This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kristen Eriksen (talk | contribs) at 00:02, 27 January 2009 (Reverted edits by 70.105.109.132 (talk) to last version by ArthurBot). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 00:02, 27 January 2009 by Kristen Eriksen (talk | contribs) (Reverted edits by 70.105.109.132 (talk) to last version by ArthurBot)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Template:Geobox Chester is a city located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River Valley in Randolph County, Illinois. The population was 8,400 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randolph CountyTemplate:GR and is located 63 miles (101 km) south of St. Louis, Missouri.
Home of "Popeye"
Chester is the "Home of Popeye", where a six-foot, 900 lb. bronze statue of Popeye stands in the Elzie C. Segar Memorial Park, which also honors Popeye's creator, Elzie Segar. The park is located next to the Chester Bridge. Several of Mr. Segar's characters were created from experiences with people of Chester. Chester's big event is its annual Popeye Picnic and parade, held the weekend after Labor Day. Popeye fans travel from all over the United States to partake in the weekend activities.
Parks and historic sites
The Chester area includes a number of state parks and historic sites. The Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site has a beautiful overlook of the Mississippi River. Across the river from the fort is Kaskaskia Island, the only part of Illinois west of the Mississippi River. The island was the site of the first state capital of Illinois. A historic church founded by French explorer Pere Jacques Marquette still holds weekly mass on the island. Five miles northeast of Chester is the Randolph County State Recreation Area, which has a 65-acre (260,000 m) lake for fishing as well as hiking and equestrian trails. South of Chester is the Turkey Bluffs State Fish and Wildlife Area, which has many scenic overlooks and trails to spot its namesake turkeys. Part of the Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge, a division of the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge Complex, is located along the Mississippi River at Chester.
Media
Chester's newspaper is the Randolph County Herald Tribune and the radio station is KSGM 980AM.
Chester is centered around the intersection of Illinois Route 3 (Great River Road) and Illinois Route 150.
The city was the filming location of scenes from the 1967 movie In the Heat of the Night, the 1993 movie The Fugitive, the 1994 film documentary Hoop Dreams and the 2000 film Poor White Trash.
Geography
Chester is located at 37°54′50″N 89°49′23″W / 37.91389°N 89.82306°W / 37.91389; -89.82306Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (37.913947, -89.823140).Template:GR
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15.3 km²), of which, 5.9 square miles (15.3 km²) of it is land and 0.17% is water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 8,400 people, 2,018 households, and 1,283 families residing in the city. The population density was 879.9 people per square mile (339.9/km²). There were 2,229 housing units at an average density of 378.3/sq mi (146.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.87% White, 3.59% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 2,018 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.0% 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 city, the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,079, and the median income for a family was $49,426. Males had a median income of $36,103 versus $22,239 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,190. About 5.4% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public
The city is served by Chester High School and Chester Grade School.
Private
St. John's Lutheran School and St. Mary's School are religious schools.
Notes and references
- "Welcome to Chester". City of Chester website. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- "Titles with locations including Chester, Illinois, USA". IMDB.com. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
External links
| Municipalities and communities of Randolph County, Illinois, United States | ||
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| County seat: Chester | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||