Beecher City
Village
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Effingham
Coordinates	39°11′13″N 88°47′9″W / 39.18694, -88.78583
Area	0.9 sq mi (2 km²)
- land	0.9 sq mi (2 km²)
Population	493 (2000)
Density	544.9 /sq mi (210 /km²)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	62414
Area code	217
Location of Beecher City within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Beecher City, Illinois

Beecher City is a village in Effingham County, Illinois, United States. The population was 493 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Beecher City is located at 39°11′13″N, 88°47′9″W (39.187030, -88.785737).^[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²), all of it land.

The village of Beecher City, not to be confused with Beecher, Illinois, a large community around Chicago, is home to the Beecher City Unit 20 School District. The district has a Jr/Sr High School as well as a grade school serving grades 3-6 located in the town, with another grade school in Shumway, Il serving grades K-2. The town has a post office, bank, a village paper, and a popular gas station, known lovingly as "the station". This small village is also complete with a fire department, and a couple of churches.

The community has a family, owned weekly newspaper, the Beecher City Journal, that has served the area for many years. The newspaper included subsections for 2 other area newspapers, the Cowden Reflector and the Stewardson Clipper. Frequently, articles from 50 years ago from the Beecher City Journal and 75 years ago from the Stewardson Clipper are included. Over the many years of existence the Beecher City Journal has obtained the loving nicknames, "The Beecher Blabber", "The Beecher Urinal", and "The Paper".

One of the local community members "Bobby Sheriff", patrols the town on his bicycle. He has recently been the highlight of a community wide action. The villagers have torn down his house and are erecting him a new house, complete with the indoor plumbin! Bobby has long been know for his artistic talents, as for a quarter he will dance two jigs of "bo-legged woman".

Beecher City was one of the villages served by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad branchline that ran from Beardstown via Flora to Shawneetown, Illinois. The railroad provided passenger service 4 times daily on trains affectionately dubbed The Puddle Jumper.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 493 people, 191 households, and 132 families residing in the village. The population density was 544.9 people per square mile (211.5/km²). There were 217 housing units at an average density of 239.8/sq mi (93.1/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.39% White, 0.41% Native American, and 0.20% from two or more races.

There were 191 households out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the village the population was spread out with 32.3% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $27,500, and the median income for a family was $33,583. Males had a median income of $25,156 versus $19,125 for females. The per capita income for the village was $12,779. About 8.0% of families and 18.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.0% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

1. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

External links

• Beecher City, Illinois is at coordinates 39°11′13″N 88°47′09″W / 39.18703, -88.785737 (Beecher City, Illinois)Coordinates: 39°11′13″N 88°47′09″W / 39.18703, -88.785737 (Beecher City, Illinois)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Effingham County, Illinois County seat: Effingham Cities Altamont | Effingham Town Mason Villages Beecher City | Dieterich | Edgewood | Shumway | Teutopolis | Watson Townships Banner | Bishop | Douglas | Jackson | Liberty | Lucas | Mason | Moccasin | Mound | St. Francis | Summit | Teutopolis | Union | Watson | West Unincorporated communities Blue Point | Boggsville | Funkhouser | Gila | Gilmore | Green Creek | Heartville | Lake Sara | Lillyville | Northmore Heights