Eldorado, Illinois
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the Illinois city in Saline County. For the Illinois township in McDonough County, see Eldorado Township, McDonough County, IllinoisEldorado Township, McDonough County, IllinoisEldorado Township is located in McDonough County, Illinois. The population was 227 at the 2000 census.- External links :***...
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Eldorado ( or ɛ) is a city in Saline County
Saline County, Illinois
Saline County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 24,913, which is a decrease of 6.8% from 26,733 in 2000. Its county seat is Harrisburg. Saline County is home to the smallest post office and the largest KFC in the United States....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 4,122 at the 2010 census, with a 1925 peak of 8,000. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, the name was originally "Elder-Reado" -- a combination of the last names of the town's two founders, Judge Samuel Elder and Joseph Read. According to legend, a signpainter for the railroad painted the name "Eldorado" on the train depot; as a result, the spelling and pronunciation was forever changed.
Eldorado is included in the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area
Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area
The Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky Tri-State Area is a tri-state area where the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky intersect. The area is defined mainly by the television viewing area and consists of ten Illinois counties, eleven Indiana counties, and nine Kentucky counties...
and is a bedroom community in the Harrisburg Micropolitan Statistical Area
Harrisburg, Illinois Micropolitan Statistical Area
The Harrisburg Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of one county in southern Illinois, anchored by the city of Harrisburg.As of the 2000 census, the μSA had a population of 26,733....
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The junction of the pioneer Kaskaskia and Goshen
Goshen Road
The Goshen Road was an early road that ran from Old Shawneetown, Illinois, on the Ohio River, northwest to the Goshen Settlement, near Glen Carbon, Illinois, near the Mississippi River. In the early 19th century, this was the main east/west road in Illinois....
Trails was located just south of the city. The Goshen Trail began in Old Shawneetown, Illinois
Old Shawneetown, Illinois
Old Shawneetown is a village in Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 193. Located along the Ohio River, Shawneetown served as an important United States government administrative center for the Northwest Territory. The village was...
and ran along the east side of Eldorado and on to the Goshen Settlement
Goshen Settlement
The Goshen Settlement was an early American pioneer settlement in what is now Illinois, USA, located to the east of St. Louis, Missouri. The settlement was located about one mile southwest of modern Glen Carbon, Illinois, at the point where Judy's Creek emerges from the bluffs into the American...
, a community near the present day East St. Louis.
Geography
Eldorado is located at 37°48′51"N 88°26′27"W (37.814212, -88.440937).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6 km²), of which, 2.3 square miles (6 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (1.28%) is water.
History
In September, 1963, five months before the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show brought them stardom in the United States, George HarrisonGeorge Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
performed at the Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
hall in Eldorado with a local band. This was the first performance by a Beatle in the United States. At the time, Harrison and his brother were visiting their sister, Louise, who had recently relocated with her husband to nearby Benton
Benton, Illinois
Benton is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,087 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area.- History :...
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At one time there was an extensive maze of railroad tracks that arched out from the town's center. All but one are now replaced with bike trails.
Eldorado is home to one of the smallest daily newspapers in the US, The Eldorado Daily Journal (circulation 1,200), which is a sister publication to the Harrisburg Daily Register.
In 1925, Dr. J.V. Ferrell founded Ferrell Hospital, which exists today as a 52-bed facility operated by Southern Illinois Healthcare. Effective March 1, 2004, SIH entered into an agreement with Alliant Management Services to return the hospital to local ownership and governance. On April 1, 2005, Ferrell Hospital Community Foundation became a stand alone facility managed by Alliant Management Services.
Eldorado is the hometown of Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
's fastest knockout record holder, Todd Duffee
Todd Duffee
Todd Duffee is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division. Duffee fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship until his surprise release in September 2010, which came as a result of an apparent dispute with UFC President Dana White.-Background:Duffee was born in...
. It was also home to two Illinois High School Association (IHSA)
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...
all-time scorers: Mike Duff (2,113 points), and Cody Lane (2,006 points). Eldorado is also the birthplace of Roger Grumley and Eric Brannock. Both members of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
In 1946, the adjacent village of Beulah Heights disincorporated and annexed to Eldorado.
Demographics
According to the 2010 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, there were 4,122 people living within the city limits. Of the 4,078 persons who identified with one race, 4,010 (97.8%) were white, 33 (0.5%) were black or African-American, 9 American Indian, 4 Asian, 3 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders, and 19 who claimed some other race. The Hispanic population was 52 (1.0 percent). There were 2,053 total housing units; 1,796 (87.5%) were occupied and 257 (12.5%) vacant.