Pocahontas, Illinois

Pocahontas, Illinois
Village
Location of Pocahontas in Bond County and Illinois
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 38°49′24″N89°32′22″W / 38.82333°N 89.53944°W / 38.82333; -89.53944 [1]
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Bond
Government
• Village president	Karen Heilig [2]
Area [3]
• Total	0.80 sq mi (2.08 km2)
• Land	0.78 sq mi (2.03 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.06 km2)
Elevation [1]	528 ft (161 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	697
• Density	890.17/sq mi (343.60/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)	62275
Area code	618
FIPS code	17-60872
GNIS feature ID	2398991 [1]
Wikimedia Commons	Pocahontas, Illinois

Pocahontas is a village in Bond County, Illinois, United States. The population was 697 at the 2020 census.

History

Pocahontas was originally known as Hickory Grove and then Amity. In 1850, the name was changed to Pocohontas (with an "o"). In 1855, the current spelling with an "a" came into place. Pocahontas was incorporated as a village in 1847. ^[4] The town was named after Pocahontas Coal.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Pocahontas has a total area of 0.80 square miles (2.07 km²), of which 0.78 square miles (2.02 km²) (or 97.39%) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km²) (or 2.61%) is water. ^[5]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	369		—
1890	372		0.8%
1900	482		29.6%
1910	749		55.4%
1920	830		10.8%
1930	976		17.6%
1940	750		−23.2%
1950	667		−11.1%
1960	718		7.6%
1970	764		6.4%
1980	866		13.4%
1990	837		−3.3%
2000	727		−13.1%
2010	784		7.8%
2020	697		−11.1%
U.S. Decennial Census [6]

As of the 2020 census ^[7] there were 697 people, 321 households, and 207 families residing in the village. The population density was 866.92 inhabitants per square mile (334.72/km²). There were 323 housing units at an average density of 401.74 per square mile (155.11/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 94.55% White, 0.43% African American, 0.29% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, and 4.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.86% of the population.

There were 321 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.96% were married couples living together, 7.17% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.51% were non-families. 26.17% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.84% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 2.48.

The village's age distribution consisted of 20.1% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 31.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $51,375, and the median income for a family was $62,188. Males had a median income of $44,375 versus $26,364 for females. The per capita income for the village was $23,914. About 10.6% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Michael Slape, member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 110th district from 1979-1985. He resided in Pocahontas during his political career. ^[8]
• Gretchen Wilson, Grammy Award-winning country singer; born and raised in Pocahontas; she references the town in the song "Pocahontas Proud" from her 2004 album Here for the Party .

See also

• Greenville, Illinois
• Vandalia, Illinois

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pocahontas, Illinois
2. "Elected Officials – Bond County, Illinois" . Retrieved July 1, 2022.
3. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
4. Allan H. Keith, Historical Stories: About Greenville and Bond County, IL. Consulted on August 15, 2007.
5. Bureau, US Census. "Gazetteer Files". Census.gov. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
6. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
7. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
8. Gherandini, Caroline (ed.). "The House: District issues and loss of fed funds". Illinois Issues. 8 (8). Sangamon State University: 35. ISSN   0738-9663.