Stookey Township, St. Clair County, Illinois

Stookey Township is a township located in St. Clair County, Illinois

St. Clair County, Illinois

St. Clair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau placed the mean center of U.S. population in St. Clair County. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 270,056, which is an increase of 5.5% from 256,082 in 2000. Its county seat is...

. It is an unincorporated part of Belleville, Illinois

Belleville, Illinois

Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city has a population of 44,478. It is the eighth-most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the most populated city south of Springfield in the state of Illinois. It is the county...

located just west of downtown Belleville, for that reason it is often referred to by locals as Belleville West. Residential homes and small businesses occupy the region along with occasional shopping centers (one is currently under construction and will be finished by December 2006). The township rides along Illinois Route 13

Illinois Route 13

Illinois Route 13 is a major east–west state route in southern Illinois. Illinois 13 has its western terminus at Centreville at Illinois Route 157 and its eastern terminus at the Kentucky state line and the Ohio River, at Kentucky Route 56. This is a distance of .- Route description :Illinois...

and converges with Illinois Route 15

Illinois Route 15

Illinois Route 15 is an east–west highway with its western terminus at Illinois Route 3, U.S. Route 40, I-55, I-64, and I-70 and its eastern terminus at Wabash River at the Illinois/Indiana Border where it meets Indiana 64. This is a distance of ....

and Illinois Route 159

Illinois Route 159

Illinois Route 159 is a north–south state road in southwestern Illinois. Its southern terminus is at Illinois Route 3 and Illinois Route 154 in Red Bud and its northern terminus at Illinois Route 16 in Royal Lakes. This is a distance of ....

. The ZIP code for the township is 62223. The telephone area code of the township is 618.

Transportation

One MetroLink

St. Louis Metrolink

MetroLink is the light rail transit system in the Greater St. Louis area of Missouri and the Metro East area of Illinois. The entire system currently consists of two lines connecting Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and Shrewsbury, MO with Scott Air Force Base near Shiloh, Illinois through...

light rail station, Memorial Station

Memorial Hospital (St. Louis MetroLink)

Memorial Hospital is a St. Louis MetroLink station in Belleville, Illinois, near the intersection of Illinois Route 161 and Frank Scott Parkway.- External links :*...

, and about two dozen MetroBus stops are located around the Township.

The Illinois West-Central Railway also runs through the township in which supply and cargo freight trains run through at least a few times a day on the way to Chicago, IL, Saint Louis, MO, or East Saint Louis, IL.

The closest airport to Stookey Township is the Mid-America Airport

MidAmerica St. Louis Airport

MidAmerica St. Louis Airport is an airport co-located on the grounds of Scott Air Force Base. MidAmerica has operated as a Joint Use Airport since beginning operations in November 1997 and has not been served by any commercial airlines since Allegiant Air pulled out of the airport on January 3,...

, which is about 12 miles to the east of the township. The closest major international airport is Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport which is west of Saint Louis, MO and about 25 miles away.

Belleville Crossing

Belleville Crossing is a new shopping center and retail

Retail

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

/business

Business

A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

plaza that is currently undergoing construction by the Desco Group under the contractor

General contractor

A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...

Impact Strategies. The first stores opened in this plaza in October, 2007. Presently phase I of the plaza is finished with Target

Target Corporation

Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...

, Home Depot, Pet Smart, OfficeMax

OfficeMax

OfficeMax , is an American office supplies retailer that was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.-History:On April 1, 1988, OfficeMax was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, by Bob Hurwitz and Michael Feuer. Hurwitz served as executive chairman and chief executive officer and Feuer...

, and Mattress Giant

Mattress Giant

Mattress Giant Corporation is an American retailing company and mattress store chain founded in 1986 in Miami, Florida. The company is based in Addison, Texas.Mattress Giant has a total of 360 stores in 14 states nationwide.-External links:*...

being the anchor occupants along with many other smaller shops occupy this plaza. Other phases are currently under construction, and have so far included Buffalo Wild Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar is a casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States that is known for its Buffalo wings.-History:...

, Qdoba's, and a Walgreens

Walgreens

Walgreen Co. , doing business as Walgreens , is the largest drugstore chain in the United States of America. As of August 31st, the company operates 8,210 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901, and has since expanded...

which is set to open in January 2009. A White Castle

White Castle (restaurant)

White Castle is an American regional fast food hamburger restaurant chain in the Midwestern United States and in the New York metropolitan area, and the first of its kind in the US. It is known for its small, square hamburgers. Sometimes referred to as "sliders", the burgers were priced at five...

and a Wendy's

Wendy's

Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...

are also being built, and will open in the Spring of 2009. A movie theater and possible Hampton Inn

Hampton Inn

'Hampton Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Hampton by Hilton are the names of a brand of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. Most Hampton hotels are independently owned and operated by franchisees, though a few are owned and/or managed by the Hilton Hotels Corporation...

hotel are also in the works and will be finished by Summer 2010. Other smaller strip malls are also completing construction and will be finished by Fall/Winter 2009.

While technically annexed by Belleville Township proper (City of Belleville

Belleville, Illinois

), it is located in the heart of Stookey Township near the new Belleville West High School at the intersection of IL Route 15, and Frank Scott Parkway. Also many consumers that shop at this shopping center are from Stookey Township and surrounding areas. The shopping center also presently supplies the township and surrounding area with over 600 retail

Retail

related jobs both full and part time. It is expected to bring 1500 to 1750 jobs to the region all together when the shopping center is completed by the end of 2010.

Sites of interest

Belle Clair Fairgrounds Park
National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows
National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows
The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is a Catholic shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Belleville, Illinois, nine miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. The Shrine's director is the Reverend Father Greg Gallagher, OMI...
Skyview Drive-in Theatre
Belleville Crossing Shopping Plaza

Education

The main public high school that serves the area is Belleville West High School which was, in 2003, moved from its old location at 2600 West Main Street (now Lindenwood University's Belleville Campus) to its new location at 4063 Frank Scott Parkway West.

Public schools

Belleville School District 118
Belleville Township High School District 201
- Belleville West High School
Harmony Emge School District 175
Signal Hill School District 181

Higher Education

Public Utilities

Utility companies that work in the area are the Ameren IP Company (providing both electricity and natural gas), the Illinois-American Water Company, Stookey Township Sewer and Belleville Sewage. Since Stookey Township isn't officially part of Belleville, it does not receive city trash service—several public and privately owned trash collection companies are available to choose from. Residents must contact a collection company to set up deals on trash collection. Citizens of Stookey also cannot get library cards or check out books at Belleville libraries. No libraries exist so far in Stookey Township. Stookey township citizens are protected by the Signal Hill and Villa Hills volunteer fire departments and the St. Clair County Sheriff, but Belleville city police do not have jurisdiction in Stookey Township.

Famous residents

Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. A veteran of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001...

- Spent his childhood in Stookey Township, front man for alternative rock group Uncle Tupelo (with Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...

), alternative rock group Son Volt, and a successful solo artist.
Jenny Bindon
Jenny Bindon
Jenny Bindon is an association football goalkeeper who represents New Zealand at the international level.-High school:...

- Goalkeeper for the New Zealand Women's Football Team at the 2007 Women's World Cup and 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Grew up in Stookey Township.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.