Shelbyville, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Shelbyville is a city in Shelby County, Illinois
, along the Kaskaskia River. As of the 2010 census, the population was at 4700. It is the county seat
of Shelby County. Shelby Memorial Hospital, located in town, is the county's only hospital.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10.1 km²), of which, 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (4.90%) is water.
Shelbyville was founded in 1827 and named in honor of Isaac Shelby
, hero of the Revolutionary War and Governor of Kentucky
. The history of Shelbyville begins with Barnett Bone, a Tennessean who, in 1835, built a log cabin along the Kaskaskia River
. His cabin eventually became the county courthouse. The first businesses were blacksmith
shops, a general store and stage coach stop, and a grist mill.
The terminal moraine
of the Wisconsin Glacier is located near Shelbyville. This is referred to as the Shelbyville Moraine.
has been dammed where it breaches the Shelbyville Moraine, forming Lake Shelbyville
. The picture to the left was taken from the top of the dam.
The Army Corps of Engineers broke ground on the dam in 1963, and construction was completed in the early summer of 1970. Tours of the dam are given at 3 P.M. Saturdays and 1 P.M. on Sundays.
of 2010, there were 4,700 people, 2,093 households, and 1,345(?) families residing in the city. The population density
was 1205.13 people per square mile (3121.27/km²). There were 2,308 housing units at an average density of 619.9(?) per square mile (239.1/km²)(?). The racial makeup of the city was 98.26% White, 0.34% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races
, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.34% of the population.
There were 2,093 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples
living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% 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 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,458, and the median income for a family was $39,205. Males had a median income of $31,477 versus $18,710 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $17,596. About 6.2% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.2% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
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designated Shelbyville as an historical landmark of agricultural engineering, of which there are only 47 in the entire United States. Mr. Tallman's home has been restored and is on the National Register of Historic Places
.
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,...
, along the Kaskaskia River. As of the 2010 census, the population was at 4700. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Shelby County. Shelby Memorial Hospital, located in town, is the county's only hospital.
Geography
Shelbyville is located at 39°24′29"N 88°47′59"W (39.408142, -88.799730).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 3.9 square miles (10.1 km²), of which, 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (4.90%) is water.
Shelbyville was founded in 1827 and named in honor of Isaac Shelby
Isaac Shelby
Isaac Shelby was the first and fifth Governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina. He was also a soldier in Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812...
, hero of the Revolutionary War and Governor of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. The history of Shelbyville begins with Barnett Bone, a Tennessean who, in 1835, built a log cabin along the Kaskaskia River
Kaskaskia River
The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in central and southern Illinois in the United States. The second largest river system within Illinois, it drains a rural area of farms, as well as rolling hills along river bottoms of hardwood forests in its lower...
. His cabin eventually became the county courthouse. The first businesses were blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shops, a general store and stage coach stop, and a grist mill.
The terminal moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
of the Wisconsin Glacier is located near Shelbyville. This is referred to as the Shelbyville Moraine.
Shelbyville Dam
The Kaskaskia RiverKaskaskia River
The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in central and southern Illinois in the United States. The second largest river system within Illinois, it drains a rural area of farms, as well as rolling hills along river bottoms of hardwood forests in its lower...
has been dammed where it breaches the Shelbyville Moraine, forming Lake Shelbyville
Lake Shelbyville
Lake Shelbyville is a reservoir located in Shelby County, Illinois and Moultrie County, Illinois created by damming the Kaskaskia River at Shelbyville, Illinois. The lake's normal surface pool is at an elevation of . The area that surrounds the lake is the Shelbyville State Fish and Wildlife Area...
. The picture to the left was taken from the top of the dam.
The Army Corps of Engineers broke ground on the dam in 1963, and construction was completed in the early summer of 1970. Tours of the dam are given at 3 P.M. Saturdays and 1 P.M. on Sundays.
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 2010, there were 4,700 people, 2,093 households, and 1,345(?) families residing in the city. 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 1205.13 people per square mile (3121.27/km²). There were 2,308 housing units at an average density of 619.9(?) per square mile (239.1/km²)(?). The racial makeup of the city was 98.26% White, 0.34% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.34% of the population.
There were 2,093 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% 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, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% 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 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,458, and the median income for a family was $39,205. Males had a median income of $31,477 versus $18,710 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 city was $17,596. About 6.2% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.2% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
- Josephine Cochran, invented and patented (#355139) the dishwasher in Shelbyville (1886).
- Jesse Monroe Donaldson (1895–1970), served as Postmaster General of the United States from 1947 to 1953 under Harry S. TrumanHarry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
. - Howland J. Hamlin, served as Illinois Attorney GeneralIllinois Attorney GeneralThe Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by election through universal suffrage...
(1901 to 1905). - Samuel Wheeler Moulton (1821–1905), Illinois politician, considered the father of public education in Illinois, lived in Shelbyville (1849–1905).
- Robert Marshall RootRobert Marshall RootRobert Marshall Root , was a well-known Midwestern tonalist and impressionist artist. Born to John and Eunice Root, working-class parents, in Shelbyville, Illinois in 1863, young Robert showed great artistic promise from an early age...
(1863–1937), famous Midwestern tonalist and impressionist painter. - Anthony ThorntonAnthony Thornton (representative)Anthony Thornton was an American attorney who served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois and a Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court....
(1814–1904), member of the Illinois House of RepresentativesIllinois House of RepresentativesThe Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
(1851–1852), United States CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
(1865–1867) and a justice of the Supreme Court of IllinoisSupreme Court of IllinoisThe Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five appellate judicial districts of the state: Three justices from the First District and...
(1870–1873). He debated Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
in Shelbyville in 1856, an historic moment recreated by local artist Robert Marshall Root in 1913 that now hangs in the Shelby County Courthouse.
History
Another Shelbyville invention, the first commercial pick-up bailer, was designed and developed by Raymore McDonald, as conceived and financed by Horace M. Tallman and his two sons, Leslie and Gentry. These balers were marketed for many years by the Ann Arbor Machine Company of Shelbyville. This concept of field processing of farm forages made a significant contribution to the efficiency and economy of harvesting in the world's agriculture. This basic field pick-up mechanism has been used in over 15 million balers. The American Society of Agricultural and Biological EngineersAmerican Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers , was founded in 1907 and is based in St. Joseph, Michigan. It is an international engineering society with about 9000 members in over 100 countries...
designated Shelbyville as an historical landmark of agricultural engineering, of which there are only 47 in the entire United States. Mr. Tallman's home has been restored and is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Education
Shelbyville was once home to Sparks College, a business trade school, founded in 1908.External links
- http://www.mvs.usace.army.mil/Shelbyville/lakeshelbyville.htm
- http://www.lakeshelbyville.com