in Illinois 1857 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1857