Mound City is a city and 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 ...

of Pulaski County,

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

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 territorie ...

. It is located along the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

just north of its confluence with the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 588.

History

Mound City was incorporated in 1857 as a union of two cities: Mound City, founded by Major General Moses Marshal Rawlings, and Emporium City, a project of the Emporium Real Estate and Manufacturing Company, a group of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

businessmen. The city took its name from a Native American mound on which guests at General Rawlings' hotel would sleep in summer, as the breezes cooled them and dispersed the mosquitoes. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Admiral

Andrew Hull Foote Andrew Hull Foote (September 12, 1806 – June 26, 1863) was an American naval officer who was noted for his service in the American Civil War and also for his contributions to several naval reforms in the years prior to the war. When the war cam ...

made Cairo the naval station for the

Mississippi River Squadron The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and w ...

of over 200 ironclads, timberclads, hospital ships, transports, and other vessels. Since

had no land available for base facilities, the navy yard repair shop machinery was afloat aboard wharf-boats, old steamers, tugs, flat-boats, and rafts. The naval station was moved upstream in 1862 when of land was purchased in Mound City. The Mound City Naval Station included a shipyard with marine ways, a foundry, marine barracks, supply offices, and a hospital; but many repair facilities remained afloat because the Mound City land was frequently inundated by flood waters. USS ''Cairo'' was built in 1861 by James Eads and Co. of Mound City, under contract to the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...

. She was commissioned in January 1862 as part of the Mississippi River Squadron, U.S. Navy Lieutenant James M. Prichett in command. She was a City-class ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was the lead ship of the City-class gunboats, sometimes also called the ''Cairo'' class, and was named for Cairo, Illinois. On December 12, 1862 just north of Vicksburg, Mississippi, the USS ''Cairo'' became the first ship sunk by electrically detonated torpedoes during its mission to destroy Confederate batteries and clear the Yazoo River of underwater mines. In 2017, Mound City elected Allison Madison, the city's first African-American and first female mayor.

Geography

Mound City is located at (37.085624, -89.163054). According to the 2010 census, Mound City has a total area of , of which (or 91.91%) is land and (or 8.09%) is water. The majority of the Native American

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher el ...

s for which the city was named have been destroyed by development and farming.CCNet ESSAY
University of Georgia Library

Demographics

2010 census

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 2010, there were 588 people and 270 households. The racial makeup of the city was 44.39%

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 ...

, 53.4%

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 ...

, a single

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 ...

, three individuals 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 eight individuals from two or more races. There were nine people who were

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.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 692 people, 279 households, and 178 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 319 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 49.57%

, 49.57%

, 0.14%

, 0.14% from

, and 0.58% from two or more races.

people of any race were 1.16% of the population. There were 279 households, out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.5% 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, 30.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.12. In the city, the population was spread out, with 32.5% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 71.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 65.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $16,607, and the median income for a family was $22,143. Males had a median income of $35,469 versus $15,583 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 $10,020. About 35.5% of families and 39.3% 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 47.5% of those under age 18 and 26.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Charlie Hoover, catcher for the

Kansas City Cowboys Several sports team in Kansas City, Missouri have used the name Cowboys: *Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association), a baseball team in the Union Association in 1884 *Kansas City Cowboys (National League), a baseball team in the National League in 18 ...

* Katherine D. Tillman, writer

National Register of Historic Places

Mound City Civil War Naval Hospital The Mound City Civil War Naval Hospital was a naval hospital in Mound City, Illinois, used by the United States Navy during the Civil War. The hospital was established in 1861 in an existing brick building claimed by the U.S. government. It becam ...

Mound City National Cemetery Mound City National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located near Mound City, in Pulaski County, Illinois. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 8,098 interments. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans A ...

References

{{authority control Cities in Pulaski County, Illinois County seats in Illinois Populated places established in 1857 Illinois populated places on the Ohio River 1857 establishments in Illinois Cities in Illinois Mounds in Illinois