Sciota, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Sciota is a village in McDonough County, Illinois
, United States
. The population was 58 at the 2000 census.
, the village has a total area of 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²), all of it land.
The village of Sciota lies in an area of prime farmland
with soil
classified
as Mollisols
.
Sciota is situated directly east of the headwaters
of an unnamed tributary
of Spring Creek, itself a tributary of the East Fork La Moine River
.
of 2000, there were 58 people, 27 households, and 19 families residing in the village. The population density
was 182.7 people per square mile (70.0/km²). There were 32 housing units at an average density of 100.8 per square mile (38.6/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 100.00% White.
There were 27 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples
living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.63.
In the village the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 75.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.1 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $28,750, and the median income for a family was $36,667. Males had a median income of $41,250 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income
for the village was $15,280. There were no families and 4.4% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 28.6% of those over 64.
in Illinois already had been named Clarksville (without the "e") so when the new town's post office was established on February 7, 1868, it was called Amicus. This discrepancy between town name and post office name led the residents to change both names to Sciota, after Sciota Township
in which the town lies (Sciota Township was named after the Scioto River
in Ohio
). The Illinois General Assembly
approved the name change on March 29, 1869.
A Christian church was erected in 1869, a Baptist church in 1871, and a school building in 1872.
In 1878, Sciota was the largest grain
market in McDonough County. At that time, the primary crops were corn
and oat
s; now, the village is surrounded by fields of corn and soybean
s.
A newspaper
, The Sciota Sentinel, was published by H. C. Harl around 1895 but only one issue seems to have survived (October 17, 1895, no. 49).
1/2 mile south of the village. East 800th Street is called Buel Street within the village proper and extends north to the county line.
The village of Sciota conforms to a grid plan
of nine street
s:
Sciota is served by the Keokuk Junction Railway
. As of January 2010, there were two rail sidings. There is one grade crossing
protected by a pair of crossbuck
s with flashing lights and a mechanical warning bell (no gates).
The village received a state grant of $400,000 in 2001 to connect to the Good Hope
water supply system
and to build a water tower
. While Sciota has a water supply system, it does not have a sanitary sewer system
; residents rely on septic systems
for sewage
disposal.
, Farmers Elevator Co., is situated along the railroad and two crop service companies are located in Sciota. The village also has an auto mechanic
, Baker's Garage.
Sciota has one church, the Christian Church of Sciota. A Methodist church, built in 1919 near the corner of Clay and Seymour streets, was razed
in 1999. Sciota is served by a United States post office (ZIP code 61475) and a station of the Good Hope/Sciota Fire Protection District. West Prairie High School
(formerly Northwestern Jr./Sr. High School) is located approximately 1/2 mile south of Sciota.
The State Bank of Sciota was organized on June 15, 1910, but no longer is extant.
Ross Newman was born in Sciota in 1912 and later rose to prominence in the oil industry
.
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 58 at the 2000 census.
Geography
Sciota is located at 40°33′39"N 90°45′06"W (40.5608731, -90.7517996) at an elevation of 758 ft (231 m). According to the United States Census BureauUnited 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 village has a total area of 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²), all of it land.
The village of Sciota lies in an area of prime farmland
Prime farmland
Prime farmland is a designation assigned by U.S. Department of Agriculture defining land that has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food, feed, forage, fiber, and oilseed crops and is also available for these land uses....
with soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
classified
Soil classification
Soil classification deals with the systematic categorization of soils based on distinguishing characteristics as well as criteria that dictate choices in use.- Overview :...
as Mollisols
Mollisols
Mollisols are a soil order in USDA soil taxonomy. Mollisols form in semi-arid to semi-humid areas, typically under a grassland cover. They are most commonly found in the mid-latitudes, namely in North America, mostly east of the Rocky Mountains, in South America in Argentina and Brazil, and in...
.
Sciota is situated directly east of the headwaters
Source (river or stream)
The source or headwaters of a river or stream is the place from which the water in the river or stream originates.-Definition:There is no universally agreed upon definition for determining a stream's source...
of an unnamed tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of Spring Creek, itself a tributary of the East Fork La Moine River
La Moine River
La Moine River is a tributary of the Illinois River in western Illinois in the United States. Its watershed covers approximately , and it is the sixth-largest tributary to the Illinois River...
.
Demographics
As of the 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...
of 2000, there were 58 people, 27 households, and 19 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 182.7 people per square mile (70.0/km²). There were 32 housing units at an average density of 100.8 per square mile (38.6/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 100.00% White.
There were 27 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.63.
In the village the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 75.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.1 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $28,750, and the median income for a family was $36,667. Males had a median income of $41,250 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the village was $15,280. There were no families and 4.4% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 28.6% of those over 64.
History
Sciota was laid out in September 1867 by William B. Clarke and was called Clarkesville in his honor. Another townClarksville, Illinois
Clarksville is an unincorporated settlement approximately ten kilometers northwest of the city of Marshall, Illinois in east central Illinois. The village lies in on the north edge of Clark County in Dolson Township.Clarksville was founded in 1851...
in Illinois already had been named Clarksville (without the "e") so when the new town's post office was established on February 7, 1868, it was called Amicus. This discrepancy between town name and post office name led the residents to change both names to Sciota, after Sciota Township
Sciota Township, McDonough County, Illinois
Sciota Township is located in McDonough County, Illinois. The population was 574 at the 2000 census.- External links :***...
in which the town lies (Sciota Township was named after the Scioto River
Scioto River
The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
). The Illinois General Assembly
Illinois General Assembly
The Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois and comprises the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Illinois has 59 legislative districts, with two...
approved the name change on March 29, 1869.
A Christian church was erected in 1869, a Baptist church in 1871, and a school building in 1872.
In 1878, Sciota was the largest grain
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
market in McDonough County. At that time, the primary crops were corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and oat
Oat
The common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...
s; now, the village is surrounded by fields of corn and soybean
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
s.
A newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, The Sciota Sentinel, was published by H. C. Harl around 1895 but only one issue seems to have survived (October 17, 1895, no. 49).
Transportation and infrastructure
Sciota is accessible by public roads from the south via McDonough County road East 800th Street (County Highway 13) which intersects with Illinois Route 9Illinois Route 9
Illinois Route 9 is a cross-state, east–west rural state highway in central Illinois. It runs from the Fort Madison Toll Bridge over the Mississippi River to Iowa in Niota east to State Road 26 at the Indiana border. This is a distance of ....
1/2 mile south of the village. East 800th Street is called Buel Street within the village proper and extends north to the county line.
The village of Sciota conforms to a grid plan
Grid plan
The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...
of nine street
Street
A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
s:
- Buel Street (north-south; also known as Main Street, East 800th Street, and County Highway 13)
- Clark Street (north-south)
- Clay Street (north-south)
- Douglas Street (east-west)
- Fillmore Street (east-west)
- Jacob Street (east-west)
- Jefferson Street (north-south)
- Seymour Street (east-west)
- Washington Street (north-south)
Sciota is served by the Keokuk Junction Railway
Keokuk Junction Railway
The Keokuk Junction Railway Company , is a Class III railroad terminal railroad in the US states of Illinois and Iowa.KJRY started service as a terminal railroad operating over tracks built in 1857 as part of the Keokuk & Des Moines Valley Railroad...
. As of January 2010, there were two rail sidings. There is one grade crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
protected by a pair of crossbuck
Crossbuck
A crossbuck is a sign composed of two slats of wood or metal of equal length, fastened together on a pole in a saltire formation...
s with flashing lights and a mechanical warning bell (no gates).
The village received a state grant of $400,000 in 2001 to connect to the Good Hope
Good Hope, Illinois
Good Hope is a village in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 415 according to the 2000 census.-Geography:Good Hope is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....
water supply system
Water supply network
A water supply system or water supply network is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components which provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes:# A drainage basin ;...
and to build a water tower
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
. While Sciota has a water supply system, it does not have a sanitary sewer system
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
; residents rely on septic systems
Septic tank
A septic tank is a key component of the septic system, a small-scale sewage treatment system common in areas with no connection to main sewage pipes provided by local governments or private corporations...
for sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
disposal.
Industry
A grain elevatorGrain elevator
A grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator, which scoops up, elevates, and then uses gravity to deposit grain in a silo or other storage facility...
, Farmers Elevator Co., is situated along the railroad and two crop service companies are located in Sciota. The village also has an auto mechanic
Auto mechanic
An auto mechanic is a mechanic with a variety of car makes or either in a specific area or in a specific make of car. In repairing cars, their main role is to diagnose the problem accurately and quickly...
, Baker's Garage.
Sciota has one church, the Christian Church of Sciota. A Methodist church, built in 1919 near the corner of Clay and Seymour streets, was razed
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
in 1999. Sciota is served by a United States post office (ZIP code 61475) and a station of the Good Hope/Sciota Fire Protection District. West Prairie High School
West Prairie High School
West Prairie High School, also known as Sciota West Prairie, or WPHS, is a public four-year high school located at 18575 East 800th Street near Sciota, Illinois, a village of McDonough County, Illinois, in the Midwestern United States...
(formerly Northwestern Jr./Sr. High School) is located approximately 1/2 mile south of Sciota.
The State Bank of Sciota was organized on June 15, 1910, but no longer is extant.
Ross Newman was born in Sciota in 1912 and later rose to prominence in the oil industry
Petroleum industry
The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...
.