Chatham is a village in
Sangamon County
Sangamon County is a county located near the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 196,343. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital.
Sangamon County is includ ...
,
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 ...
. It is located south of
Springfield and has a retail trade area that extends into four other municipalities, including Springfield. The population was 11,500 as of the 2010 census and estimated to be 13,008 as of 2019.
The village lies along the original alignment of historic
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...
(
Illinois Route 4
Illinois Route 4 is a major north–south highway that runs south from the Interstate 55 business loop around the state capital of Springfield, south to Illinois Route 13 just north of Murphysboro. This is a distance of .
Route description
I ...
).
Chatham is part of the
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Chatham is located at (39.672899, -89.698385).
According to the 2010 census, Chatham has a total area of , of which (or 99.97%) is land and (or 0.03%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, the racial makeup of the village was 93.57% White, 2.47% African American, 0.09% Native American, 1.85% Asian, 0.46% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.97% of the population.
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 8,583 people, 3,083 households, and 2,472 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 3,165 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.48%
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 ...
, 0.77%
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 ...
, 0.15%
Native American, 0.90%
Asian, 0.15% from
other races, and 0.55% 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 0.77% of the population.
There were 3,083 households, out of which 47.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.9% 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, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.8% were non-families. 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 32.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $60,350, and the median income for a family was $64,257. Males had a median income of $45,543 versus $31,883 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 $23,167. About 2.8% of families and 4.7% 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 5.2% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Chatham is part of the Ball-Chatham School District, which includes
Glenwood High School, three elementary schools, an Intermediate School, and a middle school.
Festivals
Every June the Chatham American Legion Homecoming Festival takes place in the Chatham town square. Each year in July, Chatham is host to the Chatham
Sweet Corn
Sweet corn (''Zea mays'' convar. ''saccharata'' var. ''rugosa''), also called sweetcorn, sugar corn and pole corn, is a variety of maize grown for human consumption with a high sugar content. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally occurring rec ...
Festival and Illinois Championship
Cow Chip Throw sponsored by the Chatham Jaycees. Each year in September Chatham Jaycees host the Octoberfest in the Chatham town square.
Places of interest
*
Chatham Railroad Museum (1902)
*
Caldwell Farmstead (
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
)
*
Interurban Trail, a mixed-use
rails-to-trails
A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corridor with active railways, ligh ...
trail, (
Chatham and
Woodside townships, . in length)
*
Sugar Creek Covered Bridge
Sugar Creek Covered Bridge is a covered bridge which crosses Sugar Creek southeast of Chatham, Illinois. The Burr truss bridge is long and wide. The bridge was constructed by Thomas Black; sources disagree on the date of construction, placing ...
is located southeast of Chatham.
Notable people
*
Kenneth Boyle
Kenneth Boyle (November 27, 1937 – March 11, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician.
Boyle was born in Springfield, Illinois, and graduated from Virden Community High School in Virden, Illinois. He served in the United States Army. He ...
, Illinois state representative and lawyer
*
Kelci Bryant, Olympic diver
*
Gracie Gold
Grace Elizabeth Gold (born August 17, 1995), known as Gracie Gold, is an American figure skater. She is a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, a six-time Grand Prix medalist (2 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), and a two-time U.S. nationa ...
, US and Olympic figure skater
*
Phil Maton
Phillip Louis Maton III ( ; born March 25, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Guardians, Cleveland Ind ...
, MLB pitcher
*
Nick Maton
Nicholas Maton ( ; born February 18, 1997) is an American professional baseball utility player who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of ...
, MLB infielder
*
Jayson Werth
Jayson Richard Gowan Werth (born May 20, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2002 to 2017. His 15-season career was split among the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, P ...
, outfielder for the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
,
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
,
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
and
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
*
Reid Detmers
Reid Kristien Detmers (born July 8, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Detmers was born in Nokomis, Illinois, and attended Nokomis High School as well as Glenwood Hi ...
, pitcher for the
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...
References
External links
Village of Chathamofficial website
Chatham Area Public Library DistrictBall-Chatham School District
{{authority control
Villages in Sangamon County, Illinois
Springfield metropolitan area, Illinois
Villages in Illinois