Fairfield, Illinois

For the community in DeKalb County, IL, see Fairdale, Illinois.

For other uses, see Fairfield.

Fairfield
City
Wayne County Courthouse
Motto:  "Home of the Friendly People"
Location of Fairfield in Wayne County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 38°22′47″N88°22′20″W / 38.37972°N 88.37222°W / 38.37972; -88.37222 [1]
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Wayne
Government
• Mayor	Gary Moore
Area [2]
• Total	4.06 sq mi (10.52 km2)
• Land	4.03 sq mi (10.43 km2)
• Water	0.03 sq mi (0.09 km2)
Elevation [1]	459 ft (140 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	4,883
• Density	1,212.26/sq mi (468.02/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code(s)	62837
Area code	618
FIPS code	17-24816
GNIS feature ID	2394732 [1]
Website	www.fairfield-il.com

Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Wayne County, Illinois, United States, ^[3] and the location of Frontier Community College. The population was 4,883 at the 2020 census.

History

Fairfield is most famous for being the hometown of the "friendly" people, and for the Shelton Brothers Gang, notorious bootleggers who fought it out with the Harrisburg, Illinois-based Birger Gang to control criminal activities in Southern Illinois. During the first half of the 20th century, gang leaders Carl, Earl and Bernie Shelton made Fairfield a household name. Based on testimony of Charlie Birger himself, the Shelton Brothers were convicted for a 1925 unsolved mail carrier robbery of $15,000 and were sentenced to 25 years. They were released a few years later. Birger dominated bootlegging in Southern Illinois until he himself was hanged in Benton for the murder of West City Mayor Joe Adams in 1928. After serving their time, the Shelton brothers built a new criminal empire. Based in East St Louis, one of the most prosperous cities of its day, they controlled all vice from Peoria and southward.

They met their demise at the hands of the Chicago mob and an insider Charles "Blackie" Harris. A land dispute led to Blackie joining forces with the Mob to kill off members of the Shelton gang. His most notable victim was Carl Shelton, the leader. He was ambushed several miles southeast of Fairfield, shot from his Jeep. Bernie was killed at his Peoria roadhouse. Earl moved to Jacksonville, Florida and became a successful land speculator.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Fairfield has a total area of 4.054 square miles (10.50 km²), of which 4.02 square miles (10.41 km²) (or 99.16%) is land and 0.034 square miles (0.09 km²) (or 0.84%) is water. ^[4]

Climate

Climate data for Fairfield, Illinois (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1896–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	77 (25)	78 (26)	91 (33)	91 (33)	98 (37)	108 (42)	113 (45)	108 (42)	105 (41)	96 (36)	86 (30)	74 (23)	113 (45)
Average high °F (°C)	41.1 (5.1)	46.5 (8.1)	57.0 (13.9)	69.0 (20.6)	78.1 (25.6)	86.9 (30.5)	89.6 (32.0)	88.8 (31.6)	82.6 (28.1)	70.5 (21.4)	56.1 (13.4)	45.0 (7.2)	67.6 (19.8)
Daily mean °F (°C)	32.8 (0.4)	37.2 (2.9)	46.6 (8.1)	57.7 (14.3)	67.0 (19.4)	75.6 (24.2)	78.7 (25.9)	77.2 (25.1)	70.2 (21.2)	58.8 (14.9)	46.2 (7.9)	36.9 (2.7)	57.1 (13.9)
Average low °F (°C)	24.5 (−4.2)	27.9 (−2.3)	36.3 (2.4)	46.5 (8.1)	55.9 (13.3)	64.3 (17.9)	67.8 (19.9)	65.6 (18.7)	57.9 (14.4)	47.0 (8.3)	36.3 (2.4)	28.8 (−1.8)	46.6 (8.1)
Record low °F (°C)	−23 (−31)	−21 (−29)	−8 (−22)	17 (−8)	29 (−2)	39 (4)	45 (7)	43 (6)	25 (−4)	19 (−7)	−3 (−19)	−18 (−28)	−23 (−31)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	3.33 (85)	2.68 (68)	4.22 (107)	5.00 (127)	4.98 (126)	4.70 (119)	3.83 (97)	3.51 (89)	2.90 (74)	3.73 (95)	3.82 (97)	3.30 (84)	46.00 (1,168)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	9.2	8.4	10.7	11.2	12.2	10.1	8.5	7.4	6.6	8.1	9.2	9.7	111.3
Source: NOAA [5] [6]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	195		—
1860	508		160.5%
1870	719		41.5%
1880	1,391		93.5%
1890	1,881		35.2%
1900	2,338		24.3%
1910	2,479		6.0%
1920	2,754		11.1%
1930	3,280		19.1%
1940	4,008		22.2%
1950	5,576		39.1%
1960	6,362		14.1%
1970	5,897		−7.3%
1980	5,944		0.8%
1990	5,439		−8.5%
2000	5,421		−0.3%
2010	5,154		−4.9%
2020	4,883		−5.3%
U.S. Decennial Census [7]

As of the census ^[8] of 2000, there were 5,421 people, 2,495 households, and 1,494 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,499.0 inhabitants per square mile (578.8/km²). There were 2,727 housing units at an average density of 754.0 per square mile (291.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.40% White, 0.09% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.06% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.

There were 2,495 households, out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.74.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.5% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 24.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,797, and the median income for a family was $36,278. Males had a median income of $28,866 versus $19,985 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,791. About 8.5% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

• Center Street School
• North Side School
• Fairfield Community High School ^[9]
• Frontier Community College

Notable people

• Ben C. Blades, Illinois state legislator ^[10]
• Carroll C. Boggs, Illinois Supreme Court justice
• William Borah, Senator known as the "Lion of Idaho"
• H. S. Burgess, Illinois state legislator and lawyer; served as mayor of Fairfield ^[11]
• Charles W. Creighton, Illinois state representative and lawyer. ^[12]
• Thomas H. Creighton, Illinois state representative and lawyer ^[13]
• Kenneth Michael Kays, recipient of the Medal of Honor for heroism ^[14] during the Vietnam War
• Drue Pearce, Alaska state legislator ^[15]
• Clyde W. Robbins, farmer and Illinois state representative ^[16]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fairfield, Illinois}
2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. "G001 – Geographic Identifiers – 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
5. "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
6. "Station: Fairfield Radio WFIW, IL". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
7. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
8. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
9. "Schools". City of Fairfield, Illinois. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
10. 'Illinois Blue Book 1973–1974.' Biographical Sketch of Ben C. Blades, pg. 175
11. 'Illinois Blue Book 1941-1941,' Biographical Sketch of H. S. Burgess, pg. 242–243
12. 'Illinois Blue Book 1943–1944,' Biographical Sketch of Charles W. Creighton, pg. 456–457
13. 'Official Souvenir of the Illinois State Legislature of 1893,' J. L. Pickering-editor, Illinois State Journal Press, Springfield, Illinois: 1893, Biographical Sketch of Thomas H. Creighton, pg. 52
14. "Medal of Honor: Kenneth Kays". Archived from the original on November 27, 2009. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
15. Alaska Legislator-Drue Pearce
16. 'Illinois Blue Book 1981–1982,' Biographical Sketch of Clyde W. Robbins, pg. 177

External links

• City of Fairfield official website
• Fairfield Current
• Greater Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce
• Fairfield-Wayne Co. Area Development Commission
• WFIW Radio
• Fairfield Community High School