Taylorville, Illinois Explained

Taylorville, Illinois
Settlement Type:City
Motto:A Great Place To Live, Work, and Visit[1]
Pushpin Map:Illinois#USA
Pushpin Label:Taylorville
Pushpin Relief:yes
Coordinates:39.5514°N -89.3078°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Christian
Established Title:Founded
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Bruce Barry
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[2]
Area Total Km2:31.66
Area Total Sq Mi:12.22
Area Land Km2:26.72
Area Land Sq Mi:10.31
Area Water Km2:4.95
Area Water Sq Mi:1.91
Elevation Ft:617
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:10506
Population Density Km2:393.26
Population Density Sq Mi:1018.52
Timezone:CST
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:62568
Area Code:217, 447
Area Code Type:Area codes
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:17-74574
Blank1 Name:GNIS ID
Blank1 Info:2396035

Taylorville is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Illinois, United States.[3] The population was 10,506 at the 2020 census, making it the county's largest city.

History

Taylorville was founded on May 24, 1839, and was named after John Taylor, a planning commissioner for the state of Illinois.[4]

Taylorville was known (in the early to mid-1990s) to have had a high rate of neuroblastoma, a cancer affecting the adrenal gland and striking children.[5] The local power company Central Illinois Public Service Company was sued and lost for contaminating the groundwater in 1994.[6]

Some outer homes and a business in Taylorville were damaged by an F1 tornado on April 2, 2006.

On August 11, 2012, a Beechcraft Model 18 airplane crashed into a residential area of Taylorville, killing the pilot but injuring none on the ground.[7] A subsequent NTSB investigation into the accident concluded that an improper flap configuration and failure to maintain the correct airspeed due to pilot error, resulted in the crash.[8]

At about 5:15 PM on December 1, 2018, as part of the December 2018 tornado outbreak, an intense tornado hit Taylorville.[9] [10] The tornado injured at least 26 residents and damaged more than 600 homes and businesses, 34 of which were completely destroyed.[11] Damage surveys by the National Weather Service rated the tornado EF3 with winds over 155mph.[12]

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Taylorville has a total area of 12.23sqmi, of which 10.32sqmi (or 84.38%) is land and 1.91sqmi (or 15.62%) is water.[13]

Demographics

As of the 2020 census[14] there were 10,506 people, 5,064 households, and 2,507 families residing in the city. The population density was 859.39PD/sqmi. There were 5,336 housing units at an average density of 436.48/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 93.81% White, 0.90% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 3.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.65% of the population.

There were 5,064 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.45% were married couples living together, 9.72% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.49% were non-families. 44.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.22% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 2.07.

The city's age distribution consisted of 20.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 27% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,397, and the median income for a family was $63,885. Males had a median income of $42,474 versus $28,466 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,513. About 9.7% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The IHSA single season boys' basketball record of 45–0 was set by Taylorville High School in 1944. Ron Bontemps and Johnny Orr were team members.[15]

In 1911, the Taylorville Christians were a member of the Illinois–Missouri League, an American minor league baseball league. Future Baseball Hall of Famer Ray Schalk played on that team.

Media

The town newspaper is the Breeze-Courier, which is the only daily newspaper serving Christian County. The State Journal-Register, published in Springfield, Illinois, covers Taylorville and Christian County quite extensively. The Decatur, Illinois Herald & Review covers the area as well.

Transportation

Taylorville is served by Illinois Route 29, Illinois Route 48 and Illinois Route 104.[16] By closest major city, Illinois Route 29 connects Taylorville to Springfield, Illinois; Illinois Route 48 connects to Decatur, Illinois – including, from there, highway access to Pana, Illinois via US Highway 51 and to Champaign, Illinois via Interstate 72; and Illinois Route 104 connects Taylorville to Jacksonville, Illinois.

Notable people

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.taylorville.net/ Official City Website
  2. Web site: 2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. March 15, 2022.
  3. Web site: Find a County . June 7, 2011 . National Association of Counties . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120704084002/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx . July 4, 2012 . mdy .
  4. Web site: Historic Taylorville. 2021-11-05. Small Town Taylorville. en-US.
  5. http://www.clutterinvestigations.com/environmental_inv.html Neuroblastoma Coal Tar Cancer
  6. http://www.state.il.us/Court/Opinions/SupremeCourt/2002/February/Opinions/Html/89679.htm The case files for the case against the power plant
  7. Web site: Plane Crashes Into Residential Section of Taylorville; Pilot Killed . Taylorville Daily News . December 19, 2018.
  8. Web site: Reid . Tony . Report cites pilot errors in fatal 2012 Taylorville plane crash . Herald & Review . August 16, 2014 . December 19, 2018.
  9. Web site: Moore . Brenden . Tornado causes injuries, severe damage in Taylorville . The State Journal-Register . 2 December 2018.
  10. Web site: Jackson . Clay . 100 Taylorville buildings damaged in storm; 'It looked like a war zone' . Herald & Review . December 2018 . 2 December 2018.
  11. National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Lincoln, Illinois. NWS Damage Survey for 12/01/18 Tornado Event Report #2. Iowa Environmental Mesonet. December 2, 2018. December 3, 2018.
  12. National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Lincoln, Illinois. NWS Damage Survey for 12/01/18 Tornado Event #6. Iowa Environmental Mesonet. December 3, 2018. December 19, 2018.
  13. Web site: Gazetteer Files . 2022-06-29 . Census.gov.
  14. Web site: Explore Census Data . 2022-06-28 . data.census.gov.
  15. Book: Taylor Bell. Glory Days Illinois: Legends of Illinois High School Basketball. 2006. Sports Publishing LLC. 978-1-58261-945-3. 4–.
  16. Web site: Taylorville, Illinois . 2023-08-16 . taylorville.net.
  17. 'Illinois Blue Book 1917-1918,' Biographical Sketch of John J. Bullington, pg. 206-207
  18. http://www.sj-r.com/x1637735066/Dave-Bakke-When-Jon-Corzine-is-in-the-news-national-media-turn-to-Taylorville Dave Bakke: When Corzine's in the news, media turn to Taylorville – News – The State Journal-Register – Springfield, IL
  19. Dori Meinert (September 26, 2004) From Taylorville to Capitol Hill Sen. Jon Corzine a key fund-raiser for Democrats. Springfield State Journal Register.
  20. MF Global Appoints Jon S. Corzine Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. MF Global. March 23, 2010. March 23, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100329170639/http://www.mfglobalinvestorrelations.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=194911&p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=1405142. March 29, 2010. dead. mdy-all.
  21. 'Illinois Blue book 1927-1928,' Biographical Sketch of James H. Forrester, pg. 290=291
  22. http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/SupremeCourt/JusticeArchive/Bio_Hershey.asp Illinois Supreme Court-Harry B. Hershey
  23. 'Wisconsin Blue Book 2009-2010), Biographical Sketch of Randy Hopper, pg. 54
  24. Web site: Vern Mullen Stats. Pro Football Reference.
  25. William Yardley (January 2, 2014) Johnny Orr, Coach Who Turned Iowa State Into Contender, Dies at 86. New York Times
  26. http://www.sj-r.com/article/20131231/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/131239924/10250/LIFESTYLE Taylorville native, basketball coach Johnny Orr dies – Entertainment & Life – The State Journal-Register – Springfield, IL
  27. Web site: Purcell. Edward Mills. Biography. The Nobel Prize in Physics 1952 Felix Bloch, E. M. Purcell. The Nobel Foundation. May 22, 2012. Edward Mills Purcell. 1952.
  28. http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/SupremeCourt/JusticeArchives/Bio_Ricks.asp Illinois Supreme Court-James B. Ricks
  29. Web site: James B. Ricks. Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission.
  30. 'Illinois Blue Book 1977-1978,' Biographical Sketch of Rolland F. Tipsword, pg. 169
  31. 'Illinois Blue Book 1965-1966,' Biographical Sketch of Stuart J. Traynor, pg. 180-181
  32. 'Illinois Blue Book 1933-1934, Biographical Sketch of Clifford J. Vogelsang, pg. 219

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