Waltonville is a village in
Jefferson 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 434 at the 2010 census.
It is part of the
Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
There were a series of small settlements near Waltonville prior to its formation. In 1840, Eli Gilbert dammed Rayse Creek about a mile northeast of Waltonville, near the point where the Mt. Vernon/Pinckneyville road crossed the creek. He built a saw mill, grist mill and store at this location, which was called "Mill Town". In 1860, Knob Creek Post Office was opened there. This was in McClellan Township.
In 1867, a settlement called Williamsburg was started, about a half mile west of Mill Town. This was in Knob Prairie, Blissville Township, just to the north of the present town of Waltonville. Knob Prairie owes its name to a steep hill, or knob, that arises just to the northwest of Waltonville. The town's water tower sits atop the knob.
Williamsburg was platted in 1867. It was possibly named for the surveyor, J. D. Williams. Williamsburg was at the intersection of the Shawneetown/Nashville and Mt. Vernon/Pinckneyville roads, neither of which exist any more. After the post office refused to recognize the "Williamsburg" name, it was called the "Laur Post Office", after Capt. Joseph Laur, who commanded a local company in 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 ...
.
Waltonville, to the south of the knob, started as a small store owned by Rob Mannen. The town was named for his mother, Eliza A. Walton Mannen. The town took off in 1893 with the completion of a rail line from
Mt. Vernon to
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
. Williamsburg moved down to the new rail depot. The rail line is now part of the
Union Pacific system.
The
Universalist Church existed in Williamsburg prior to 1870, and moved to Waltonville before 1906. This church was still operating as late as 1980. Waltonville was for many years the smallest town in the United States to have a Universalist Church. This may be another reflection of the numerous obscure ethnic groups that maintained an identity in the rural coal fields of
Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...
.
Many underground coal mines were opened near Waltonville. Immigrants came to work these mines, mainly from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. By the 1950s, the rural areas west of Waltonville were predominantly Polish, and the main language spoken was Polish. That language slowly faded with the advent of television. Today, only a few people speak any Polish. Many still identify as Polish, though, and they continue to attend St. Barbara's Catholic Church in nearby
Scheller.
In 2011, the Waltonville Lake was breached, resulting in the complete draining of the lake in order to make the necessary repairs.
[http://register-news.com/x1479022761/Waltonville-Lake-breach-threatens-some-residents]
Geography
Waltonville is located in southwestern Jefferson County at (38.211398, -89.041780).
Illinois Route 148 passes through the southeast part of the village, leading northeast to
Mount Vernon, 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 south to
Sesser.
According to the 2010 census, Waltonville has a total area of , of which (or 98.25%) is land and (or 1.75%) is water.
Waltonville is in the northeast corner of
Bald Hill Township, the southeast corner of
Blissville Township, the southeast corner of
McClellan Township, and the northwest corner of
Elk Prairie Township. Most of the developed parts of the village are in Bald Hill and Elk Prairie townships.
Blissville Township was named in honor of Augustus Bliss, who lived in nearby
Casner Township, and who started a settlement in 1841. Blissville was located about northwest of Waltonville. Bliss caught the
gold fever in 1849, but died of
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
on his way to California.
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 incl ...
of 2000, there were 422 people, 177 households, and 121 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 190 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.82%
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 ...
, 0.47%
Native American, and 0.71% from two or more races.
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 ...
or
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 1.18% of the population.
There were 177 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% 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, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older . The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $24,318, and the median income for a family was $32,750. Males had a median income of $26,607 versus $16,875 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 $12,233. About 12.9% of families and 16.6% 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 13.4% of those under age 18 and 22.9% of those age 65 or over.
References
*''History of Jefferson County'', Illinois, Perrin, 1883
*''Prairie Historian'', Waltonville, Illinois
External links
History of Jefferson County, Illinois
{{authority control
Villages in Jefferson County, Illinois
Villages in Illinois
Mount Vernon, Illinois micropolitan area
Populated places established in 1893