Meredosia, Illinois

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Meredosia is a village in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,041 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Agriculture
4 Industry
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Meredosia is located at 39°49′48″N, 90°33′30″W (39.829947, -90.558426)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.6 km² (1.0 mi²). 2.4 km² (0.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (8.00%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,041 people, 450 households, and 301 families residing in the village. The population density was 436.9/km² (1,130.3/mi²). There were 486 housing units at an average density of 204.0/km² (527.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.90% White, and 0.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.10% of the population.

There were 450 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the village the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $32,961, and the median income for a family was $40,917. Males had a median income of $31,979 versus $16,842 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,391. About 5.8% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Agriculture

Meredosia is located in the Illinois River valley, with much of the surrounding topography composed of sand outwash hills formed when the last glaciers melted. At one time there were many farmers raising watermelons, canteloupe, and fresh vegetables, with much of this produce sold in roadside market stands. This has declined in recent years as farming has become less labor intensive and many small farmers have sold off their land to larger concerns for irrigated row crop farming. Some have theorised that the decline also coincided with changing demographics as more of the young potential farmers turned to factory work, moved from the area, or hung out on Main street in a ritualistic version of the stereotypical pussypatrol rather than working on a farm. Much of the alluvial soils in the valley are used for row cropping of corn and soybeans by private farmers. A large area of farm ground east of town is leased for production of seed corn by Burrus Seed (and other seed companies).

[edit] Industry

There are two large industrial businesses located in Meredosia. Meredosia Power Plant, owned by AmerenEnergy, which is a coal fired electrical generating plant. The Meredosia plant was opened in 1948, and has had numerous renovations and improvements over the years.

The other large industry is a Celanese Corporation (formerly National Starch) plastics and resins manufacturing plant. This plant was the scene of a year long strike by Local 484, which ended after the NLRSB filed bad faith negotiation charges against Celanese.