Rio is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

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 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 had a population of 220 at the 2010 census and is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. Rio is pronounced "Rye-Oh".

Geography

Rio is situated in the northwest corner of Knox County, north of Galesburg, 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 ...

. Like other rural neighbors, the village has rich soil ideal for farming

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

and

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

s. A few small, unnamed creeks run through its outskirts, and a few small hills that coast under the streets of the village. A few sizable dropoffs throughout the land almost look like shallow or gradual cliffs as some local agricultural fields are rolling and steep. The land drains to North Henderson Creek, a west-flowing stream leading to Henderson Creek to the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

near Oquawka. According to the 2010 census, Rio covers a total area of , all of which is land.

Demographics

As of the 2000

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 ...

, there were 240 people, 94 households, and 72 families residing in the Rio. The population density was with 101 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.58%

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 ...

, while 0.42% from other 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 accounted for 2.08% of the population. There were 94 households, out of which 35.1% had children under 18 living with them, 70.2% 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, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. Additionally, 20.2% of all households consist of individuals, and 8.5% had someone aged 65 or older living alone. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.92. The village population was spread out, with 24.2% under 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% were 65 or older. The median age in Rio was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.7 males; for every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were about 102.2 males. The median income for a household in the village was $37,750, while the median income for a family was $40,750. Males had a median income of $35,625 compared to $21,250 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 $17,181 with no families and 2.0% of the population living 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 ...

Education

ROWVA School District #208 comprises five major towns: Rio, Oneida, Wataga, Victoria, and Altona. Pre-K to 2nd grade students attend ROWVA Central in Oneida, 3rd and 4th graders attend ROWVA West in Wataga, and 5th and 6th graders go to ROWVA East in Altona. The junior high, which encompasses 7th and 8th grades, is in Oneida, as is the high school for grades 9th-12th. ROWVA Central, ROWVA Jr. High, and ROWVA High School are all part of one basic building, separated into different sections. ROWVA's school colors are black, gold, and white, with their mascot being a tiger. The school is ending a five-year-long football co-op with AlWood at the end of the 2009 football season, in which they are the A&R Bulldogs (black, silver, and white.) Starting in the 2009 fall season, ROWVA is also part of a sports co-op with Galva where they are the Mid-County Cougars (black, blue, and white.) ROWVA is a part of the Mid-County co-op for golf, cross country, junior high football, and will be adding high school football starting in the 2010 football season. Previously, Rio had its elementary school, which stands in the town center near the corner of Grande Avenue and North Main Street. It was opened in 1922, the school was closed permanently in 2004 due to high energy costs, a lack of efficient output of students (36 students at date of closing for grades 1–6), and other reasons. After its closure, the building was purchased by Mike Gillette, who agreed to let local children utilize the modest and rusty playground equipment (which has since been removed) as a makeshift park. It has not been transformed into any business, and virtually no architectural or exterior changes have been made. The village of Rio owns a

baseball diamond A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

and the land plot to its west and has turned it into a park with a public pavilion and concession stand for ballgames as well as a large playground structure that was paid for by the village and constructed during a community build day in July 2012.

References

{{authority control Villages in Knox County, Illinois Galesburg, Illinois micropolitan area Villages in Illinois