Hurst is a city in Williamson 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 795 at the 2010 census.

History

Hurst was founded in 1903 as a stop along the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, which had extended a line to the area from De Soto. Thomas Philip Russell, who donated some of the land for the new city, initially sought to name it after his family, but the name "Russell" was already in use elsewhere in Illinois. He then agreed to name it after his friend, William Charles Hurst, a railroad official who had stayed at his house during visits to the area.Barbara Barr Hubbs,
Hurst History
" Williamson County Illinois Historical Society website. Accessed 13 June 2021.

Geography

Hurst is located at (37.832366, -89.144475). According to the 2010 census, Hurst has a total area of , of which (or 99.77%) is land and (or 0.23%) 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 2000, there were 805 people, 360 households, and 217 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 386 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.27%

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 ...

, 0.99%

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 ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.87% from other races, and 0.75% 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 1.24% of the population. There were 360 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% 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, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.89. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $21,765, and the median income for a family was $30,250. Males had a median income of $24,659 versus $18,393 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 $12,583. About 18.7% of families and 24.8% 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 38.9% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.

Emergency services

The Hurst Fire Chief is Tom Gottschalk and the ambulance director is Gregory Parker. The fire and ambulance services are both fully volunteer organizations.

Education and religion

Hurst has 1 church in the community: a Christian church located on Russell Street. After the closing of the Hurst-Bush Community Grade School in 1996 and the community high school in 1966, Hurst citizens attend Herrin Unit 4 schools.

References

{{authority control Cities in Illinois Cities in Williamson County, Illinois Populated places established in 1903 1903 establishments in Illinois