Benton, Illinois

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Benton is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,880 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County^GR6.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History

On April 19, 1928 Benton was the site of the last public hanging in Illinois, when local gangster Charles Birger was executed on the gallows next to the county jail for the December 12, 1926 murder of Joe Adams, mayor of nearby West City, Illinois.

In September 1963, George Harrison of The Beatles visited Benton while on vacation. He stayed at the home of his sister, Louise, at 113 McCann Street. The bungalow is now the Hard Day's Night Bed and Breakfast. Harrison also performed with band at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Eldorado, Illinois.

Benton is also the hometown of noted actor John Malkovich.

Benton was the site of many scenes from the 2000 film "Poor White Trash," starring Jaime Pressly, William Devane, Sean Young, and co-star M. Emmet Walsh.

Benton is the hometown of NBA coach and olympic basketball player Doug Collins.

[edit] Geography

Benton is located at 38°0′15″N, 88°54′58″W (38.004085, -88.916053)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.2 km² (5.5 mi²). 13.9 km² (5.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (2.55%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 6,880 people, 2,938 households, and 1,824 families residing in the city. The population density was 496.5/km² (1,286.2/mi²). There were 3,270 housing units at an average density of 236.0/km² (611.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.72% White, 0.29% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.51% of the population.

There were 2,938 households out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 22.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,177, and the median income for a family was $35,339. Males had a median income of $27,323 versus $19,403 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,787. About 15.6% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.6% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.