Waverly, founded in 1836, is the second largest city in Morgan County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 1,194 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

Micropolitan Statistical Area. The town was named after the

Waverley novels The Waverley novels are a long series of novels by Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). For nearly a century, they were among the most popular and widely read novels in Europe. Because Scott did not publicly acknowledge authorship until 1827, the se ...

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

Geography

Waverly is in southeastern Morgan County, southwest of Springfield, the state capital. Illinois Route 104 passes through the city as Elm Street, leading northwest to

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and east to Auburn. Illinois Route 111 has its northern terminus at IL 104 on the west side of Waverly; it leads south to

Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Waverly has a total area of , all land. Almost all of the city drains south to tributaries of Apple Creek, a west-flowing tributary of the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

. The northeast corner of the city drains toward the South Fork of Lick Creek, a northeast-flowing stream that is part of the

Sangamon River The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in central Illinois in the United Sta ...

watershed. Waverly is the geographical center of the Illinois Community College District #526, which is served by Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield.

Demographics

The estimated median household income in 2019: $51,630, $36,111 in 2000. The estimated per capita income in 2019: $25,548, $18,205 in 2000. The estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $83,532, $56,400 in 2000. The percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 7.6%. 40.1% of students that attend Waverly Community Unit School District 6, are listed as low income students: students eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches, live in substitute care, or whose families receive public aid.

Sports

Waverly is the home of the Waverly Holiday Tournament, the longest running Class 1A holiday

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

tournament in the state of Illinois, for high school boys' basketball in December every year since 1951.

Notable people

* Herk Harvey, film director, ''

Carnival of Souls ''Carnival of Souls'' is a 1962 American psychological horror film produced and directed by Herk Harvey and written by John Clifford from a story by Clifford and Harvey, and starring Candace Hilligoss. Its plot follows Mary Henry, a young woman ...

'' * Ralph C. Smedley, founder of

Toastmasters International Toastmasters International (TI) is a US-headquartered nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping people develop communication, public speaking, and leadership skills. History On 24 March 1905, Dr ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Morgan County, Illinois Cities in Illinois Jacksonville, Illinois micropolitan area 1836 establishments in Illinois