Wood River is a city in Madison 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 ...

. The population was 10,657 according to the 2010 census.

Geography

Wood River is located at (38.863047, -90.088527). According to the 2010 census, Wood River has a total area of , of which (or 97.57%) is land and (or 2.43%) is water. Wood River is located on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

approximately upstream of downtown

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, among several contiguous cities and villages that have come to be known as the " Riverbend" area. The current confluence of the Mississippi and the

Missouri Missouri 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 is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

rivers is just south of one of these neighboring villages,

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. Other cities making up the "Riverbend" include

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

East Alton East Alton is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,301 at the 2010 census. History East Alton was incorporated as a village in 1893 (some say 1894). William Cobb, namesake of Cobb Street, was one of the fir ...

Godfrey Godfrey may refer to: People * Godfrey (name), a given name and surname * Godfrey (comedian), American comedian, actor Places In the United States * Godfrey, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Godfrey, Illinois, a village * Godfrey, Kansas, an ...

Roxana Roxana (c. 340 BC – 310 BC, grc, Ῥωξάνη; Old Iranian: ''*Raṷxšnā-'' "shining, radiant, brilliant"; sometimes Roxanne, Roxanna, Rukhsana, Roxandra and Roxane) was a Sogdian or a Bactrian princess whom Alexander the Great married a ...

and

Bethalto Bethalto is a village located in Madison County, Illinois, United States. Bethalto, like the rest of Madison County, is part of the Illinois Metro East portion of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Early in its history, the village was a ...

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 11,296 people, 4,725 households, and 2,995 families living in the city. The population density was 1,865.2 people per square mile (719.7/km). There were 5,001 housing units at an average density of 825.8 per square mile (318.6/km). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 97.57%

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 ...

, 0.63% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.35% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.21%. Of the 4,725 households 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 31.7% of households were one person and 14.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.96. The age distribution was 24.1% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males. The median household income was $33,875 and the median family income was $41,688. Males had a median income of $35,097 versus $24,522 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,098. About 13.2% of families and 14.8% 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 21.2% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and San Antonio in the central and western United States. Prior to 1988, the train was known as the ''Eagle''. Trains #21 (southbound) and 22 (northbound) ...

as well as its

Lincoln Service The ''Lincoln Service'' is a higher-speed rail service operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The train is a part of the ''Illinois Service'' and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transp ...

pass through Wood River, but don't stop in the small city.

Notable people

Joe Astroth Joseph Henry Astroth (September 1, 1922 – May 3, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and remained with the team when they moved wes ...

, professional baseball player; attended Wood River High School *

Roger Counsil Roger L. Counsil (January 11, 1935 – August 8, 2017) is a former American gymnastics coach and headed the United States Gymnastics Federation, now known as USA Gymnastics. Biography Counsil was born on January 11, 1935, in Wood River, Illinois. ...

, NCAA champion gymnastics coach *

Ken Retzer Kenneth Leo Retzer (April 30, 1934 – May 17, 2020) was an American professional baseball baseball player, player. He was a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators (1961–71), Washington Senators from 1961 to 1964, appearin ...

, professional baseball player; born in Wood River *

Dewayne Staats Dewayne Staats (born August 8, 1952) is a sports broadcaster who has been the television play-by-play commentator for the Tampa Bay Rays since their inception in 1998. He is currently teamed with color commentator Brian Anderson. Staats has be ...

, broadcaster for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

; raised in Wood River * John Stoneham, professional baseball player *

Jean Stothert Jean Louise Stothert (née Wolf; born February 7, 1954) is an American politician and former nurse serving as the 51st mayor of Omaha, Nebraska. She is the first woman to hold the office and was sworn in as Mayor on June 10, 2013. She was re-elec ...

, mayor of Omaha, Nebraska *

Kristopher Tharp Kristopher "Kris" Tharp was an American law enforcement officer and politician serving as a member of the Illinois Senate from the 56th district. He assumed office on July 8, 2022, succeeding Rachelle Crowe. Early life and education Tharp was ...

, member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

* Gary Lane, Missouri University Quaterback, NFL Quarterback, NFL Official.

References

External links

City of Wood River
{{authority control Cities in Madison County, Illinois Populated places established in 1908 Illinois populated places on the Mississippi River 1908 establishments in Illinois Cities in Illinois