O'Fallon is a city in

St. Clair County, Illinois St. Clair County is the ninth most populous county in Illinois. Located directly east of St. Louis, the county is part of the Metro East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in southern Illinois. As of the 2020 United States ...

, United States. The 2020 census listed the population at 32,289. The city is the second largest city in the

Metro East The Metro East is an urban area in Southern Illinois, United States that contains the eastern and northern urban, suburban, and exurban areas on the Mississippi River in Greater St. Louis. It encompasses eight Illinois counties and constitutes ...

region and

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

. It sits from

Scott Air Force Base Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Originally Scott Field, it was one of 32 Air Service training camps established af ...

and from Downtown St. Louis. Like its namesake in

St. Charles County, Missouri St. Charles County is located in the central eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 405,262, making it Missouri's third-most populous county (United States), county. Its ...

, O'Fallon is part of the St. Louis metro area. This makes O'Fallon (along with the two Troys in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

) one of the few pairs of like-named municipalities to be part of the same metro region.

History

Founded in 1854, O'Fallon's namesake comes from

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

John O'Fallon John O'Fallon (November 17, 1791 – December 17, 1865) was a businessman, philanthropist, and military officer, a nephew of the explorer William Clark. During the 19th century he rose to become the wealthiest person in St. Louis, Missouri. The ...

who was a wealthy gentleman from

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. In downtown O'Fallon, a

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

railroad depot was built, which helped put O'Fallon on the map. City lots were

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted and sold at a

public auction A government auction or a public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a governmen ...

on May 18, 1854. A post office was established the following year and the city began attracting German settlers looking for fertile farming land. On January 27, 1874, O'Fallon was incorporated as a village. On March 14, 1905, the citizens voted for a change to the city form of government. Since its founding, O'Fallon has gained population every decennial census year except 1930, when the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

showed a net loss of six residents. The city center is approximately two miles east of the intersection of

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 70, I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and U.S. Route 61, US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern ter ...

and

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

. Suburban growth in O'Fallon expanded considerably during the 1980s and following the expansion of Interstate 64 in the 1990s.

Subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...

s include Thornbury Hill, Nolin Creek Estates, Fairwood Hills, Deer Creek, Forest Hills, and Fairwood East. O'Fallon Township High School's main campus at 600 South Smiley Street has undergone numerous additions over the past decades to ease overcrowding, including the creation of the separate 9th Grade Milburn Campus. O'Fallon's city seal was designed in 1974 by Michael Donovan, an OTHS freshman, during a contest held by the O'Fallon Junior Woman's Club to create a city flag. In May 1975, the design was finalized by Louis Bradshaw and was then adopted by the city as its official flag. According to the 2004 publication by the O'Fallon Historical Society, ''O'Fallon Sesquicentennial History'':

''"The design is yellow gold on a blue background—the colors of the high school. The pick and shovel represent the coal mines that were so important to O'Fallon's economy for over 100 years. The locomotive represents the railroad to which O'Fallon owes its existence. The planes represent Scott Air Force Base where many in O'Fallon find employment—both military and civil service."''

Events

Tornado outbreak of April 2, 2006 During the late afternoon and evening of April 2, 2006, a series of tornadoes broke out in the central United States. It was the second major outbreak of 2006, in the same area that suffered considerable destruction in a previous outbreak on ...

Geography

O'Fallon is located at (38.591549, −89.912000). O'Fallon is: * from

* from

McKendree University McKendree University (McK), formerly McKendree College, is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1828 as the "Lebanon Seminary", it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. The school was renamed McKendree ...

* and from

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of , of which (or 99.10%) is land and (or 0.83%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

of 2020, there were 32,289 people, 12,093 households, and 7,114 families living in the city. The population density was 2,959/sq mi (1,142/km²). There were 13,225 housing units at an average density of 1,158/sq mi (447/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.59% White, 16.38% African American, 0.22% Native American, 2.75% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 1.44% from other races, and 8.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.49% of the population. Of the 12,093 households, 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% were married couples living together, 23.8% had a female householder with no spouse/partner present, and 13.3% had a male householder with no spouse/partner present. 23.1% of households were made up of individuals and 51.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.10. The city's age distribution consisted of 28.2% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 37.6% from 15 to 44, 12.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% 65 or older. The median age was 37.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. The median household income was $102,560 and the median family income was $123,695. The per capita income for the city was $51,826. About 4.2% of families and 3.3% 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 ...

, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Annual events

* May - Memorial Day To Honor Those Who Gave their lives in service of the nation (O'Fallon Veterans Monument) * November – Veterans Day Celebration at O'Fallon Veterans Monument; Veterans Day Parade - largest in the area * November, the Saturday after Thanksgiving - Lighted Holiday Parade

Parks and recreation

O'Fallon Parks and Recreation * Family Sports Park * Hesse Park * Katy Cavin's Community Center * O'Fallon Community Park * O'Fallon Memorial Pool * Rock Springs Nature Park ** Nature center ** Jogging/cycling paths ** Nature trails ** Natural prairie ** Dog Park * MCT Goshen Trailhead * St. Clair Recreation Complex * St. Ellen Mine Park * Thoman Park * Veteran's Monument Library * O'Fallon Public Library Registered historic places * Scott Field Historic District

Schools

* O'Fallon Community Consolidated School District #90 ** Delores Moye Elementary School ** Estelle Kampmeyer Elementary School ** J. E. Hinchcliffe Sr. Elementary School ** Laverna Evans Elementary School ** Marie Schaefer Elementary School ** Amelia V. Carriel Junior High School ** Edward A. Fulton Junior High School * O'Fallon Central School District #104 * O'Fallon Township High School District No. 203 ** O'Fallon Township High School Private schools * Discovery School * St. Clare Catholic School * First Baptist Academy

Notable people

* Bob Cryder, professional football player *

Bernie Fuchs Bernie Fuchs (October 29, 1932 – September 17, 2009) was an American illustrator widely known for advertising art, magazine illustration and portraiture, including for a series of U.S. postage stamps. Background Born in O'Fallon, Illinois, on ...

, illustrator *

William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...

, Academy Award-winning actor * Joseph W. Schmitt, spacesuit technician for the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

Gallery

File:Alertronic High Powered Voice Siren.JPG, City Civil defense siren File:War memorial, O'Fallon, Illinois.JPG, O’Fallon War Memorial File:Hesse Park, O'Fallon, Illinois.JPG, Hesse Park

References

External links

City of O'Fallon

O'Fallon Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Cities in St. Clair County, Illinois Populated places established in 1854 Cities in Illinois 1854 establishments in Illinois