Ridgway, Illinois

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ridgway is a village in Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 928 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Ridgway is located at 37°47′53″N, 88°15′38″W (37.798036, -88.260571)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.3 km² (0.9 mi²), all land.

[edit] History

Ridgway claims to be the "Popcorn Capital of the World" and is home to a popcorn plant. The first popcorn day was held on April 12, 1958, hosted by the local popcorn company. Popcorn Day continues as part of the Gallatin County Fair is held the second friday in September, with big kettles that are started heating at dawn to make popcorn all day.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 928 people, 441 households, and 271 families residing in the village. The population density was 398.1/km² (1,030.6/mi²). There were 490 housing units at an average density of 210.2/km² (544.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.35% White, 0.22% African American, 0.32% Native American, and 0.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.

There were 441 households out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.72.

In the village the population was spread out with 18.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $27,670, and the median income for a family was $36,786. Males had a median income of $31,944 versus $19,500 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,959. About 12.9% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.1% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.