West City, Illinois
Encyclopedia
West City is a village
in Franklin County
, Illinois
, adjacent to the county seat
of Benton, Illinois
. The population was 661 at the 2010 census.
on the west. In the early 20th century many immigrants from Poland
, Lithuania
and England settled in the West City area to work in the numerous coal mines.
On March 29, 1911, 33 citizens led by John Mulkey and represented by their attorney Robert Hickman, presented a petition to Judge Thomas J. Layman of the Franklin County Court to incorporate West City as a village. At that time there were 350 inhabitants. An election was held on April 15, 1911 and six Trustees were elected. They were Ed McIntire, J. J. Sanders, L. I. Tombly, Ben Fletcher, Marshall Moore, and Jack Adams. On June 1, 1911, Judge Layman declared West City to be duly and legally organized under the general laws of the State of Illinois as the Village of West City.
When Congress passed the Volstead Act
establishing national prohibition in 1919, West City became notorious for bootlegging and gambling. The Birger and Shelton Brothers gangs vied for control of illegal activities in the area. In April 1923, 34-year-old Joseph A. Adams, a huge man of nearly 300 pounds and a roadhouse operator, was elected mayor of West City. Leslie Reed was elected City Clerk. John Lairsey served as Treasurer and R. E. Neunlist was Village Attorney. The six elected Trustees were Bruce Panchard, C. C. Gant, George Clinton, H. E. Stewart, W.R. Rogers, and R. N. Long.
Mayor Adams aligned himself with the Shelton Brothers Gang
and thus became the bitter enemy of Charlie Birger and his men. On December 12, 1926, two of Birger's men knocked on Adams' door and told his wife they had a message for him. When Adams came to the door, they shot him in front of his wife Beulah and young daughter Arian. Sheriff Jim Pritchard gathered evidence and arrested Birger for the murder of Mayor Joe Adams.
Charlie Birger was tried in Benton and found guilty of ordering the killing, a charge he steadfastly denied. Birger was hanged in Benton on April 19, 1928, at 9:48 a.m., in the last public hanging in Illinois. A replica of the gallows was built in the 1990s by Birchard Wampler and his late son Birchard Neil Wampler. It stands today next to the old Franklin County Jail (now a museum).
After the sensational downfall of the Birger gang and the repeal of the Volstead Act in 1933, West City earned much of its income from legitimate taverns and nightclubs. During the 40's and 50's this proved to be a very lucrative business.
Despite West City's notorious reputation during the 20's, churches were established by the residents. Prospect, later called First Baptist, was the only organized church in the corporate limits of West City until 1921. Later Trinity Baptist and Harmony Freewill Baptist were established. Trinity Baptist is no longer in existence.
At one time there were three schools in West City limits: Old Jordon, Washington School and New Jordon School, located on South Central Street across from the present West City Village Hall.
On December 21, 1951, West City and all of Franklin County mourned 119 coal miners, who were killed in an underground explosion at C.W. & F. Orient #2 coal mine in West Frankfort. Every village, town and city in Franklin County was affected by the tragedy. The loss was devastating.
In 1963, Interstate 57 split the Village of West City down the middle from North to South. Preliminary work of buying homes and clearing the right of way began for the construction of Interstate 57 from Chicago
to Cairo
. Actual highway construction began in 1964, and its completion took nearly 10 years.
With the advent of I-57, Rend Lake Plaza was initiated in 1978. Wal-Mart and Big John's Supermarket were completed and in operation 1979. Many restaurants and various businesses soon followed, along with two big-city stoplights.
In 1978 a new Village Hall was built and West City expanded their police department, street and water department and the volunteer fire department.
The Mayor (President of the board) of West City is Charles Cockrum, who was elected to a full term in April 2009 after serving a brief term as the acting mayor. The board of trustees consists of Dale Watkins, Ron House, Linda Sullivan, Darren Romani, Curtis Baldwin, and Max Summers.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the village has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 716 people, 305 households, and 193 families residing in the village. The population density
was 443.7 people per square mile (171.7/km²). There were 330 housing units at an average density of 204.5 per square mile (79.1/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.21% White, 0.56% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.14% Asian, and 1.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.
There were 305 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples
living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the village the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $21,250, and the median income for a family was $28,155. Males had a median income of $21,000 versus $18,333 for females. The per capita income
for the village was $12,328. About 18.5% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.9% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in Franklin County
Franklin County, Illinois
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 39,561, which is an increase of 1.4% from 39,018 in 2000. Its county seat is Benton.-History:...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, adjacent to the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Benton, Illinois
Benton, Illinois
Benton is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,087 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area.- History :...
. The population was 661 at the 2010 census.
History
In the late 19th century, West City was a small settlement adjoining BentonBenton
-United States:*Benton, Alabama*Benton, Arkansas*Benton, California*Benton, Illinois*Benton, Indiana*Benton, Iowa*Benton, Kansas*Benton, Kentucky*Benton, Louisiana*Benton, Maine*Benton, Missouri*Benton, New Hampshire*Benton, New York...
on the west. In the early 20th century many immigrants from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and England settled in the West City area to work in the numerous coal mines.
On March 29, 1911, 33 citizens led by John Mulkey and represented by their attorney Robert Hickman, presented a petition to Judge Thomas J. Layman of the Franklin County Court to incorporate West City as a village. At that time there were 350 inhabitants. An election was held on April 15, 1911 and six Trustees were elected. They were Ed McIntire, J. J. Sanders, L. I. Tombly, Ben Fletcher, Marshall Moore, and Jack Adams. On June 1, 1911, Judge Layman declared West City to be duly and legally organized under the general laws of the State of Illinois as the Village of West City.
When Congress passed the Volstead Act
Volstead Act
The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was the enabling legislation for the Eighteenth Amendment which established prohibition in the United States...
establishing national prohibition in 1919, West City became notorious for bootlegging and gambling. The Birger and Shelton Brothers gangs vied for control of illegal activities in the area. In April 1923, 34-year-old Joseph A. Adams, a huge man of nearly 300 pounds and a roadhouse operator, was elected mayor of West City. Leslie Reed was elected City Clerk. John Lairsey served as Treasurer and R. E. Neunlist was Village Attorney. The six elected Trustees were Bruce Panchard, C. C. Gant, George Clinton, H. E. Stewart, W.R. Rogers, and R. N. Long.
Mayor Adams aligned himself with the Shelton Brothers Gang
Shelton Brothers Gang
The Shelton Brothers Gang was an early Prohibition era bootlegging gang based in southern Illinois. They were the main rivals of the famous bootlegger Charles Birger. In 1950 the Saturday Evening Post described the Sheltons as "America's Bloodiest Gang"....
and thus became the bitter enemy of Charlie Birger and his men. On December 12, 1926, two of Birger's men knocked on Adams' door and told his wife they had a message for him. When Adams came to the door, they shot him in front of his wife Beulah and young daughter Arian. Sheriff Jim Pritchard gathered evidence and arrested Birger for the murder of Mayor Joe Adams.
Charlie Birger was tried in Benton and found guilty of ordering the killing, a charge he steadfastly denied. Birger was hanged in Benton on April 19, 1928, at 9:48 a.m., in the last public hanging in Illinois. A replica of the gallows was built in the 1990s by Birchard Wampler and his late son Birchard Neil Wampler. It stands today next to the old Franklin County Jail (now a museum).
After the sensational downfall of the Birger gang and the repeal of the Volstead Act in 1933, West City earned much of its income from legitimate taverns and nightclubs. During the 40's and 50's this proved to be a very lucrative business.
Despite West City's notorious reputation during the 20's, churches were established by the residents. Prospect, later called First Baptist, was the only organized church in the corporate limits of West City until 1921. Later Trinity Baptist and Harmony Freewill Baptist were established. Trinity Baptist is no longer in existence.
At one time there were three schools in West City limits: Old Jordon, Washington School and New Jordon School, located on South Central Street across from the present West City Village Hall.
On December 21, 1951, West City and all of Franklin County mourned 119 coal miners, who were killed in an underground explosion at C.W. & F. Orient #2 coal mine in West Frankfort. Every village, town and city in Franklin County was affected by the tragedy. The loss was devastating.
In 1963, Interstate 57 split the Village of West City down the middle from North to South. Preliminary work of buying homes and clearing the right of way began for the construction of Interstate 57 from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. Actual highway construction began in 1964, and its completion took nearly 10 years.
With the advent of I-57, Rend Lake Plaza was initiated in 1978. Wal-Mart and Big John's Supermarket were completed and in operation 1979. Many restaurants and various businesses soon followed, along with two big-city stoplights.
In 1978 a new Village Hall was built and West City expanded their police department, street and water department and the volunteer fire department.
The Mayor (President of the board) of West City is Charles Cockrum, who was elected to a full term in April 2009 after serving a brief term as the acting mayor. The board of trustees consists of Dale Watkins, Ron House, Linda Sullivan, Darren Romani, Curtis Baldwin, and Max Summers.
Geography
West City is located at 37°59′40"N 88°56′30"W (37.994564, -88.941639).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the village has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 716 people, 305 households, and 193 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 443.7 people per square mile (171.7/km²). There were 330 housing units at an average density of 204.5 per square mile (79.1/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.21% White, 0.56% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.14% Asian, and 1.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.
There were 305 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the village the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $21,250, and the median income for a family was $28,155. Males had a median income of $21,000 versus $18,333 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the village was $12,328. About 18.5% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.9% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.