Jerseyville is the largest city in and 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 ...

of Jersey 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 Rock ...

, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 8,337. Jerseyville is a part 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 state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

, the Metro-East region and the

St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area Greater St. Louis is a bi-state metropolitan area that completely surrounds and includes the independent city of St. Louis, the principal city. It includes parts of both Missouri and Illinois. The city core is on the Mississippi Riverfront on th ...

Geography

Jerseyville is located at (39.120789, -90.327545). According to the 2010 census, Jerseyville has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Typically, the city's climate reflects most

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

cities, located in the transitional zone between the

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

type and the

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

type ( Köppen ''Dfa'' and ''Cfa'', respectively), with neither large mountains nor large bodies of water to moderate its temperature. Spring is the wettest season and produces severe weather ranging from tornadoes to snow or ice storms. Summers are hot and humid, and the humidity often makes the

heat index The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is al ...

rise to temperatures feeling well above . Fall is mild with lower humidity and can produce intermittent bouts of heavy rainfall with the first

snow flurries A snow flurry is a light snowfall that results in little or no snow accumulation. The US National Weather Service defines snow flurries as intermittent light snow that produces no measurable precipitation (trace amounts). In contrast, bursts of s ...

usually forming in late November. Winters can be cold at times with periodic light snow and temperatures below freezing. In recent years, average temperatures in Jerseyville have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July. The record low temperature of was recorded in January 1977 and the record high temperature of was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranges from in February to in May.

History

In 1827, James Faulkner, a

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

native, and his family built a small framed structure that was named the "Little Red House," in the area that is now known as Jerseyville. The "Little Red House" served as the first stagecoach station, first tavern, first school, and first bank in the immediate area. By 1834, the small settlement that grew up around Faulkner's home, then known as Hickory Grove by its residents, was surveyed and platted by two immigrants from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, John Lott and Edward M. Daly. Lott and Daly's involvement marked the beginning of a proportionally large number of merchants, businessmen and settlers from New Jersey. A meeting was called in that same year at the "Little Red House" to vote for a town name, so a post office could be established. The name of Jerseyville was chosen to honor the native state of many of its inhabitants.Jerseyville description & history
, retrieved August 24, 2007 In 1839, Jersey County was formed out of Greene County and Jerseyville was named as its county seat. After the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

ended, and the construction of the Alton & Chicago Railroad was completed, Jerseyville saw a period of commercial, industrial and urban growth. The first major period of growth in the city occurred from 1880 to 1916, and from that time to the present, Jerseyville's growth has since been steady and substantial. The majority of the commercial structures that are now located in the Downtown Historic District and Courthouse Square were built during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was also during this time that the present Jersey County Courthouse was built. The two-story, Romanesque Revival building was completed in 1893, and is considered to be one of the most aesthetic courthouses in the area. Other nearby Victorian style buildings in the city include Queen Anne,

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

and

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

architectural features, with several of these buildings having been recently renovated. From 1912 to 1918, Jerseyville was the terminus of an

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...

electric passenger railroad from Alton which was the stub of a project by the ''Alton, Jacksonville and Peoria Railway'' for a line to Peoria. In recent decades, Jerseyville has been a testing ground in the agricultural biotechnology field.

Bayer Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of business include pharmaceutic ...

(formerly Monsanto) owns and operates a facility located just south of the city, which in 1987, was the site of the world's very first biotechnology field trial – first with tomatoes and later that year with soybeans. The facility was also home to the first triple stacked corn trial in 1998, which later became a part of one of Monsanto's top-selling products. The facility was further expanded in 2008, and now consists of sixteen greenhouses and almost of land for field testing.Monsanto Jerseyville description
, retrieved April 1, 2011 The Downtown Historic District is presently home to some antique stores and gift shops, some clothing and shoe stores, a pharmacy, public library, post office, and several local restaurants and banks. Most of the growth that has occurred since the early 1990s has been in the southern and southwestern portions of the city, where new residential subdivisions and retail shopping centers have been built, and where numerous land annexations have been made by the city.

Demographics

Map of Jersey County highlighting Jerseyville, Illinois

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 7,984 people, 3,260 households, and 2,089 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,423 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.85%

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 ...

, 0.09%

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 ...

, 0.18% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.63% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population. There were 3,260 households, out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% 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 ...

living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35, and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,556, and the median income for a family was $46,832. Males had a median income of $37,312 versus $21,282 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 city was $20,178. About 5.8% of families and 7.3% 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 ...

, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

National Register of Historic Places

Jerseyville has five places and sites that are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The Jersey County Courthouse and the Jerseyville Downtown Historic District were added in 1986. The Col. William H. Fulkerson Farmstead was added to the Register in 1998, and the Fisher-Chapman Farmstead was added in 2012. The Jerseyville First Presbyterian Church was added to the Register in 2021.

Media

Print / Online: *

Daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

- published out of Alton, but also covers the Jerseyville and Jersey County areas *

Weekly newspaper A weekly newspaper is a general-news or current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspaper is published once every two weeks. Weekly ne ...

: The

Jersey County Journal The ''Jersey County Journal'' is a weekly newspaper that is distributed free to all residents in Jersey County, Illinois with a postal address. It can also be purchased at multiple locations in the county for a cost of one dollar. General informa ...

- distributed every Thursday an
online
* Weekly classifieds: The Jersey County Advantage - print only Radio: * WJBM 1480 kHz AM / 104.7 mHz FM - has a

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format * KXI70 162.450 mHz -

NOAA Weather Radio NOAA Weather Radio NWR; also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is an automated 24-hour network of VHF FM weather radio stations in the United States (U.S.) that broadcast weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Servi ...

Jerseyville is also served by most stations in the St. Louis area market.

Recreation

The Jerseyville Parks and Recreation Department maintains and operates seven parks: *Blackorby Athletic Field - Franklin Ave. *Dolan Park - June and Spruce St. *Lions Club Park - Jefferson and Spruce St. *Northmoor Park - Liberty St. *Rotary Club Centennial Park - Liberty, Prairie, and Carpenter St. ( Illinois Route 16) *Wittman Park - Jefferson St. *Wock Family Lake - June St. and Fidelty Rd. The Donald W. Snyders Community Sports Complex is located on the southern side of the city on County Road, east of Jersey Community Middle School. The complex is made up of two baseball fields, two softball fields, one football field, outdoor oval track, and a concession stand. The complex, which is maintained by

Jersey Community Unit School District 100 Jersey Community Unit School District 100 is a public K-12 school district based in Jerseyville, Illinois. The school district consists of five attendance centers in two municipalities, serving students in most of Jersey County, Illinois, and ...

, replaced the previous oval track and football field at

Jersey Community High School Jersey Community High School is a public high school in Jerseyville, Illinois. It is part of the Jersey Community Unit School District 100. Jersey Community High School has an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students and currently employs 96 te ...

, as the building was built on top of the field in 2005.

Government

Jerseyville uses a city commission form of government, consisting of four commissioners and one mayor. The city's current mayor is William Russell.

Education

Jerseyville has a number of public and private schools. Public schools are part of

. ; Elementary schools * East Elementary School (Grades 3 through 5) * West Elementary School (Grades Pre-K through 2) * Holy Ghost School (Grades Pre-K through 4) ; Middle schools * Jersey Community Middle School (Grades 5 through 7) * St. Francis Xavier School (Grades 5 through 8) ; High school *

(Grades 8th through 12th) Both Holy Ghost and St. Francis Xavier Schools are private

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

schools. Schools in Jerseyville had a total combined enrollment of 2,720 students. Nearby colleges and universities include

Principia College Principia College (Principia or Prin) is a private liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois. It was founded in 1912 by Mary Kimball Morgan with the purpose of "serving the Cause of Christian Science." "Although the College is not affiliated with ...

, in Elsah, and Lewis and Clark Community College, in

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 ...

Religious organizations

Jerseyville is home to a number of religious organizations, consisting of both small and large congregations. Churches that serve Jerseyville are listed here in alphabetical order: *Church of the Nazarene *Eastland Baptist Church *Faith Temple Pentecostal Church *First Assembly of God *First Baptist Church *First Church of Christ, Scientist * First Presbyterian Church *Gospel Assembly Church *Grace Community Baptist Church *Holy Ghost Church *Hope Lutheran Church *Jerseyville Church of Christ *Jerseyville Methodist Church *Kingdom Increase Church *LifechurchX *Open Door House of Praise *Peace United Church of Christ *St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church *Victory Baptist Church

Infrastructure

Transportation

Two major highways run through the city. US Highway 67 runs along a north–south route, while Illinois Route 16 runs along a west–east route. Also, Illinois Route 109 has its northern terminus in Jerseyville at US Highway 67. A four-lane expansion of US Highway 67 in Jerseyville has been in the planning stages for years, and is currently in Illinois' five-year road construction plan. The plan includes the Jerseyville Bypass, which is expected to go around the eastern portion of the city when it is completed. Construction of the bypass has not started yet, but all of the work prior to actual road construction was scheduled to be completed by 2012. In nearby

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, an extension of the expressway was opened up to traffic in 2021. This is a part of the completion of the entire US Highway 67 four-lane project in Illinois between Godfrey and the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...

area.

Utilities

Utility companies serving Jerseyville are Ameren (

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...

and

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describe ...

), Grafton Technologies and Frontier Communications (landline

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

service and

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

), and

Sparklight Cable One, Inc. is an American broadband communications provider. Under the Sparklight brand, it provides service to 21 states and 900,000 residential and business customers. It is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, though it does not serve that ...

(

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

). Water and sewer services are provided and maintained by Illinois American Water.

Notable people

Kathie Conway Kathie Conway is a Republican former member of the Missouri House of Representatives. Conway represented the 104th District, which encompasses portions of St. Charles County, Missouri. She was first elected to the Missouri House in November 20 ...

, member of the Missouri House of Representatives * Hugh W. Cross, (1896-1972) former Illinois

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

* Russell E. Dunham, (1920-2009) World War II veteran and recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...

. He resided in Jerseyville. *

Brent Hawkins Brent Lee Hawkins (born September 1, 1983) is a former American football defensive end who played 2 years in the National Football League and 2 years in the Canadian Football League, until retiring from football in May 2013. He was most recentl ...

, former football player for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

, and for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

of the NFL * Arthur Scott King, (1876–1957) noted physicist and astrophysicist * Anthony L. Knapp, (1828–1881) US congressman and Illinois senator * Robert M. Knapp, (1831–1889) US congressman and former mayor of Jerseyville * Stan McGarvey, former NCAA Division II head football coach. * Thomas J. Selby, (1840–1917) congressman and former mayor of Jerseyville * Jim Watson, former member of the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

Jerseyville was also a minor stopping point on the historic Underground Railroad before and during 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 polici ...

. The "Little Red House" and a few other residences were utilized as stations for the Underground Railroad until the end of the Civil War, with some residences having false cellars that were used to hide slaves searching for freedom.

External links

City of Jerseyville
{{authority control Metro East Cities in Illinois Cities in Jersey County, Illinois County seats in Illinois Populated places established in 1827 Populated places on the Underground Railroad 1827 establishments in Illinois