Mason is an

incorporated town An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation. Canada Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government. United Kingdom United States An in ...

in Effingham County,

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

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 territori ...

. The population was 345 at the 2010 census, down from 396 at the 2000 census. It was named after Roswell Mason, an official of the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also c ...

. Mason is part of the Effingham, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Mason is located in southern Effingham County at (38.952398, -88.626490).

Illinois Route 37 Illinois Route 37, Illinois 37 or IL 37, is a north–south state highway in southern Illinois. IL 37's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 51 (US 51) and IL 3 in Cairo and the northern terminus is at US 45 in Watson. Route ...

passes through the town, leading northeast to Watson and southwest to

Edgewood Edgewood may refer to: Places Canada *Edgewood, British Columbia South Africa *Edgewood, a University of KwaZulu-Natal campus in Pinetown, South Africa United States Cities and towns *Edgewood, California *Edgewood, Florida *Edgewood, Illinois, a ...

Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...

crosses the northwest corner of Mason, but the closest access is from Edgewood to the southwest or from Exit 151 to the northeast. Via I-57 it is north to Effingham, 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 southwest to

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

. According to the 2010 census, Mason has a total area of , of which (or 99.61%) is land and (or 0.39%) is water.

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 396 people, 147 households, and 103 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 160 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.23%

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 o ...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.76% 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 0.76% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 2.27% of the population. There were 147 households, out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.5% were married couples living together, 4.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.15. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 118.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $40,441, and the median income for a family was $41,797. Males had a median income of $26,607 versus $18,333 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 town was $13,392. About 5.9% of families and 6.1% 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 4.2% of those under age 18 and 17.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Lowell Bayles, air race pilot *

Ada Kepley Ada Harriet Miser Kepley (February 11, 1847 – June 13, 1925) was the first American woman to graduate from law school. She graduated in 1870 with a law degree, from what is today Northwestern University School of Law. At that time, she was pro ...

, author and first American woman to graduate law school, owned a farm in Mason township *

Mason Ruffner Mason Ruffner (born 1947) is an American blues and rock singer, guitarist and songwriter. He has worked with many musicians including Bob Dylan, Daniel Lanois, Robert Ealey, Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Page and Ringo Starr. From 1 ...

, singer, songwriter, musician

References

{{authority control 1865 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1865 Towns in Effingham County, Illinois Towns in Illinois