West City is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
in
Franklin County,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, adjacent to 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
Benton. The population was 661 at the 2010 census.
History
In the late 19th century, West City was a small settlement adjoining Benton on the west. In the early 20th century many immigrants 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 populou ...
,
Lithuania, and England settled in the West City area to work in the numerous coal mines.
On March 29, 1911, 33 citizens led by John Mulkey and represented by attorney Robert Hickman presented a petition to Judge Thomas J. Layman of the Franklin County Court to incorporate West City as a village. At that time there were 350 inhabitants. An election was held on April 15, 1911, and six trustees were elected: Ed McIntire, J. J. Sanders, L. I. Tombly, Ben Fletcher, Marshall Moore, and Jack Adams. On June 1, 1911, Judge Layman declared West City to be duly and legally organized under the general laws of the State of Illinois as the Village of West City.
When Congress passed the
Volstead Act
The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress, designed to carry out the intent of the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919), which established the prohibition of alcoholic d ...
establishing national prohibition in 1919, West City became notorious for
bootlegging and gambling. The Birger and Shelton Brothers gangs vied for control of illegal activities in the area. In April 1923, 34-year-old Joseph A. Adams, a huge man of nearly and a roadhouse operator, was elected mayor of West City. Leslie Reed was elected City Clerk. John Lairsey served as Treasurer and R. E. Neunlist was Village Attorney. The six elected trustees were Bruce Panchard, C. C. Gant, George Clinton, H. E. Stewart, W.R. Rogers, and R. N. Long.
Mayor Adams aligned himself with the
Shelton Brothers Gang, thus becoming the bitter enemy of
Charlie Birger and his men. On December 12, 1926, two of Birger's men knocked on Adams' door and told his wife they had a message for him. When Adams came to the door, they shot him in front of his wife Beulah and young daughter Arian. Sheriff Jim Pritchard gathered evidence and arrested Birger for the murder of Mayor Joe Adams.
Birger was tried in Benton and found guilty of ordering the killing, a charge he steadfastly denied. Birger was hanged in Benton on April 19, 1928, at 9:48 a.m., in the last public
hanging
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...
in Illinois. A replica of the gallows was built in the 1990s by Birchard Wampler and his late son Birchard Neil Wampler. It stands today next to the old Franklin County Jail (now a museum).
After the sensational downfall of the Birger gang and the repeal of the Volstead Act in 1933, West City earned much of its income from legitimate taverns and nightclubs. During the 1940s and '50s this proved to be a very lucrative business.
Despite West City's notorious reputation during the 1920s, churches were established by the residents. Prospect, later called First Baptist, was the only organized church in the corporate limits of West City until 1921. Later Trinity Baptist and Harmony Freewill Baptist were established. Trinity Baptist is no longer in existence.
At one time there were three schools in West City limits: Old Jordon, Washington School and New Jordon School, located on South Central Street across from the present West City Village Hall.
On December 21, 1951, West City and all of Franklin County mourned 119 coal miners, who were killed in an underground explosion at C.W. & F. Orient #2 coal mine in West Frankfort.
In 1963,
Interstate 57
Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...
split the village of West City down the middle from north to south. Preliminary work of buying homes and clearing the right of way began for the construction of Interstate 57 from
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = Country
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to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
. Actual highway construction began in 1964, and its completion took nearly 10 years.
With the advent of I-57, Rend Lake Plaza was initiated in 1978. Wal-Mart and Big John's Supermarket were completed and in operation 1979. Many restaurants and various businesses soon followed, along with two big-city stoplights.
In 1978 a new Village Hall was built and West City expanded their police department, street and water department and the volunteer fire department.
Geography
West City is located at (37.994564, -88.941639).
It is bordered to the east and north by the city of
Benton, the Franklin County seat.
Interstate 57
Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...
passes through the center of West City, with access from Exit 71. I-57 leads north to
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
and south to
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
.
According to the 2010 census, West City has a total area of , of which (or 98.96%) is land and (or 1.04%) is water.
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 in ...
of 2000, there were 716 people, 305 households, and 193 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.21%
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 o ...
, 0.56%
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 ...
, 0.28%
Native American, 0.14%
Asian, and 1.82% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...
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 0.42% of the population.
There were 305 households, out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were
married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $21,250, and the median income for a family was $28,155. Males had a median income of $21,000 versus $18,333 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 $12,328. About 18.5% of families and 22.1% 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 27.9% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.
References
External links
Village of West City official website
{{authority control
Villages in Franklin County, Illinois
Villages in Illinois
Populated places in Southern Illinois
Populated places established in 1911
Polish-American culture in Illinois