Casey, Illinois Explained

Casey
Settlement Type:City
Nickname:a Small Town with a Big Heart[1]
Image Map1:Illinois in United States (US48).svg
Map Caption1:Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates:39.3031°N -87.9897°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Illinois
Subdivision Type2:Counties
Subdivision Name2:Clark, Cumberland
Subdivision Type3:Townships
Subdivision Name3:Casey, Union
Established Title:Founded
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Nik Groothuis[2]
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[3]
Area Total Km2:6.83
Area Total Sq Mi:2.64
Area Land Km2:6.79
Area Land Sq Mi:2.62
Area Water Km2:0.04
Area Water Sq Mi:0.01
Elevation Ft:646
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:2404
Population Density Km2:353.96
Population Density Sq Mi:916.86
Timezone1:CST
Utc Offset1:-6
Timezone1 Dst:CDT
Utc Offset1 Dst:-5
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:62420
Area Code:217
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:17–11618
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:2393765
Blank2 Name:Wikimedia Commons
Blank2 Info:Casey, Illinois
Website:http://www.cityofcaseyil.org/

Casey (pronounced KAY-zee[4]) is a city in Clark and Cumberland counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 2,404 at the 2020 census.

The Cumberland County portion of Casey is part of the Charleston - Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Casey is the home to several Guinness World Record constructions - super-sized items in the form of outdoor sculptures—including the Wind Chime, Rocking Chair, Knitting Needles, Crochet Hook, Pitchfork, Golf Tee, Yardstick, Wooden Token, Dutch Wooden Shoes, Mailbox, Pencil and Birdcage.

Geography

Most of the city lies in Clark County, although a small portion extends into Cumberland County. In the 2000 census, 2,940 of Casey's 3067 residents (99.9%) lived in Clark County and 2 (0.1%) lived in Cumberland County.[5]

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Casey has a total area of 2.26sqmi, all land.[6]

Climate

Demographics

As of the 2020 census[7] there were 2,404 people, 1,197 households, and 745 families residing in the city. The population density was 1062.31PD/sqmi. There were 1,233 housing units at an average density of 544.85/mi2. The racial makeup of the city was 96.30% White, 0.50% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.33% from other races, and 2.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.79% of the population.

There were 1,197 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.12% were married couples living together, 13.45% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.76% were non-families. 28.49% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.12.

The city's age distribution consisted of 20.6% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,784, and the median income for a family was $52,310. Males had a median income of $37,592 versus $25,369 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,020. About 7.8% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Big things small town

Casey is most known for its collection of "World's Largest" items.[8]

Local craftsman and businessman, Jim Bolin, has built fourteen Guinness World record-qualifying things with Bolin Enterprises, Inc.:

  1. World's Largest Wind Chime
  2. World's Largest Golf Tee
  3. World's Largest Pitchfork
  4. World's Largest Rocking Chair
  5. World's Largest Wooden Shoes
  6. World's Largest Mailbox
  7. World's Largest Gavel (currently in Marshall, IL)
  8. World's Largest Truck Key
  9. World's Largest Barbershop Pole
  10. World's Largest Teeter Totter
  11. World's Largest Golf Driver
  12. World's Largest Swizzle Spoon

The other two have since been beaten: World's Largest Knitting Needles and World's Largest Crochet Hook.

Around the town, there are other big things that haven't gotten records like The Big Ear of Corn, The Big Mousetrap, and The Big Pizza Slicer (made by The Greathouse of Pizza), among others.[9] Bolin has also created big things inspired by pop culture like the big PokeBall and big Minion.[10]

Notable person

Notes and References

  1. Web site: City of Casey . 2014-07-10 . 2014-07-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140713221705/http://cityofcaseyil.org/ . dead .
  2. Book: Illinois Blue Book . 2021-2022 . Springfield . Incorporated Cities, Towns & Villages of Illinois . 0191-104X . 1645571. https://www.ilsos.gov/publications/illinois_bluebook/incorporated.pdf.
  3. Web site: 2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. March 15, 2022.
  4. Web site: Cities – Illinois Pronunciation Guide . 2023-06-18 . en-US.
  5. Web site: Subcounty population estimates 2000-2006: Illinois . . United States Census Bureau, Population Division . 2007-06-28 . 2008-06-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081008131340/http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/files/SUB-EST2006_17.csv . 2008-10-08 . dead .
  6. Web site: Bureau . US Census . Gazetteer Files . 2022-06-29 . Census.gov.
  7. Web site: Explore Census Data . 2022-06-28 . data.census.gov.
  8. Web site: 'We have built 14 Guinness World Records' Big things happening in this small Illinois town. 2021-06-14. ksdk.com. 6 November 2019. en-US.
  9. Web site: LIST. 2021-06-14. mysite. en.
  10. Web site: New big attraction inspired by Pokémon. 2021-06-14. WTHI News. en.
  11. News: Bennett. Mark. Wabash Valley native, Pulitzer Prize winner writes song on Fontanet powder mill explosion. 26 May 2012. TribStar. 10 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030320/http://www.davidhanners.com/press/tribstar.html. 4 March 2016. dead.