Panola is a village in Woodford 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 ...

. The population was 45 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

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 ...

. Panola is one of the smallest communities in Illinois today. It is located about north of

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

, along

Illinois Route 251 Illinois Route 251 is a north–south state highway that runs on the former alignment of U.S. Route 51 before Interstate 39 was built in north central Illinois. It runs from U.S. 51 at the border with Wisconsin to I-39 and U.S. 51 south of Kap ...

(next to U.S. 51).

History

Some sources, including Stewart, pg. 362, as well as several Woodford County history books claim the name Panola was fabricated by J.B. Calhoun, land commissioner 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 co ...

, by arbitrarily combining single consonants and vowels. However, the 1954 El Paso Story correctly records that while Panola was assigned by an official of the Illinois Central Railroad, it simply duplicates the name of Panola County, Mississippi as well as several municipalities in the southern U.S. named Panola. Panola is a Native American word for cotton. Because of its aging population and apparent lack of enthusiasm for others to be involved in operation of the local government, in 2004 the village board of Panola attempted to unincorporate the town. Only one other town in Illinois had successfully unincorporated previously. Of the 33 residents at the time, 27 had voting rights. The measure failed 16 to 11. It needed a majority to pass.

Geography

Panola is located at (40.785072, -89.020942). According to the 2010 census, Panola has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census there were 45 residents of Panola. The median age of the population was 44. 1 resident reported being both black and white and one resident reported being Hispanic or Latino, while the remaining 42 residents were non-Hispanic whites.2010 general profile of population and housing characteristics of Panola from the United States 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 2000, there were 33 people, 13 households, and 11 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 14 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 93.94%

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 ...

, and 6.06%

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 ...

. There were 13 households, out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 84.6% 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, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 7.7% were non-families. No households were made up of individuals, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.58. In the village, the population was spread out, with 15.2% under the age of 18, 3.0% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 24.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $41,875, and the median income for a family was $40,625. Males had a median income of $47,500 versus $26,250 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 $24,259. None of the population and none of the families 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 ...

References

George R. Stewart George Rippey Stewart (May 31, 1895 – August 22, 1980) was an American historian, toponymist, novelist, and a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. His 1959 book, ''Pickett's Charge'', a detailed history of the final ...

. ''Names on the Land''. Houghton Mifflin Company:Boston (1967).

External links

Google cache of Peoria Journal-Star story regarding attempt to unincorporate
{{authority control Villages in Illinois Villages in Woodford County, Illinois Peoria metropolitan area, Illinois