Long Creek is a village in Macon County,

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. As of the 2020 census its 1,261. It is included in the

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

History

Long Creek is named for the creek that runs through the area. The first settlers arrived in 1828 from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

and subsequently built log cabins and made improvements on the surrounding land. In the fall of 1828, a band of Native Americans from the

Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma The Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma is one of three federally recognized Kickapoo tribes in the United States. There are also Kickapoo tribes in Kansas, Texas, and Mexico. The Kickapoo are a Woodland tribe, who speak an Algonquian language.Kuhlman, ...

arrived and set up camp along Long Creek and began trapping, hunting, and fishing. When they were relatively unsuccessful at catching game, the Kickapoo began killing hogs and stealing poultry from the early settlers. Eventually a group of settlers drove them from the county. During the early 1830s the area saw more settlers arriving, and the first schoolhouse was constructed in 1834. The school also served as a place of worship before the first church was built in 1842.

Geography

Long Creek is located in eastern Macon County at (39.808936, -88.856548). It is bordered to the northwest by the city of Decatur, 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 ...

, and to the southwest by the village of Mount Zion.

U.S. Route 36 U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west United States highway that travels approximately from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an intersection i ...

runs along the northern edge of Long Creek village, leading northwest to the center of Decatur and east to Tuscola. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the village of Long Creek has a total area of , all land. Long Creek flows through the center of the village limits, running west to Finley Creek at the southeast arm of

Lake Decatur Lake Decatur is a reservoir located in the city of Decatur, Illinois, USA, east of downtown. The city and lake both share the name of U.S. Navy Commodore Stephen Decatur. The lake is above sea level and has a watershed of or reaching into pa ...

, a reservoir on the

Sangamon River The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in central Illinois in the United Stat ...

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 1,364 people, 486 households, and 408 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 500 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.61%

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, 0.44%

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 ...

, 0.15% Native American, 0.29%

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 ...

, 0.07% from

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, and 0.44% from two or more races.

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people of any race were 0.51% of the population. There were 486 households, out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.1% 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, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.0% were non-families. 13.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.08. In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.6 males. The median income for a household in the village was $56,083, and the median income for a family was $58,056. Males had a median income of $43,958 versus $27,344 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 $23,141. About 3.5% of families and 5.1% 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 7.4% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

References

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