Taylorville, Illinois

Taylorville is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Illinois, United States.[4] The population was 11,246 at the 2010 census, making it the county's largest city.

Taylorville, Illinois
City and County seat
Motto(s): 
A Great Place To Live, Work, and Visit[1]
Location within Christian County and Illinois
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 39°32′56″N 89°17′40″W
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyChristian
Government
 • MayorBruce Barry
Area
 • Total12.23 sq mi (31.67 km2)
 • Land10.32 sq mi (26.73 km2)
 • Water1.91 sq mi (4.95 km2)
Elevation
630 ft (190 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total11,246
 • Estimate 
(2019)[3]
10,360
 • Density1,041.96/sq mi (402.31/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
62568
Area code217
FIPS code17-74574
GNIS ID419575
Websitetaylorville.net

History

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, a strong 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 150 mph (240 km/h).[12]

Geography

Taylorville is located at 39°32′27″N 89°17′17″W (39.540768, −89.288005).[13]

According to the 2010 census, Taylorville has a total area of 11.77 square miles (30.48 km2), of which 9.86 square miles (25.54 km2) (or 83.77%) is land and 1.91 square miles (4.95 km2) (or 16.23%) is water.[14]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18802,237—
18902,82926.5%
19004,24850.2%
19105,44628.2%
19205,8066.6%
19307,31626.0%
19408,31313.6%
19509,18810.5%
19608,801−4.2%
197010,64420.9%
198011,3867.0%
199011,133−2.2%
200011,4272.6%
201011,246−1.6%
Est. 201910,360[3]−7.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[15]

As of the census[16] of 2000, there were 11,427 people, 4,856 households, and 3,039 families living 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 per square mile (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.

Transportation

Taylorville is served by Illinois Route 29, Illinois Route 48 and Illinois Route 104. (by closest major city) Illinois Route 29 connects Taylorville to Springfield Illinois, Illinois Route 48 connects Decatur Illinois including highway access to US Highway 51 to Pana Illinois and/or Champaign Illinois via Interstate 72, and Illinois Route 104 connects Taylorville to Jacksonville Illinois.

Taylorville Water tower

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.[17]

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. 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.

Notable people

References
  1. Official City Website Retrieved on May 27, 2007
  2. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  3. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. Neuroblastoma Coal Tar Cancer. Clutterinvestigations.com. Retrieved on November 20, 2015.
  6. The case files for the case against the power plant. State.il.us. Retrieved on November 20, 2015.
  7. "Plane Crashes Into Residential Section of Taylorville; Pilot Killed". Taylorville Daily News. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  8. Reid, Tony. "Report cites pilot errors in fatal 2012 Taylorville plane crash". Herald & Review. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  9. Moore, Brenden. "Tornado causes injuries, severe damage in Taylorville That was the deadlest max rated tornado as ranked #5 the #1 was the Tri-state tornado super outbreak". The State Journal-Register. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  10. Jackson, Clay. "100 Taylorville buildings damaged in storm; 'It looked like a war zone'". Herald & Review. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  11. NWS Damage Survey for 12/01/18 Tornado Event Report #2 (Report). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Lincoln, Illinois. December 2, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  12. NWS Damage Survey for 12/01/18 Tornado Event #6 (Report). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Lincoln, Illinois. December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  13. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  14. "G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  15. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  16. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  17. Taylor Bell (2006). Glory Days Illinois: Legends of Illinois High School Basketball. Sports Publishing LLC. pp. 4–. ISBN 978-1-58261-945-3.
  18. 'Illinois Blue Book 1917-1918,' Biographical Sketch of John J. Bullington, pg. 206-207
  19. Dave Bakke: When Corzine's in the news, media turn to Taylorville – News – The State Journal-Register – Springfield, IL. Sj-r.com (November 4, 2011). Retrieved on 2015-11-20.
  20. Dori Meinert (September 26, 2004) From Taylorville to Capitol Hill Sen. Jon Corzine a key fund-raiser for Democrats. Springfield State Journal Register.
  21. "MF Global Appoints Jon S. Corzine Chairman and Chief Executive Officer" (Press release). MF Global. March 23, 2010. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  22. 'Illinois Blue book 1927-1928,' Biographical Sketch of James H. Forrester, pg. 290=291
  23. Illinois Supreme Court-Harry B. Hershey Archived July 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Illinoiscourts.gov (August 30, 1967). Retrieved on 2015-11-20.
  24. 'Wisconsin Blue Book 2009-2010), Biographical Sketch of Randy Hopper, pg. 54
  25. William Yardley (January 2, 2014) Johnny Orr, Coach Who Turned Iowa State Into Contender, Dies at 86. New York Times
  26. Taylorville native, basketball coach Johnny Orr dies – Entertainment & Life – The State Journal-Register – Springfield, IL. Sj-r.com (December 31, 2013). Retrieved on 2015-11-20.
  27. Purcell, Edward Mills (1952). "Biography". The Nobel Prize in Physics 1952 Felix Bloch, E. M. Purcell. The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  28. Illinois Supreme Court-James B. Ricks
  29. 'Illinois Blue Book 1933-1934, Biographical Sketch of Clifford J. Vogelsang, pg. 219
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