Chester
City
Nickname: Home of Popeye
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Randolph
Elevation	669 ft (204 m)
Coordinates	37°54′50″N 89°49′23″W / 37.91389, -89.82306
Area	5.9 sq mi (15 km²)
- land	5.9 sq mi (15 km²)
Population	8,400 (2000)
Density	879.9 /sq mi (340 /km²)
Mayor	Marty Bert
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	62233
Area code	618
Location of Chester within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Chester, Illinois
Website: http://www.chesterill.com/

Chester is a town located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River Valley in Randolph County, Illinois. The population was 8,400 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randolph County^[1] and is located 63 miles (101 km) south of St. Louis, Missouri.

Chester is the birthplace of Elzie Segar, creator of the comic character Popeye. The town motto is "The Home of Popeye," and there is a statue of Popeye in the town. The annual Popeye's Picnic each September celebrates the character with food, games, carnival rides, and events.

The Chester area includes a number of state parks and historic sites. The Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site has a beautiful overlook of the Mississippi River. Across the river from the fort is Kaskaskia Island, the only part of Illinois west of the Mississippi River. The island was the site of the first state capital of Illinois. A historic church founded by French explorer Pere Jacques Marquette still holds weekly mass on the island. Five miles northeast of Chester is the Randolph County State Recreation Area, which has a 65 acre lake for fishing as well as hiking and equestrian trails. South of Chester is the Turkey Bluffs State Fish and Wildlife Area, which has many scenic overlooks and trails to spot its namesake turkeys. Part of the Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge, a division of the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge Complex is located along the Mississppi River at Chester.

Chester High School is the local public high school. Chester's newspaper is the Randolph County Herald Tribune and radio station is KSGM 980AM.

Chester is centered around the intersection of Illinois Route 3 (Great River Road) and Illinois Route 150.

The city was the filming location of scenes of the 1967 movie "In the Heat of the Night" and the 1993 movie "The Fugitive."^[2]

Geography

Chester is located at 37°54′50″N, 89°49′23″W (37.913947, -89.823140).^[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15.3 km²), of which, 5.9 square miles (15.3 km²) of it is land and 0.17% is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 8,400 people, 2,018 households, and 1,283 families residing in the town. The population density was 879.9 people per square mile (339.9/km²). There were 2,229 housing units at an average density of 378.3/sq mi (146.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.87% White, 3.59% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.

There were 2,018 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $39,079, and the median income for a family was $49,426. Males had a median income of $36,103 versus $22,239 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,190. About 5.4% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

News from Randolph County

• The Randolph County Herald Tribune - Local newspaper
• Suntimesnews.com - Local on-line newspaper updated weekdays
• Chester Yellow Jackets High School Website
• Chester Football Profile on 618 Area Football

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Randolph County, Illinois County seat: Chester Cities Chester | Red Bud | Sparta Villages Baldwin | Coulterville | Ellis Grove | Evansville | Kaskaskia | Percy | Prairie du Rocher | Rockwood | Ruma | Steeleville | Tilden Precincts Baldwin | Blair | Bremen | Brewersville | Central | Chester | Coulterville | Ellis Grove | Evansville | Kaskaskia | Palestine | Percy | Prairie du Rocher | Redbud | Rockwood | Ruma | Sparta | Steelville | Tilden | Wine Hill Unincorporated communities Glenn | Grigg | Menard | Modoc | Schuline | Walsh | Welge | Wine Hill