Jerseyville, Illinois

Jerseyville is located at 39°7′15″N 90°19′39″W (39.120789, -90.327545).[4]

According to the 2010 census, Jerseyville has a total area of 5.08 square miles (13.16 km²), all land.[5]

In 1827, James Faulkner, a Pennsylvania native, and his family built a small framed structure that was named the "Little Red House," in the area that is now known as Jerseyville. The "Little Red House" served as the first stagecoach station, first tavern, first school, and first bank in the immediate area. By 1834, the small settlement that grew up around Faulkner's home, then known as Hickory Grove by its residents, was surveyed and platted by two immigrants from New Jersey, John Lott and Edward M. Daly. Lott and Daly's involvement marked the beginning of a proportionally large number of merchants, businessmen and settlers from New Jersey. A meeting was called in that same year at the "Little Red House" to vote for a town name, so a post office could be established. The name of Jerseyville was chosen to honor the native state of many of its inhabitants.[7]

In 1839, Jersey County was formed out of Greene County and Jerseyville was named as its county seat. After the American Civil War ended, and the construction of the Alton & Chicago Railroad was completed, Jerseyville saw a period of commercial, industrial and urban growth. The first major period of growth in the city occurred from 1880 to 1916, and from that time to the present, Jerseyville's growth has since been steady and substantial. The majority of the commercial structures that are now located in the Downtown Historic District and Courthouse Square were built during this period . It was also during this time that the present Jersey County Courthouse was built. The two-story, 124-foot-tall (38 m) Romanesque Revival building was completed in 1893, and is considered to be one of the most aesthetic courthouses in the area. Other nearby Victorian style buildings in the city include Queen Anne, Edwardian and Italianate architectural features, with several of these buildings having been recently renovated.

From 1912 to 1918, Jerseyville was the terminus of an interurban electric passenger railroad from Alton which was the stub of a project by the Alton, Jacksonville and Peoria Railway for a line to Peoria.[8]

In recent decades, Jerseyville has been a testing ground in the agricultural biotechnology field. Monsanto owns and operates a facility located just south of the city, which in 1987, was the site of the world's very first biotechnology field trial – first with tomatoes and later that year with soybeans. The facility was also home to the first triple stacked corn trial in 1998, which later became a part of one of Monsanto's top-selling products. The facility was further expanded in 2008, and now consists of sixteen greenhouses and almost 300 acres (120 ha) of land for field testing.[9]

The Downtown Historic District is presently home to some antique stores and gift shops, some clothing and shoe stores, a pharmacy, public library, post office, and several local restaurants and banks. Most of the growth that has occurred since the early 1990s has been in the southern and southwestern portions of the city, where new residential subdivisions and retail shopping centers have been built, and where numerous land annexations have been made by the city.

Location of Jerseyville within Jersey County

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 7,984 people, 3,260 households, and 2,089 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,817.9 people per square mile (702.2/km²). There were 3,423 housing units at an average density of 779.4 per square mile (301.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.85% White, 0.09% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.

There were 3,260 households, out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35, and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,556, and the median income for a family was $46,832. Males had a median income of $37,312 versus $21,282 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,178. About 5.8% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Jerseyville uses a city commission form of government, consisting of four commissioners and one mayor. The city's current mayor is Billy Russell

Jerseyville has a number of public and private schools. Public schools are part of Jersey Community Unit School District 100.

Elementary schools

• East Elementary School (Grades 3 through 5)
• West Elementary School (Grades Pre-K through 2)
• Holy Ghost School (Grades Pre-K through 4)

Middle schools

• Jersey Community Middle School (Grades 5 through 7)
• St. Francis Xavier School (Grades 5 through 8)

High school

• Jersey Community High School (Grades 8th through 12th)

Both Holy Ghost and St. Francis Xavier Schools are private Roman Catholic schools.

Schools in Jerseyville had a total combined enrollment of 2,720 students.[11]

Nearby colleges and universities include Principia College, in Elsah, and Lewis and Clark Community College, in Godfrey.

• Kathie Conway, member of the Missouri House of Representatives
• Hugh W. Cross, (1896-1972) former Illinois Lieutenant Governor and member of the Illinois House of Representatives
• Russell E. Dunham, (1920-2009) World War II veteran and recipient of the Medal of Honor. He resided in Jerseyville.[12]

• Brent Hawkins, former football player for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL, and for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL
• Arthur Scott King, (1876–1957) noted physicist and astrophysicist
• Anthony L. Knapp, (1828–1881) US congressman and Illinois senator
• Robert M. Knapp, (1831–1889) US congressman and former mayor of Jerseyville
• Stan McGarvey, former NCAA Division II head football coach.
• Thomas J. Selby, (1840–1917) congressman and former mayor of Jerseyville
• Jim Watson, former member of the Illinois House of Representatives

Jerseyville was also a minor stopping point on the historic Underground Railroad before and during the Civil War. The "Little Red House" and a few other residences were utilized as stations for the Underground Railroad until the end of the Civil War, with some residences having false cellars that were used to hide slaves searching for freedom.

• Jersey Community Hospital
• Oak Grove Cemetery (Jerseyville, Illinois)

• Marshall M. Cooper, History of Jerseyville, Illinois, Brookhaven Press, 2001. ISBN 1-58103-942-5
• Robbi Courtaway, Spirits of St. Louis II: Further Hauntings in the Mound City, Virginia Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1-891442-18-X
• National Academy of Sciences Staff, Biographical Memoirs, National Academies Press, 1996. ISBN 0-309-05238-6

Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article "Jerseyville".

• City of Jerseyville