Brookport is a city in Massac 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 United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 725 at the 2020 census, down from 984 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. It is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Brookport was founded by Charles Pell in 1855. It was originally known as "Pellonia," after Pell. The small city declined within a few years, but saw a resurgence with the construction of the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

nearby in the late 1880s. It was reincorporated as "Brooklyn" in 1888. The name was changed to "Brookport", a portmanteau of "Brooklyn" and "port," in 1901.George W. May,
History of Massac County, Illinois
' (Wagoner Printing Company, 1955). Accessed at archive.org.

Geography

Brookport is located in southeastern Massac County at (37.125056, -88.627218). It is situated on the north bank of the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

, opposite

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...

. U.S. Route 45 traverses the city, connecting it with Paducah across the river to the south and

Interstate 24 Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennesse ...

near

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

to the northwest. US 45 crosses the river on the Brookport Bridge, which is officially known as the "Irvin S. Cobb Bridge" in honor of author

Irvin S. Cobb Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb (June 23, 1876 – March 11, 1944) was an American author, humorist, editor and columnist from Paducah, Kentucky, who relocated to New York in 1904, living there for the remainder of his life. He wrote for the ''New York Wor ...

, who was born in Paducah. The two-lane steel deck truss bridge was completed in 1929. Ohio River Lock and Dam Number 52, operated by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

, was located downstream from Brookport. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, Brookport has a total area of , of which , or 1.06%, are water.

Demographics

As of the U.S. census of 2000, there were 1,054 people, 450 households, and 283 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 519 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.61%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.12%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.47% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.47% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.90% of the population. There were 450 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $24,438, and the median income for a family was $30,000. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $19,188 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 city was $11,751. About 16.2% of families and 19.8% 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 ...

, including 28.5% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Illinois Cities in Massac County, Illinois Paducah micropolitan area Illinois populated places on the Ohio River

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References

External links