Prairie City, Illinois

Prairie City
Village
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	McDonough
Coordinates	40°37′15″N 90°27′49″W / 40.62083°N 90.46361°WCoordinates: 40°37′15″N 90°27′49″W / 40.62083°N 90.46361°W
Area	1.02 sq mi (3 km^2)
- land	1.02 sq mi (3 km^2)
- water	0.00 sq mi (0 km^2)
Population	461 (2000)
Density	455.2/sq mi (176/km^2)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	61470
Area code	309
Location of Prairie City within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Prairie City, Illinois

Prairie City is a village in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 461 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Prairie City is located at 40°37′15″N 90°27′49″W / 40.62083°N 90.46361°W (40.620740, -90.463582).^[1]

According to the 2010 census, Prairie City has a total area of 1.02 square miles (2.64 km²), all land.^[2]

State Highway 41 passes through Prairie City.

The Decker Press

From 1937-1950, Prairie City was home to The Decker Press, which in the mid-1940s was the largest publishing house in America devoted exclusively to putting out poetry. The business was not financially successful and its founder, Prairie City native James A. Decker, sold it to a local lumber dealer, Harry M. Denman, who in turn sold it several months later to Ervin Tax, a poet from Chicago. Decker left town, but his wife, Dorothy, remained.

Tax tried to make the business more efficient and profitable -- buying new presses and binding equipment and hiring an artist, sales promoter and other employees. But The Decker Press came to a tragic end in May 1950 when Dorothy, who had fallen in love with Tax in a one-side relationship, shot Tax in the head with a rifle and then killed herself.^[3]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	770		—
1870	1,078		40.0%
1880	944		−12.4%
1890	812		−14.0%
1900	818		0.7%
1910	719		−12.1%
1920	638		−11.3%
1930	531		−16.8%
1940	574		8.1%
1950	500		−12.9%
1960	613		22.6%
1970	630		2.8%
1980	580		−7.9%
1990	497		−14.3%
2000	461		−7.2%
2010	379		−17.8%
Est. 2015	367	[4]	−3.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]

Per the 2010 US Census, Prairie City had 379 people. Among non-Hispanics this includes 371 White (97.9%), 5 Black (1.3%), 1 Asian (0.3%), & 1 from two or more races. The Hispanic or Latino population included 1 person (0.3%).

There were 135 households out of which 43 had children under the age of 18 living with them, 80 were married couples living together, 5 (3.7%) had a female householder with children & no husband present, and 34 were non-families. 25 households were made up of individuals and 37 had someone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 2.92.

The population was spread out with 78.1% over the age of 18 and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.5 years. The gender ratio was 50.1% male & 49.9% female. Among 135 occupied households, 121 were owner-occupied & 14 were renter-occupied.

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 461 people, 155 households, and 119 families residing in the town. The population density was 455.2 people per square mile (176.2/km²). There were 171 housing units at an average density of 168.8 per square mile (65.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.61% White, 1.08% Asian, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.

There were 155 households out of which 40.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.6% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.

The median income for a household was $36,875, and the median income for a family was $40,313. Males had a median income of $27,143 versus $21,389 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,269. About 21.2% of families and 22.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.5% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

1. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
2. "G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
3. "Poetry and Murder: Prairie City's Decker Press". Retrieved June 23, 2016.
4. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
5. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
6. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.