Monmouth is a city in and 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 ...

of Warren County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,902 at the 2020 census, down from 9,444 in 2010. It is the home of

Monmouth College Monmouth College is a Private college, private Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. It enrolls 727 students in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science de ...

and contains Monmouth Park, Harmon Park, North Park, Warfield Park, West Park, South Park, Garwood Park, Buster White Park and the Citizens Lake & Campground. It is the host of the Prime Beef festival, held annually the week after Labor Day. The festival is kicked off with one of the largest parades in Western Illinois. Monmouth is also known regionally as the "Maple City". It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Monmouth was settled in about 1824. The town established in 1831 was originally going to be called Kosciusko (the name was drawn out of a hat), but the founders of the town feared that it would be difficult to spell and pronounce. The name 'Monmouth' was put forward by a resident who had lived in Monmouth County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. In 1841,

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

founder

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

appeared before Judge

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) ...

in an extradition hearing held at Monmouth's Warren County courthouse. The hearing, which was to determine whether Smith should be returned to Missouri to face murder charges, resulted in freedom for the defendant, as it was determined that his arrest had been invalid. Attorney Orville Browning, who would assume Douglas's Senate seat following his death, represented Smith. Warren County Courthouse in Monmouth

Gunfighter and law man

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman in the American West, including Dodge City, Kansas, Dodge City, Wichita, Kansas, Wichita, and Tombstone, Arizona, Tombstone. Earp was involved in the gunfight ...

was born in Monmouth. Controversial Civil War general Eleazer A. Paine practiced law there for many years. Abner C. Harding, Civil War General and Republican Congressman, lived in Monmouth and is buried in Monmouth Cemetery.

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

lived in Monmouth for a while as a child when his father worked as a shoe salesman at the Colwell Department Store. Mass murderer Richard Speck lived in Monmouth briefly as a child, and again in the spring of 1966.

, a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), was founded in Monmouth in 1853 by Cedar Creek & South Henderson Presbyterian Churches. With James Cochran Porter & Robert Ross founding in 1852 Monmouth Academy, The Rev. David Alexander Wallace served as the first President 1856–1878. It is the second-largest employer in the city. Pi Beta Phi, the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

-letter fraternities of men, was founded on its campus in 1867. Just three years later in 1870,

Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate Fraternities and sororities in North America, sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than ...

, international fraternity for women, was founded on its campus. Monmouth was home to

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

from 1890 to 1913. The Monmouth Browns and Monmouth Maple Cities (1890) played as members of the

Central Association The Central Association was an American minor league baseball league. The Central Association began play in 1908, evolving from the 1907 Iowa State League. The Central Association played continuously through 1917 before folding. The league reforme ...

(1910–1913), Illinois-Missouri League (1908–1909), Central Interstate League (1889) and Illinois-Iowa League (1890). Monmouth teams played at 11th Street Park. A hospital is located in Monmouth. Monmouth was once home to one of the most unusually named high school sports organizations, the Zippers. Originally known as The Maroons, the Zipper nickname came about in the late 1930s when the school had a fast basketball team that would "Zip" up and down the court. Earl Bennett, a sportswriter nicknamed them "The Zippers" and the name stuck. The school went with the "Zipper" nickname until the 2004–2005 school year when Monmouth consolidated with Roseville and the new Monmouth–Roseville High School adopted the nickname "The Titans". The class of 2005 was the last class named the Zippers. The Class of 2006 was the first class named the Titans. Monmouth was the home of Western Stoneware, known for its "Maple Leaf" imprint and for producing "Sleepy Eye" collectible ceramics, which are recognizable by the blue-on-white bas-relief Indian profile. Western Stoneware closed in June 2006. Three former employees of Western Stoneware now operate the facility under the name "WS", Incorporated and have leased the building and logo from the city of Monmouth.

Geography

Monmouth is located in Western Illinois where US Route 34, US Route 67, Illinois Route 164, and now the new Chicago to Kansas City Expressway (Illinois Route 110) intersect. According to the 2010 census, Monmouth has a total area of , of which (or 99.5%) is land and (or 0.5%) is water.

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 9,841 people, 3,688 households, and 2,323 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,986 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.72%

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 ...

, 2.80%

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 ...

, 0.23% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.19%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.91% from other races, and 1.67% 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 4.35% of the population. There were 3,688 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% 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, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.99. In the city the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 17.1% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,641, and the median income for a family was $41,004. Males had a median income of $30,006 versus $20,144 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 $15,839. About 8.0% of families and 11.1% 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 14.5% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Burlington Trailways Burlington Trailways is an intercity bus company based in West Burlington, Iowa. History Burlington Trailways was founded in 1929 as the Burlington Transportation Company, a subsidiary of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. It started a ...

provides intercity bus service to the city on a route between

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

and

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Media

Radio

*WMOI-FM (97.7) (RDS) Format: Adult Contemporary *WRAM-AM (1330)/FM (94.1) Format: News/Talk/Ag Classic Country Music *WPFS (105.9) "Proud Fighting Scots Radio" Format: Monmouth College Radio *WKAY-FM (105.3) "Today's Refreshing Light Rock" *WAAG-FM (94.9) "The Country Station" *WLSR-FM (92.7) "Pure Rock The Laser" *WGIL-AM (1400/93.7 FM) "News, Talk, Sports"

Newspaper

*'' Daily Review Atlas'' *''Penny Saver''

Culture

Museums and Galleries

* The Warren County History Museum * The Buchanan Center for the Arts * Holt House ( Pi Beta Phi founding house museum) * Stewart House (

founding house museum)

Notable people

John Clayton Allen John Clayton Allen (February 14, 1860 – January 12, 1939) was an American politician who represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives from 1925 to 1933. Allen was born in Hinesburg, Vermont, in 1860. He attended the comm ...

– U.S. Congressman from Illinois from 1925 to 1933 * George A. Beecher – bishop of Western Nebraska * Ken Blackman – Former NFL football player for the Cincinnati Bengals & Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Grew up in Monmouth. * Clarence F. Buck – Illinois state senator, farmer, postmaster, and newspaper editor * Montgomery Case – bridge builder * Ellen Irene Diggs – American anthropologist and author of African-American history. Born and raised in Monmouth *

Charles Dryden Charles Dryden (March 10, 1860 – February 11, 1931) was an American baseball writer and humorist. He was reported to be the most famous and highly paid baseball writer in the United States during the 1900s. Known for injecting humor into his ...

– early 20th Century sportswriter * Jug Earp – NFL football player from 1921 to 1932 *

– legendary lawman of the American West; born in Monmouth *

Loie Fuller Loie Fuller (; born Marie Louise Fuller; January 15, 1862 – January 1, 1928), also known as Louie Fuller and Loïe Fuller, was an American dancer and a pioneer of modern dance and theatrical lighting techniques. Auguste Rodin said of her, "Lo ...

– pioneer of modern dance * Gladys Gale – singer and actress *

Ralph Greenleaf Ralph Greenleaf (November 3, 1899 – March 15, 1950) was an American professional pool and carom billiards player. Greenleaf is widely considered one of the greatest pool players of all time. Between the years 1919 and 1938, he won the World Str ...

– nineteen-time world pocket billiards (Straight Pool) champion (1919–1938) in

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

* Regis Groff – second African American elected to the

Colorado Senate The Colorado State Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of abou ...

, lived in Monmouth as a childTammi E. Haddad and Merrie Jo Schroeder
Regis Groff Papers: Finding Aid
Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, Denver Public Library, 2006. * J. P. Machado – former NFL football player for the New York Jets * Mike Miller – basketball coach * Loren E. Murphy – Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court and mayor of Monmouth * Eleazer A. Paine – Civil War general, lived in Monmouth *

– 40th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, lived in Monmouth as a child * James Montgomery Rice – Illinois Congressman, helped establish United States National Guard * James H. Rupp – Illinois state senator, Mayor of Monmouth, and businessman * Richard Speck – mass murderer, briefly lived in Monmouth * Lawrence H. Stice – Illinois state representative and businessman, lived in Monmouth'Illinois Blue Book 1935–1936,' Biographical Sketch of Lawrence H. Stice, pp. 196–197. * John Twomey – manualist * J. Mayo Williams – pro football player, music producer in

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum operated by the Blues Foundation at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to b ...

; grew up in Monmouth

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in Illinois Cities in Warren County, Illinois Populated places established in 1831 Ronald Reagan Trail County seats in Illinois