Grafton (Illinois)
Jersey County
17-30653
Grafton is the oldest city in Jersey County in the western part of the U.S. state of Illinois at the mouth of the Illinois River with the Mississippi River. In 2000, Crafton had 609 inhabitants, an official estimate in 2008 showed a population of 725
Grafton is located at the confluence of the Illinois River and the Mississippi River, which forms the border to Missouri. Grafton is located in the Metro - East called the eastern part of the metropolitan area of Greater St. Louis the city of St. Louis in neighboring Missouri.
Geography
Altoona is located at 38 ° 58'16 " north latitude and 90 ° 26'16 " west longitude. The city covers an area of 10.6 km ², which consists exclusively of land area.
Grafton is located at the confluence of the Illinois River and Mississippi River. Through the village leads the Illinois State Route 100, opens into the city center, the Illinois State Route 3. Not far from this intersection is the ferry to Missouri.
Until St. Louis there are 57 km to the southeast. About Illinois ' 156 km distant capital of Springfield, there are 477 km to the northeast to Chicago. To the east, there are 471 kilometers to Louisville in Kentucky, in Tennessee's capital Nashville, there are 547 km to the southeast, Memphis (Tennessee ) is located 527 km to the south. After Kansas City is 429 km to the west and 331 north.
History
Founded in 1832 by James Mason Grafton is the oldest city in Jersey County. The environment, which is described in 1834 as follows: " ... a post office, a general store, a tavern and a few families ...", was first settled in 1812 as a small fortified post at the mouth of the Illinois River built been.
The population of the town grew, reaching around 1850 almost the figure of 10,000. Many people have found work in the quarries, the boatyards and fishing. Limestone from Grafton was necessary for the construction of the Eads Bridge in St. Louis, the railway bridge in Hannibal (Missouri ) and a bridge in Quincy (Illinois ) was used. Today's Shafer 's Wharf Historic District was in 1800 one of the centers of fishing on the Mississippi River. In the old boat yards south of Main Street, where there used to be along the Mississippi River shops for all kinds of marine equipment, today craft and antique shops are located.
The flood of 1993 destroyed a large part of the city, leaving about one-third of the residents left the city. The effects of the flood can still be seen today. The population, which was before the flood of over 1,000, could still be achieved again today.
Attractions of Grafton
Grafton's most important industry is tourism today. In the vicinity of Grafton nest many bald eagles, and thus the city is because of the particular importance of these birds attracts observers. Grafton is therefore also called "The Winter Home of the Bald Eagle " ( German: The winter headquarters of the bald eagle ) called.
The Main Street with its restaurants, antique shops, craft shops, wine merchants, and many other attractions make Crafton into a tourist center. By Grafton also leads the Sam Vadalabene Bike Trail for bicycle tourists.
In the summer months the water plays a major role on both rivers. About 8 km west of the town is the Pere Marquette State Park, the largest and most popular State Park in Illinois.
Demographic data
In the census of 2000 a population of 609 was determined. These were distributed to 265 households in 174 families. The population density was 57.9 / km ². There were 293 buildings, which corresponds to a site density of 27.9 / km ².
The population was in 2000 from 90.01 % White, 0.16 % African American and 0.16 % Native Americans. 0.66 % said to be descended from at least two of these groups. 0.99 % of the population were Hispanics who belonged to the various of the aforementioned groups.
20.0 % were under the age of 18, 8.4 % from 18 to 24, 23.3% 25-44, 31.2% from 45 to 64 and 17.1 % 65 and older. The average age was 44 years. For every 100 females were statistically 93.3 men in the over 18 -year-olds 99.6.
The average income per household was $ 34,707, the average family income is $ 44,250. Men's income averaged $ 35,000, and for women about $ 22,250. The per capita income amounted to $ 21,989. Around 9.4 % of families and 14.0 % of the total population were below the poverty line income.