Roxana, Illinois

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roxana is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,547 at the 2000 census. A majority of the land in Roxana is taken up by the Wood River Conoco-Phillips oil refinery; the refinery was built and originally owned by Shell Oil and has also been owned by Premcor. As of December 2005, the Refinery refines 306,000 barrels of oil per day to produce gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, asphalt, propane and other products, and supplies part of the St. Louis region, Chicago, Indiana and Ohio. [1]

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Education
5 Attractions
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Roxana is located at 38°50′18″N, 90°3′49″W (38.838397, -90.063653).^GR1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 17.7 km² (6.8 mi²). 17.6 km² (6.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.29%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,547 people, 655 households, and 436 families residing in the village. The population density was 87.8/km² (227.5/mi²). There were 697 housing units at an average density of 39.6/km² (102.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.51% White, 0.13% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.39% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.

There were 655 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the village the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $38,800, and the median income for a family was $45,500. Males had a median income of $40,078 versus $27,045 for females. The per capita income for the village was $20,511. About 2.5% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

In 1918, the Shell Oil Company opened its Wood River Refinery in what was then called Wood River Field, an area south of the City of Wood River. As houses began being built close to the refinery, the population there grew to the point that in 1921, this unincorporated area became the incorporated Village of Roxana.

Local lore is that the name Roxana was chosen to honor Queen Roxanne of the Netherlands, inasmuch as the village owed its very existence to state owned Royal Dutch Shell.

A Baptist Church was organized in September 1921, and the land where the current First Baptist Church of Roxana now stands at the corner of Tydeman Street and Central Avenue was purchased in early 1922. The first services were held there on December 3, 1922. J.A. Wilson served as the church's first pastor. [2]

In the early 1940s, a large art deco style theater was built at the northwest corner of Thomas Street and Central Avenue, at 400 N. Central Avenue. To the south across Thomas Street lay Burbank School built in 1936, and catecorner at the southeast corner lay Roxana Drug Store.

Seating approximately 580 people, the theater was originally designed for vaudeville acts as well as movie showings. In 1949, a tornado tore the roof off, but after repairs were made, the theater reopened. In the late 1960s, it was closed for nearly two years before being sold in June 1968 from the estate of Albert Critchlow to Bloomer Amusement Co. of Belleville. It was thereafter operated as BAC Cine for many years. In 1992, the Cine was purchased by Kerasotes Theatres, Inc., of Springfield, Illinois, which operated it until its closing in February 2002. [3]

Some time in the mid-1990s, the theatre was purchased from Kerasotes and was donated to the Roxana Church of the Nazarene, which is located just north of the theatre. The Church now operates the building as the Nazarene Community Center, where it is available for rental and group events. [4]