Okawville is a village in Washington 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 ...

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. The population was 1,434 at the 2010 census.

History

Okawville was originally known simply as "Okaw," from an early name of the

Kaskaskia River The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 in central and southern Illinois in the U ...

that derived from the Mississippi Valley French ''au Kaskaskies'' ("to the Kaskaskias"). The post office was known as Okaw from its establishment in 1836 until 1872, when the name was changed to Okawville. In the late 19th and early 20th century Okawville was a prominent spa community. The first Okawville Springs Hotel was established in 1867.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Okawville has a total area of , all land.

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 1,355 people, 569 households, and 372 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 617 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.23%

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 ...

, 0.37%

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 ...

, 0.52% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.22% from other races, and 0.52% 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 0.37% of the population. There were 569 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% 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, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98. In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males. The median income for a household in the village was $37,448, and the median income for a family was $50,089. Males had a median income of $32,226 versus $22,813 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 $19,476. About 3.6% of families and 6.5% 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 5.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Okawville is home to Immanuel Lutheran School, Okawville Grade School, and Okawville High School.

Attractions

Okawville features Roland Barkau Memorial Golf Course, The American Legion Post 233, Rainbow Ranch, The Steam Pipe, and Heritage House Historic Sites and Museum. The Original Springs Mineral Spa and Hotel, established in 1867, features a spring-fed spa with waters containing minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, iodine, iron, and sulfur.

References

External links

Village of Okawville Chamber of Commerce web pageVillage of Okawville web page
{{authority control Villages in Washington County, Illinois Villages in Illinois