Sauget, Illinois
| Sauget | |
| Village | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | St. Clair |
| Coordinates | 38°35′13″N 90°10′0″W / 38.58694°N 90.16667°W |
| Area | 4.59 sq mi (12 km2) |
| - land | 4.23 sq mi (11 km2) |
| - water | 0.36 sq mi (1 km2) |
| Population | 249 (2000) |
| Density | 60.3 / sq mi (23 / km2) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 62201 / 62206 |
| Area code | 618 |
   Location of Sauget within Illinois
| |
| Wikimedia Commons: Sauget, Illinois | |
Sauget (/sɔːˈʒeɪ/ saw-ZHAY) is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. It is part of Greater St. Louis. The population was 249 at the 2000 census.
Geography
Sauget is located at 38°35′13″N 90°10′0″W / 38.58694°N 90.16667°W (38.587013, -90.166690).[1]
According to the 2010 census, the village has a total area of 4.59 square miles (11.9 km2), of which 4.23 square miles (11.0 km2) (or 92.16%) is land and 0.36 square miles (0.93 km2) (or 7.84%) is water.[2]
Sauget is located in the American Bottom, the floodplain of the Mississippi River opposite St. Louis, Missouri.
History
Sauget was incorporated as "Monsanto" in 1926. It was formed to provide a liberal regulatory environment and low taxes for the Monsanto chemical plants at a time when local jurisdictions had most of the responsibility for environmental rules. It was renamed in honor of Leo Sauget, its first Village President.[3]
Although the Village of Sauget has but a tiny population, it has a lot of industry. The Village is controlled by these industries. The Village was incorporated in part in response to the failure of government in adjacent East St. Louis, Illinois to deliver essential services, and in part to take advantage of federal grant funding programs available only to governmental units, as opposed to private industry.
The Village of Sauget operates the American Bottoms Treatment Plant, a very large sewage treatment plant that serves much of the Illinois side of the St. Louis metropolitan area. In addition, the Village operates a municipal physical/chemical treatment plant that receives industrial wastewater from its factories. This has been cited as one of only three municipal treatment plants of this type in the United States.
The Monsanto Plant in Sauget was the nation's largest producer of PCBs, and United States Environmental Protection Agency has designated the plant site along Dead Creek as a superfund site.[3]
The Monsanto plant in Sauget was also home to a serious accident in January 1992 when worker Charles Pritchett was critically hurt. Pritchett was caught in an auger used for moving small materials and shredding rubber. He was stuck in the auger for five hours while officials attempted to extract him. Pritchett was in a coma for three months and pronounced dead twice. Pritchett's leg was eventually amputated due to infection and the severity of the mutilation. Judge C. Glenn Stevens awarded the man $16,000,000 in 1993 to compensate him. To satisfy the judgment, the Midwest Rubber Reclaiming plant and equipment owned by the Monsanto Corporation was sold at auction in August 1993. The site has since been leveled with no future prospects for development.
The Village of Sauget also has a very tolerant attitude toward small business. Many strip clubs exist in this zone of free enterprise, with many St. Louis locals referring to the area as the "Sauget Ballet" due to the high number of such facilities.[3]
Other businesses include a "hockey puck" (chemical pucks found in stand-up toilets) factory as well as several ethanol production facilities, and a large 24-hour convenience/liquor/lottery outlet.
Sauget has its own 16-member fire department and 16-member police department; this is despite having a population below 250 people. There is roughly one officer and firefighter for every 15 residents in Sauget.[4]
Sauget is also home to minor league baseball: the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League, which are controlled by the Sauget family.[3]
Demographics
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 249 people, 101 households, and 61 families residing in the village. The population density was 60.3 people per square mile (23.3/km²). There were 115 housing units at an average density of 27.8 per square mile (10.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 70.28% White, 27.71% African American, 1.20% Asian, 0.40% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.[6]
There were 101 households, out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 21.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% 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 3.05.
In the village, the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $35,833, and the median income for a family was $41,875. Males had a median income of $40,833 versus $25,714 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,330. About 20.0% of families and 17.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.6% of those under the age of eighteen and 11.1% of those sixty five or over.
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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Yes, in My Backyard: Tiny Sauget, Illinois Likes Business Misfits," Wall Street Journal, Oct. 3, 2006 p. A1
- ↑ http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06276/727066-28.stm
- ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ Census factsheet
External links
- National Priorities List, Sauget Area 1
- Virtual Tour, Sauget
- Big River Zinc, Sauget
- Center Ethanol, Sauget
- Pop's Nightclub
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