Nashville, Illinois

Nashville
City
Washington County Courthouse
Location of Nashville in Washington County, Illinois
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 38°21′15″N89°22′37″W / 38.35417°N 89.37694°W / 38.35417; -89.37694 [1]
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Washington
Founded	June 8, 1830
Named for	Nashville, Tennessee
Government
• Mayor	Raymond Kolweier [2]
Area [3]
• Total	3.17 sq mi (8.20 km2)
• Land	3.08 sq mi (7.98 km2)
• Water	0.09 sq mi (0.23 km2)
Elevation [1]	472 ft (144 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,105
• Density	1,008.44/sq mi (389.32/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)	62263
Area code	618
FIPS code	17-51700
GNIS ID	2395154 [1]
Public Transit	South Central Transit
Wikimedia Commons	Nashville, Illinois

Nashville is a city in Washington County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 3,105. It is the county seat of Washington County. ^[4]

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Nashville has a total area of 2.809 square miles (7.28 km²), of which 2.72 square miles (7.04 km²) (or 96.83%) is land and 0.089 square miles (0.23 km²) (or 3.17%) is water. ^[5]

Nashville is located on Nashville Creek, at the headwaters of Little Crooked Creek, which flows northwest into the Kaskaskia River. Just to the southeast of Nashville is the headwaters of Beaucoup Creek, which flows south into the Big Muddy River. Nashville is thus situated next to the Kaskaskia/Big Muddy divide.

History

Nashville was originally called New Nashville, and under the latter name, was laid out in 1830. ^[6] The local post office was established as Nashville in 1831. ^[7] On June 28, 2020, Nashville was the site of a successful attempt at the world record for most pogo stick jumps with no hands. Caleb Klein set the record with 13,015 consecutive jumps. ^[8]

On July 16, 2024, approximately 200 residents were evacuated because the failure of the Nashville Dam was considered imminent after the region received 5 inches of rain in 6 hours. ^{[9] [10]}

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	872		—
1870	1,640		88.1%
1880	2,222		35.5%
1890	2,084		−6.2%
1900	2,184		4.8%
1910	2,135		−2.2%
1920	2,209		3.5%
1930	2,243		1.5%
1940	2,418		7.8%
1950	2,432		0.6%
1960	2,606		7.2%
1970	3,027		16.2%
1980	3,186		5.3%
1990	3,202		0.5%
2000	3,147		−1.7%
2010	3,258		3.5%
2020	3,105		−4.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [11]

As of the census ^[12] of 2000, there were 3,147 people, 1,324 households, and 884 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,173.9 inhabitants per square mile (453.2/km²). There were 1,421 housing units at an average density of 530.1 per square mile (204.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.73% White, 0.16% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.79% of the population.

There were 1,324 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,097, and the median income for a family was $51,875. Males had a median income of $34,020 versus $24,010 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,935. About 1.9% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Primary schools

• One public school - Nashville Grade School
• Two parochial schools - Trinity-St. John Lutheran School and St. Ann Catholic School

Secondary school

• One public high school - Nashville Community High School District 99

Major employers

A few manufacturing businesses have sites in Nashville. Nascote Industries is an automobile parts manufacturer that is part of Magna International; its Nashville plant was established in 1985 ^[13] and employs over 1000 people. ^{[14] [15] [16]} Grupo Antolin owns the other auto parts manufacturing plant in Nashville, employing 522 people as of 2018. ^[17] The second plant was originally established in 1987 as Ligma Corporation, a joint venture between Magna International and Lignotock G.m.b.H. of Germany. ^{[18] [14]} Norrenberns Truck Service, a trucking and warehouse outfit that was founded in 1925, ^[19] was acquired in 1981 as a one-truck operation, moved to Nashville a few years later, where it has since expanded to 130 trucks and a staff of 275 people in 2004. ^[14] Prior to Ligma and Nascote Industries, the town's biggest employer was National Mine Service Company (now part of the Marmon Group), ^[20] which shut down operations in Nashville in 1983 and put 240 people out of work. ^[14]

Media

Nashville is served by both WNSV, the only FM station in the county, and The Nashville News, a weekly newspaper.

Notable people

• G. R. Beckmeyer, Illinois state representative, businessman, and former mayor of Nashville
• Harry Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, born in Nashville in 1908
• William St. John Forman, former U.S. Representative and former mayor of Nashville
• Hugh Green, Illinois politician, born near Nashville
• Byron O. House, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, lived in Nashville
• Lloyd A. Karmeier, Illinois Supreme Court Justice, lives in Nashville and was a Circuit Court judge for the area
• Ralph L. Maxwell, Illinois Supreme Court Justice, born in Nashville
• Thomas B. Needles, Illinois politician
• Royce Newman, offensive lineman for the Green Bay Packers
• Kirk Rueter, former pitcher for the San Francisco Giants

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Nashville, Illinois
2. "Kolweier Rejoins City Council". nash-news.com. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
3. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
5. "G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
6. History of Washington County, Illinois: With Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Brink, McDonough. 1879. p. 43.
7. "Washington County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
8. "Nashville Senior On The Verge Of Breaking Pogo Stick World Record". The Nashville News. July 7, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
9. Salam, Erum (July 16, 2024). "Residents of Illinois town evacuate as officials warn of 'imminent' dam failure". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved July 16, 2024.
10. Alund, Natalie Neysa (July 16, 2024). "Residents evacuated in Nashville, Illinois after dam overtops and floods amid heavy rainfall". USA Today . Retrieved July 18, 2024.
11. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
12. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
13. "Nascote Industries, Inc. located in Nashville, Illinois". Automotive OEM. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
14. "Still going strong: Nashville is one small town that is thriving, despite pressures of big-time developments". The Southern Illinoisan . January 25, 2004. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
15. "Here are the companies that employ the most people in Southern Illinois". The Southern Illinoisan . January 9, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
16. "Washington County High Schools Visit Nascote Industries As Part Of Manufacturing Month". The Nashville News. November 28, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
17. "Grupo Antolin Vice Chair Visits Nashville Factory". The Nashville News. April 26, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
18. Davidson, Jean (November 13, 1987). "Southern Illinois Town Snares Second Auto Parts Plant". The Chicago Tribune . Retrieved August 16, 2018.
19. "Company Overview of Norrenberns Truck Service, Inc". Bloomberg . Retrieved August 16, 2018.
20. "Company Overview of National Mine Service Co. Inc". Bloomberg . Retrieved August 16, 2018.

External links

• Nashville, Illinois Chamber of Commerce
• "Nashville. A city and the county-seat of Washington County, Ill."  . New International Encyclopedia . 1905.