Taylorville

City of Taylorville
City
Motto: A Great Place To Live, Work, and Visit [1]
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Christian
Coordinates	39°32′27″N 89°17′17″W / 39.54083°N 89.28806°W / 39.54083; -89.28806
Population	11,427 (2000)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	62568
Location of Taylorville within Illinois
Location of Illinois in the United States
Website: http://www.taylorville.net

Taylorville is a city in Christian County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,427 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and largest city in Christian County.^[2]

Geography

Taylorville is located at 39°32′27″N 89°17′17″W / 39.54083°N 89.28806°W / 39.54083; -89.28806 (39.540768, -89.288005).^[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.0 square miles (26.0 km²), of which, 8.1 square miles (20.9 km²) of it is land and 2.0 square miles (5.1 km²) of it (19.46%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 11,427 people, 4,856 households, and 3,039 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,416.6 people per square mile (546.7/km²). There were 5,208 housing units at an average density of 645.6/sq mi (249.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.67% White, 0.71% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.

There were 4,856 households out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,235, and the median income for a family was $43,223. Males had a median income of $35,655 versus $23,647 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,162. About 6.8% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Other

The town newspaper is the Breeze-Courier, which is the only daily paper serving Christian County. Also, 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.

Taylorville was known to many as having a high rate of neuroblastoma, a cancer affecting the brain and striking children. The local power company Central Illinois Public Service Company was sued and lost for contaminating the groundwater in 1994.^[5]

The IHSA single season men's basketball record of 45–0 was set by Taylorville High School in 1944. Ron Bontemps and Johnny Orr were team members.^[6]

Taylorville, being a farming community, has several small claims in the agricultural area. The most prominent claim is the locally known sheep population claim. With nearly 13,000 sheep in the city area, there are more sheep than there are people. ^[7]

Every October, the Taylorville Chamber of Commerce hosts a "Chilifest" bringing in local chefs from around Christian County

Notable persons

• Pat Perry - St. Louis Cardinals Pitcher from 1985-1987
• Ron Bontemps - Olympic gold medal winner and team captain, 1952 Men's Basketball
• David Carroll - born in Taylorville as Rodell Schreier, musician, conductor and musical arranger
• Jon Corzine - Governor of New Jersey
• Yvonne Craig - Actress, most famous for playing Batgirl in the 1960s television series Batman
• Randy Hopper - Wisconsin Senator
• Johnny Orr - winningest coach in Iowa State University men's basketball history; also coached the University of Michigan to national runner up in the 1976 NCAA Championship
• Edward Mills Purcell - 1952 Nobel Prize winner in physics
• The fictional character of Sandy Stockton, played by actress Sandy Duncan on the series Funny Face and The Sandy Duncan Show was said to have been from Taylorville, and as such, Ms. Duncan had a street, Sandy Duncan Drive, named after her.

References

1. ^ Official City Website Retrieved on May 27, 2007
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
5. ^ The case files for the case against the power plant
6. ^ Google Books -> Illinois: Legends of Illinois High School Basketball By Taylor Bell (Page 4)
7. ^ Google Books -> Illinois: Legends of Illinois High School Basketball By Taylor Bell (Page 4)

External links

• Taylorville city website
• Taylorville Schools
• Taylorville Park District
• Taylorville Chamber of Commerce
• Taylorville Main Street
• Illinois: Legends of Illinois High School Basketball By Taylor Bell

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Christian County, Illinois County seat: Taylorville Cities Assumption | Pana | Taylorville Villages Bulpitt | Edinburg | Harvel‡ | Jeisyville | Kincaid | Morrisonville | Mount Auburn | Moweaqua‡ | Owaneco | Palmer | Stonington | Tovey Townships Assumption | Bear Creek | Buckhart | Greenwood | Johnson | King | Locust | May | Mosquito | Mount Auburn | Pana | Prairieton | Ricks | Rosamond | South Fork | Stonington | Taylorville Unincorporated communities Bolivia | Clarksdale | Dunkel | Ellis | Grove City | Hewittsville | Langleyville | Midway | Millersville | Old Stonington | Osbernville | Radford | Roby | Rosamond | Sharpsburg | Sicily | Vanderville | Velma | Willey Station | Zenobia‡ Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties