Macon is a town in Macon 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 ...

whose population was 1,138 at the 2010 census, and 1,120 at a 2018 estimate. It is included in the Decatur, Illinois

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 as a city or tow ...

and lies 11 miles South of Decatur.

History

The city was named after

Nathaniel Macon Nathaniel Macon (December 17, 1757June 29, 1837) was an American politician who represented North Carolina in both houses of Congress. He was the fifth speaker of the House, serving from 1801 to 1807. He was a member of the United States House of ...

(1758–1837), American politician. It was originally plotted in 1856 on land owned by the Illinois Central Railroad. Macon was officially incorporated as a city on April 19, 1869.

Geography

Macon is located at (39.709123, -89.000391). According to the 2010 census, Macon has a total area of , all land.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south-north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Highw ...

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 1,213 people, 467 households, and 346 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 491 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.85%

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%

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 ...

, 0.33%

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 ...

, and 0.58% 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 0.58% of the population. There were 467 households, out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,917, and the median income for a family was $48,583. Males had a median income of $35,333 versus $22,917 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 $18,029. About 5.1% of families and 5.8% 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 5.8% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Sports

High school

On June 4, 1971 the Macon High School baseball team finished in second place at the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fe ...

championship tournament. Their unlikely run to the state tournament was documented in Chris Ballard's 2012 book, ''One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season''. Brian Snitker, a member of that team, joined the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

as a player in 1977, was their third base coach, and in 2013 was named the manager of Atlanta's Triple-A

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

. In 2016, the Atlanta Braves named Snitker as their manager. On May 27, 2006 Meridian High School State Champion Rodney Oyler was the first individual IHSA Illinois Boys State Champion in the open 800 meter run at O'Brien Stadium,

Charleston, Illinois Charleston is a city in, and the county seat of, Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,286, as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor, Mattoon. Both are ...

. The Meridian Hawks won the 2009 Boys Class 1A

State Basketball Championship.

Auto racing

Macon is the site of Macon Speedway, a 1/5 mile high-banked dirt oval track which has been in operation since 1946. In 2006, the track saw a major decrease in spectator turnouts and the owner was having trouble keeping the track open. In early 2007, Macon speedway was purchased by

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

drivers

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is ...

Ken Schrader Kenneth Schrader (born May 29, 1955) is an American professional racing driver. He currently races on local dirt and asphalt tracks around the country while also competing part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 11 Ford for Fast Tra ...

, and

Kenny Wallace Kenneth Lee Wallace (born August 23, 1963) is an American race car driver and former reporter for Fox NASCAR. He retired from NASCAR in 2015 after driving in the national series since 1988. In a career spanning twenty-five years in NASCAR, Wallace ...

. Since their purchase, parts of the track have been remodeled, including new fencing all around and fresh painted grandstands.

Notable people

Dale Connelly Dale Connelly (born 4 October 1955) was co-host (with Tom Keith, aka Jim Ed Poole) of ''The Morning Show'' on Minnesota Public Radio. The program was first carried on KSJN at frequency 91.1 (now KNOW-FM, later on KSJN at 99.5 and finally on KCMP ...

, co-host of Minnesota Public Radio's

Morning Show Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...

, is a 1973 graduate of Macon High School * Nelson G. Kraschel, governor of Iowa from 1937 to 1939, was born on a farm near Macon on October 27, 1889 * Brian Snitker, Manager of the

baseball team, former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player, was a 1973 graduate of Macon High School. * Toby Towson, NCAA Gymnastics Champion, coach and dancer was a 1965 graduate of Macon High School *

Art Wilson Arthur Earl "Dutch" Wilson (December 11, 1885 – June 12, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. He played all or part of fourteen seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as a catcher. Wilson spent most of his career as a backu ...

, (1885–1960), born in Macon, was a major league baseball catcher

References

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