Ridgway, Illinois facts for kids

Ridgway, Illinois
Village
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Gallatin
Coordinates	37°47′53″N 88°15′38″W
Area	0.91 sq mi (2 km²)
- land	0.91 sq mi (2 km²)
- water	0.00 sq mi (0 km²)
Population	869 (2010)
Density	954.9 /sq mi (369 /km²)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	62979
Area code	618
Location of Ridgway within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Ridgway, Illinois

Ridgway is a village in Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 869.

Geography

Ridgway is located in southern Illinois at 37°47′53″N 88°15′38″W (37.798036, -88.260571), north of Shawnee National Forest. It is in north-central Gallatin County, 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Shawneetown, the county seat.

According to the 2010 census, Ridgway has a total area of 0.911 square miles (2.36 km²), of which 0.91 square miles (2.36 km²) (or 99.89%) is land and 0.001 square miles (0.00 km²) (or 0.11%) is water.

History

During its Illinoian stage (300,000—130,000 years ago), Ridgway was covered by the Laurentide ice sheet.

Ridgway, once home to a popcorn plant, is the former self-proclaimed "Popcorn Capital of the World". Popcorn Day continues as part of the Gallatin County Fair and is held the second Saturday in September.

February 2012 tornadoes killed seven in the nearby Harrisburg area and destroyed St. Joseph's Catholic Church. The church has been rebuilt under the name St Kateri.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	174		—
1890	523		200.6%
1900	839		60.4%
1910	1,054		25.6%
1920	1,102		4.6%
1930	930		−15.6%
1940	1,167		25.5%
1950	1,148		−1.6%
1960	1,055		−8.1%
1970	1,160		10.0%
1980	1,245		7.3%
1990	1,103		−11.4%
2000	928		−15.9%
2010	869		−6.4%
Est. 2015	816		−6.1%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 928 people, 441 households, and 271 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,030.6 people per square mile (398.1/km²). There were 490 housing units at an average density of 544.2 per square mile (210.2/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.35% White, 0.32% Native American, 0.22% African American, and 0.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.

There were 441 households out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.72.

In the village, the population was spread out with 18.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $27,670, and the median income for a family was $36,786. Males had a median income of $31,944 versus $19,500 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,959. About 12.9% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.1% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.

• 1887. History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties, Illinois. Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Co.
• Lawler, Lucille. 1968. Gallatin County: Gateway to Illinois. Privately published. 153 pages.
• Lawler, Lucille. 1971. Ridgway, Our Town. Privately published. 43 pages.
• Musgrave, Jon, ed. 2002. Handbook of Old Gallatin County and Southeastern Illinois. Marion, Ill.: IllinoisHistory.com. 464 pages.