Riverton, Illinois
| Riverton | |
| Village | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | Sangamon |
| Elevation | 583 ft (178 m) |
| Coordinates | 39°50′54″N 89°32′25″W / 39.84833°N 89.54028°W |
| Area | 2.22 sq mi (6 km2) |
| - land | 2.18 sq mi (6 km2) |
| - water | 0.04 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Population | 3,048 (2000) |
| Density | 1,497.4 / sq mi (578 / km2) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 62561 |
| Area code | 217 |
   Location of Riverton within Illinois
| |
| Wikimedia Commons: Riverton, Illinois | |
Riverton is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,048 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Riverton was founded by John Taylor in 1837. Originally named Jamestown, named after politician James Shields, the village was successful for about a decade producing lumber for a planned railroad. When it was discovered that the railroad was badly constructed and unreliable, Jamestown fell into economic distress and the land on which it sat was sold. The town was sold to Joseph Loose of Maryland, then again to John D. Keedy, a Springfield distiller. Land south of Jamestown was purchased and a distillery was put up. Yet again, the properties were lost, first mortgaged to Jacob Bunn, then given as a claim settlement to Parley L. Howlett, another distiller. Jamestown was soon renamed Howlett, Shields had fallen from popularity, and a new flour mill and coal mine caused a short-lived boom. Despite their success, most of Howlett was sold to Jacob Bunn to pay off debt. Bunn started selling the lots to the residents, the only owner to do so. After a state requirement was passed preventing communities from being named after people, Howlett was rechristened as Riverton in the 1870s. In 1876, train robber Jesse James spent a night in Riverton while en route to a bank heist in Minnesota. Al Capone, also, reportedly, used Riverton as one of his hideouts.
Geography
Riverton is located at 39°50′54″N 89°32′25″W / 39.84833°N 89.54028°W (39.848305, -89.540166).[1]
According to the 2010 census, the village has a total area of 2.22 square miles (5.7 km2), of which 2.18 square miles (5.6 km2) (or 98.20%) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (or 1.80%) is water.[2]
Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 3,048 people, 1,236 households, and 845 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,497.4 people per square mile (576.9/km²). There were 1,311 housing units at an average density of 644.1 per square mile (248.1/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.92% White, 0.10% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.10% Asian, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.92% of the population.
There were 1,236 households out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the village the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $45,531, and the median income for a family was $49,150. Males had a median income of $35,278 versus $26,421 for females. The per capita income for the village was $20,678. About 6.3% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
- Justin Allgaier, driver with NASCAR; born in Riverton
- Mike Tisdale, center with the Philadelphia 76ers and DJK Würzburg (Germany); grew up in Riverton
References
- ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ↑ "2010 Census U.S. Gazetteer Files for Places – Illinois". United States Census. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
- ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
