Golconda, Illinois

Golconda, Illinois
City
Pope County Courthouse
Location of Golconda in Pope County, Illinois
Coordinates: 37°21′50″N88°29′12″W / 37.36389°N 88.48667°W / 37.36389; -88.48667
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Pope
Area [1]
• Total	0.54 sq mi (1.41 km2)
• Land	0.51 sq mi (1.32 km2)
• Water	0.03 sq mi (0.09 km2)
Elevation [2]	430 ft (130 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	630
• Density	1,235.29/sq mi (477.19/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)	62938
Area code	618
FIPS code	17-30133
GNIS feature ID	2394922 [2]
Wikimedia Commons	Golconda, Illinois

Golconda is a city in and the county seat of Pope County, Illinois, United States, ^[3] located along the Ohio River. The population was 630 at the 2020 census. Most of the city is part of the Golconda Historic District.

History

The city is named after the Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Golconda was the first permanent settlement in Pope County in 1798, and a ferry point across the Ohio River that was sometimes called Lusk's Ferry was established around that time. The town was named Sarahsville upon the organization of Pope County in 1816, ^[4] but changed its name to Golconda on January 24, 1817, after the ancient city of Golkonda ^[5] in India. In 1840, the Buel House, a single-family home presently-owned by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, was built. ^[6] Among the many historic buildings built in the latter half of the 19th century is the First Presbyterian Church (built in 1869). It is the oldest continuous Presbyterian congregation in Illinois. The church was organized in 1819.

Trail of Tears

Some 13,000 Cherokees, led by Chief Bear Paw crossed the Ohio River at Golconda by ferry as part of the infamous "Trail of Tears" to Oklahoma. Because of the threat of disease, the Native Americans were not allowed to go into any towns or villages along the way; often this meant traveling much farther to go around them. After crossing Tennessee and Kentucky, they arrived at the Ohio River across from Golconda about the 3rd of December 1838. The starving Indians were charged a dollar a head (equal to $29 today) to cross the river on "Carpenter's Ferry", which typically charged twelve cents ($3 today). They were not allowed passage until the ferry had serviced all others wishing to cross and were forced to take shelter under "Mantle Rock", a bluff on the Kentucky side, until "Mr. Carpenter had nothing better to do". Many died huddled together at Mantle Rock waiting to cross. Several Cherokee were also murdered by locals. Many of the Cherokee were rescued and sheltered by the Carpenter family, one of the founding leaders of Golconda. The killers filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Government through the courthouse in Vienna, suing the government for $35 a head (equal to $1,000 today) to bury the murdered Cherokee. ^[7]

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Golconda has a total area of 0.503 square miles (1.30 km²), of which 0.49 square miles (1.27 km²) (or 97.42%) is land and 0.013 square miles (0.03 km²) (or 2.58%) is water. ^[8]

Demographics

Golconda City Hall

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	404		—
1870	858		112.4%
1880	1,000		16.6%
1890	1,174		17.4%
1900	1,140		−2.9%
1910	1,088		−4.6%
1920	1,242		14.2%
1930	1,184		−4.7%
1940	1,301		9.9%
1950	1,066		−18.1%
1960	864		−18.9%
1970	922		6.7%
1980	960		4.1%
1990	823		−14.3%
2000	726		−11.8%
2010	668		−8.0%
2020	630		−5.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [9]

As of the census ^[10] of 2000, there were 726 people, 330 households, and 163 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,287.0 inhabitants per square mile (496.9/km²). There were 418 housing units at an average density of 741.0 per square mile (286.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.45% White, 0.96% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.55% from other races, and 2.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.41% of the population.

There were 330 households, out of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.2% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.6% were non-families. 48.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 27.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.98 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out, with 20.4% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 29.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 77.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,000, and the median income for a family was $34,375. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $16,146 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,698. About 18.3% of families and 25.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.1% of those under age 18 and 18.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• James Lusk Alcorn, (1816–1894), senator and 28th governor of Mississippi
• John R. Hodge, (1893–1963), military governor of South Korea, commanding general of the U.S. Third Army
• Mason Ramsey, (born 2006), star of viral video, "Walmart Kid Singing", and country singer ^[11]
• Green B. Raum, (1829–1909), Union general during the Civil War, congressman, and head of the Internal Revenue Service
• James A. Rose, (1850–1912), Illinois Secretary of State

In Literature

In "Walking the Trail", a 1991 book by Jerry Ellis, the author describes his visit to Golconda during his 900-mile walk retracing of the Trail of Tears in reverse.

In the Movies

Tommy Lee Jones in "U.S. Marshalls" mentioned Golconda, among others, when telling Law Enforcement where to set up road blocks along the Ohio River.

See also

• List of cities and towns along the Ohio River
• Dixon Springs State Park
• Shawnee National Forest

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Golconda, Illinois
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. "Pope County Historical Reminiscences". genealogytrails.com. Illinois Genealogy Trails. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
5. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 139.
6. "Buel House". Illinois Historic Preservation Agency . Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
7. Bost, Mike; Tryon, Michael; Forby, Gary (November 30, 2006). "House Joint Resolution 142: Route 146 and the Trail of Tears". Springfield, Illinois: 94th Illinois General Assembly . Retrieved November 29, 2019.
8. "G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
9. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
10. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
11. "11-year-old 'yodeling boy' Mason Ramsey, of Golconda, gets record deal". The Southern Illinoisan. April 30, 2018.

External links

• http://www.visitgolconda.com/