Benton, Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Benton | |
| City | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | Franklin |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 5.5 sq mi (14 km²) |
| - land | 5.5 sq mi (14 km²) |
| Population | 6,880 (2000) |
| Density | 1,286.2 /sq mi (497 /km²) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 62812 |
| Area code | 618 |
   Location of Benton within Illinois
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| Wikimedia Commons: Benton, Illinois | |
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[1].
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[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. A replica of the gallows and hangman's noose were built by Carpenter Birchard Wampler and his late son Birchard Neil Wampler. They remain standing today next to the old Jail turned Museum.
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. In an interview, Harrison's sister Louise said "his real first visit to America was when he came to the midwest in September of 1963 and he met these wonderful, warm, friendly, real warm Midwesterners... school teachers, retired miners and all kinds of just wonderful people... and a little band. He had a fantastic time. He thought they were just wonderful people."[1]
[edit] Residents of note
William L. Hungate, Missouri Congressman and Federal judge, was born in Benton on Feb. 14, 1922.
Benton is also the hometown of actor John Malkovich.
Benton is the hometown of NBA coach and player, and Olympic basketball player Doug Collins.
Benton was the home of game show host Gene Rayburn.
Benton is the hometown of Hollywood costume designer Brad Loman.
Benton is the hometown of Reathel Odum. Ms. Odum was Senator Harry Truman's secretary (1936-1945) and Bess Truman's personal secretary (1945-1953). She was a Truman family confidante and lived with the Truman's in the White House. Later, she traveled with Truman's daughter, Margaret.
Benton is the hometown of Georgia Tech's all-time scoring record holder Rich Yunkus with 2,232 points. Freshman were not allowed to play in his day and there was no 3 pt. shot.
[edit] Geography
Benton is located at (38.004085, -88.916053)[2].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14.2 km²), of which, 5.3 square miles (13.9 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (2.55%) is water.
Benton is south of Rend Lake, formed by damming the Big Muddy River.
Interstate 57 intersects State Highway 14 at Benton.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 6,880 people, 2,938 households, and 1,824 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,286.2 people per square mile (496.5/km²). There were 3,270 housing units at an average density of 611.3/sq mi (236.0/km²). 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.
[edit] References
- ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Benton, Illinois is at coordinates Coordinates:
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