Brighton
Village
Location of Brighton within Jersey County, Illinois.
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Macoupin, Jersey
Townships	Brighton, Piasa
Elevation	663 ft (202 m)
Coordinates	39°02′22″N 90°08′23″W / 39.03944, -90.13972
Area	1.6 sq mi (4 km²)
- land	1.6 sq mi (4 km²)
- water	0.04 sq mi (0 km²)
Population	2,196 (2000)
Density	1,364.2 /sq mi (527 /km²)
Government	Mayor-Council
Mayor	Arlin Cunningham
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	62012
Area code	618
Location of Brighton within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Brighton, Illinois
Website: http://www.brightonill.com/

Brighton is a village located mostly in Macoupin County, Illinois and partially in Jersey County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 2,196, and the population was 2,362 in the 2006 unofficial US Census estimate. The village's current mayor is Arlin Cunningham.

Brighton is a part of the Metro-East region and the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Brighton is located at 39°2′22″N, 90°8′23″W (39.039357, -90.139645).^[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.2 km²), of which, 1.6 square miles (4.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (or 1.83%) is water.

History

Brighton is a small community that dates back to the early 19th century, when settlers began the transformation of the Illinois prairie into productive farmland. A post office was opened in 1837, and the village was incorporated in 1869 ^[2].

Brighton currently has only one fast food restaurant, one grocery store, and only one traffic signal. It straddles two counties, so that part of the village is in Macoupin County, and a smaller part in Jersey County. Also, some rural residents of Madison County have Brighton mailing addresses. Although the village is fairly small, located nearly twenty miles away from the nearest major suburbs of St. Louis, it has a suburban feel to it instead of a rural one.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 2,196 people, 816 households, and 608 families residing in the village. The population density is 1,364.2 people per square mile (526.6/km²). There are 855 housing units at an average density of 531.2/sq mi (205.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village is 98.41% White, 0.05% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. 1.09% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 816 households, out of which 38.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.9% are married couples living together, 9.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% are non-families. 22.5% of all households are made up of individuals, and 11.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.61 and the average family size is 3.06.

In the village, the population is spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females, there are 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the village is $38,750, and the median income for a family is $43,167. Males have a median income of $37,150 versus $23,616 for females. The per capita income for the village is $16,453. 6.5% of the population and 6.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 7.7% of those under the age of 18 and 8.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Notable Residents

• Jason Isringhausen - professional baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball
• Chuck Powell - radio personality currently hosting The Morning Ritual program on KEDJ 103.9 FM in Phoenix

Interesting Notes

There the Heart Is: A History of Brighton, Illinois is, as the name states, a history of Brighton, written by Martha A. Bentley.

Brighton is also noted for its Burgoo soup, which is served at the Betsey Ann Picnic, the annual homecoming event for the community.

References

External links

• Village of Brighton website

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Macoupin County, Illinois County seat: Carlinville Cities Benld | Bunker Hill | Carlinville | Gillespie | Girard | Mount Olive | Staunton | Virden‡ Town Nilwood | Shipman Villages Brighton‡ | Chesterfield | Dorchester | Eagarville | East Gillespie | Hettick | Medora | Modesto | Mount Clare | Palmyra | Royal Lakes | Sawyerville | Scottville | Standard City | White City | Wilsonville Townships Barr | Bird | Brighton | Brushy Mound | Bunker Hill | Cahokia | Carlinville | Chesterfield | Dorchester | Gillespie | Girard | Hillyard | Honey Point | Mt. Olive | Nilwood | North Otter | North Palmyra | Polk | Scottville | Shaws Point | Shipman | South Otter | South Palmyra | Staunton | Virden | Western Mound Unincorporated communities Atwater | Comer | Enos | Hagaman | Lake Ka-ho | McVey | Miles Station | Plainview | South Standard | Summerville | Womac | Woodburn Footnotes ‡This city also has portions in adjacent county or counties

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Jersey County, Illinois County seat: Jerseyville Cities Grafton | Jerseyville Towns Otterville Villages Brighton | Elsah | Fidelity | Fieldon Townships Elsah | English | Fidelity | Jersey | Mississippi | Otter Creek | Piasa | Quarry | Richwoods | Rosedale | Ruyle Unincorporated communities Beltrees | Bowman | Chautauqua | Delhi | Democrat Spring | Dow | East Newbern | Kemper | Lake Piasa | Lockhaven | McClusky | New Delhi | Newbern | Nutwood | Rosedale

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Illinois Metro-East region Counties Bond | Clinton | Jersey | Madison | Monroe | St. Clair Major Cities (10,000+) Alton | Belleville | Cahokia | Centralia | Collinsville | East St. Louis | Edwardsville | Fairview Heights | Glen Carbon | Godfrey | Granite City | O'Fallon | Swansea | Wood River Cities (5,000-10,000) Bethalto | Centreville | Columbia | East Alton | Greenville | Highland | Jerseyville | Maryville | Mascoutah | Pontoon Beach | Shiloh | Staunton | Troy | Washington Park | Waterloo Cities (1,000-5,000) Alorton | Aviston | Beckemeyer | Breese | Brighton | Carlyle | Caseyville | Dupo | Fairmont City | Freeburg | Germantown | Hartford | Lebanon | Madison | Marissa | Millstadt | New Athens | Rosewood Heights | Roxana | Smithton | South Roxana | Trenton | Valmeyer | Venice | Wamac Cities (<1,000) Albers | Brooklyn | Elsah | Fults | Grafton | Hecker | Livingston | Maeystown | Pocahontas | Sauget Interstates in the Metro-East I-55 | I-64 | I-70 | I-255 | I-270 Airports/Military Bases Scott AFB | Mid-America St. Louis Airport | St. Louis Regional Airport | St. Louis Downtown Airport | St. Louis Metro-East Airport Sports teams based in the Metro East Gateway Grizzlies (baseball, Frontier League)