Knoxville is a city in
Knox 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 population was 2,911 at the 2010 census. It is part of the
Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Description
Knoxville is located just southeast of the City of Galesburg. There is a public square in the center of town with several historic buildings surrounding it including Knox County's first courthouse, city hall, the Ball log cabin, the town
gallows
A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...
, and several other important buildings. The Knox County Fairgrounds is just north of Knoxville on Henderson Road. Knoxville is served with two exits on
Interstate 74
Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange with I-75 in ...
, at
U.S. Highway 150 east of town and at Henderson Road north of town.
U.S. Highway 150 runs east and west through Knoxville and serves as the main business thoroughfare.
Illinois Route 97
Illinois Route 97 (IL 97) is a north–south state highway in the central and western portions of the U.S. state of Illinois. It extends from I-55 Business (Business Loop I-55) in Springfield, Illinois, Springfield northwest to U.S. Hi ...
and Knox County Highway 8 also enter the city. The Knoxville Cemetery lies in the northern part of town on Market Street. The Knox County Nursing Home is located in the city. There is a grade school in Knoxville, as well as a Junior High and a High School (KHS). Among the "attractions" in Knoxville are the historic buildings, Walnut Grove Farm and Rattle Toes exhibit, the Knox County Fair held in August, and the annual Knox County Scenic Drive held in October.
History
Knoxville was established on January 15, 1831, and called Henderson until its name was changed to Knoxville on December 22, 1832, when it became the county seat. It was one of the first 10 municipalities incorporated in the state and is the oldest town in Knox County.
James Knox was a notable early resident.
Knoxville was the county seat until 1873, when the county seat was moved to Galesburg. The first Knox County Courthouse, completed in 1839, and second Knox County jail, completed in 1845, still stand in Knoxville and are registered on the National Register of Historic Places. The two buildings and Knoxville's first general store, the Sanburn Log Cabin, built in 1832, have been restored and are open to the public. The county's Hall of Records, built in 1854, is used as Knoxville's City Hall.
The log cabin of John G. Sanburn was not discovered until decades after his death, when it was nearly destroyed. In 1832, Sanburn settled in Knoxville to open the first shop, which also served as the first post office. He was the first county clerk, circuit clerk, Indian master, and probate judge, as well as shopkeeper and postmaster. Years later, as the house built around Sanburn's cabin was being demolished, a nosey neighbor spied the underlying log structure and alerted the authorities. At that time the owner of the property, Bernice LaFollette, donated the cabin to the city as a museum.
Typical log cabins like Sanburn's measured about 14' x 14' wide and 7'-8' high with 9" walnut lincoln logs, wooden door hinges, and clapboard shingles. The entire area of Sanburn's cabin and general store served as a kitchen while encased in Johnson's home. A restoration in 1964 insured proper security and insulation that Sanburn did not enjoy in the 1830s, including glass windows and cement sealant to replace clay and hay between logs.
The cabin contains general store memorabilia for display and a picture of an 1852 penny discovered in the foundation when the house was moved from the south to the north side of the square for restoration. The John G Sanburn Log Cabin is maintained by the Knox County Historic Sites. It is open for public view during the first two weekends in October for the Knox County Scenic Drive and from 2-4 p.m. Sundays, May–September.
In 1868,
St. Mary's School opened on the site where the Ewing Female University had previously been located.
[ ]
The Old Knox County Jail was the location of the only legal hanging in Knox County when John Osborne was hanged March 14, 1873, for the murder and sodomy of Adelia M. Mathews, Yates City.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
stayed in Knoxville on his way to his debate with
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...
at
Knox College in 1858. The hotel that he spent the night in was demolished but a plaque on the building currently at the site commemorates the occasion.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Knoxville has a total area of , all land.
Climate
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 3,183 people, 1,210 households, and 878 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,260 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.59%
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 ...
, 0.35%
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 ...
, 0.13%
Native American, 0.06%
Asian, 0.13% 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 0.57% of the population.
There were 1,210 households, out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% 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, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.4% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,438, and the median income for a family was $49,688. Males had a median income of $31,442 versus $23,939 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 $18,643. About 1.9% of families and 3.1% 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 3.7% of those under age 18 and 0.8% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Robert H. "Three-Inch" Birch, a member of the "
Banditti of the Prairie
The Banditti of the Prairie, also known as The Banditti, Prairie Pirates, Prairie Bandits, and Pirates of the Prairie, in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio and the Territory of Iowa, were a group of loose-knit outlaw gangs, duri ...
," accomplice in the 1845 torture-murder of Colonel
George Davenport
*
Charles C. Craig, jurist and politician
*
Justina Ford, physician
*
Armando Ghitalla, trumpet player with the
Boston Symphony and
Boston Pops
The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart.
Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orc ...
*
Justin Hartley
Justin Scott Hartley (born January 29, 1977) is an American actor, television producer, and director. He has played Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Passions'' (2002–2006), Oliver Queen on the WB/ CW television series ''Smallvill ...
, actor known for roles on ''
Passions'', ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
'', and ''
This Is Us
''This Is Us'' is an American drama television series created by Dan Fogelman that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different ti ...
''
*
James Knox, congressman
*
Charles Wesley Leffingwell Episcopal priest, writer, and educator
*
Ernest de Koven Leffingwell, explorer
*
John E. Raker, politician
*
James Knox Taylor
James Knox Taylor (October 11, 1857 – August 27, 1929) was Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912. His name is listed ''ex officio'' as supervising architect of hundreds of federal buildings b ...
, architect
*
Charles R. Walgreen, founder of Walgreens
*
Matt Wilson, world renowned jazz drummer
*
Polly Wolfe, Major League Baseball outfielder
References
External links
City of KnoxvilleKnox County Historical Sites Inc.
{{authority control
Cities in Illinois
Cities in Knox County, Illinois
Galesburg, Illinois micropolitan area
Populated places established in 1831