Bluford is a village in Jefferson 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 ...

, in the

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. As of the 2020 census the village population was 630. It is part of the

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Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Bluford is in eastern Jefferson County, south of

Illinois Route 15 Illinois Route 15 (IL 15) is a east–west highway in southern Illinois with its western terminus at Illinois Route 3, U.S. Route 40, I-55, and I-64, and its eastern terminus at Wabash River at the Illinois/Indiana Border where it meets ...

and east of

, 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 ...

. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Bluford has a total area of , all land.

History

The town of Bluford was named after Bluford "Bluf" Green (1868–1912) when he was a small boy by his father Wiley Green (1835–1878), who was the local justice of the peace. An extended story about Bluford by Mrs. Opal H. Wood states: In 1881, before there was a Bluford, construction was started on the Air Line Railroad, later the Southern Railroad. George Evans, Mt. Vernon banker, laid out the town on 40 acres of land bisected by the railroad. In 1882, Rev. Z. H. Byard, a United Brethren preacher, built the first store building and dwelling. Byard also was the first postmaster in Bluford, and the first railroad station agent. Bluford was incorporated by popular vote counted and verified on September 8, 1926. Dwight Bressler was its first mayor. Bluford spread on both sides of the railroad. The south section unofficially was called Tilford, and the north, Bluford, both being names of the sons of Minerva (Flint) and Wiley Green. When son Tilford died, all the town became Bluford. No reason was given why the boys should have been so honored.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 630 people, 239 households, and 190 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 268 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.19%

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, 0.16%

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, 0.16% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.00%

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, 0.00% from other races, and 3.02% from two or more races.

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or Latino of any race were 0.63% of the population. There were 239 households, out of which 40.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.07% were married couples living together, 18.41% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.50% were non-families. 18.83% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.95% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.16 and the average family size was 2.77. The village's age distribution consisted of 25.7% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 16% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males. The median income for a household in the village was $49,911, and the median income for a family was $55,000. Males had a median income of $38,542 versus $23,750 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $21,333. About 11.6% of families and 14.2% 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 17.6% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over. , Webber High School, in Bluford, was ranked 390th of high schools in the state of Illinois.

References

{{authority control Villages in Jefferson County, Illinois Mount Vernon, Illinois micropolitan area Villages in Illinois