Eldorado
City
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Saline
Coordinates	37°48′51″N 88°26′27″W / 37.81417, -88.44083
Area	2.3 sq mi (6 km²)
- land	2.3 sq mi (6 km²)
Population	4,534 and declining (2000)
Density	1,967.8 /sq mi (760 /km²)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	62930
Area code	618
Location of Eldorado within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Eldorado, Illinois

According to the 1945 Film Daily Yearbook, the 500-seat Grand was one of three movie houses in operation at that time, which also included the Orpheum and the Knox. Today the former Grand is used as a meeting place for a fraternal order.

Eldorado is a city in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,534 at the 2000 census. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish, it is pronounced /ɛldəˈreɪdoʊ/ (listen) or /ɛldəˈreɪdə/. Originally, the name was "Elder-Reado" -- a combination of the last names of the town's two founders, Judge Samuel Elder and Joseph Read. According to legend, a signpainter for the railroad painted the name "Eldorado" on the train depot; as a result, the spelling and pronunciation was forever changed.

Geography

Eldorado is located at 37°48′51″N, 88°26′27″W (37.814212, -88.440937).^[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.1 km²), of which, 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.28%) is water.

History

In September, 1963, five months before the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show brought them stardom in the United States, George Harrison performed at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Eldorado with a local band. This was the first performance by a Beatle in the United States. At the time Harrison and his brother were visiting their sister, Louise, who had recently relocated with her husband to nearby Benton.

At one time there was an extensive maze of Railroad tracks that arched out from the town's center. All but one are now replaced with bike trails.

Eldorado is home to one of the smallest daily newspapers in the US, The Eldorado Daily Journal (circulation 1,200), which is a sister publication to the Harrisburg Daily Register.

In 1925, Dr. J.V. Ferrell founded Ferrell Hospital, which exists today as a 52-bed facility operated by Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH).Effective March 1, 2004, SIH entered into an agreement with Alliant Management Services to return the hospital to local ownership and governance. On April 1, 2005, Ferrell Hospital Community Foundation became a stand alone facility managed by Alliant Management Services.

In December, 1984, a respected local physician, Dr. John Dale Cavaness, was charged with the murder of his son. The case was chronicled in the book by Darcy O'Brien, "Murder in Little Egypt". The case details the murder of Sean Dale Cavaness, J.D. Cavaness' third son. The divorce of Sean's mother and father had him hit hard, and he had turned to booze. Dale took his son Sean out to a private road, and shot him twice in the back of the head. During the trial, the case of Mark, (whom was presumably also murdered by Dale) was not mentioned. After being convicted and sentenced to death row, John Dale Cavaness later hung himself with electrical wire. Some say it was because he was so distraught over the loss of his two sons, and felt guilt for them, or others speculate that he was a control freak, or degenerate gambler with massive debts, and he would choose how he died, and nobody else. Current Senior Citizens of Eldorado remember Dr. Cavaness, and say he was a great man, who made house calls. It is believed that J.D. Cavaness murdered Mark and Sean for insurance money, and because he looked at them as failures on his part. John Dale Cavaness's final house was at 210 W. Walnut St. in Harrisburg, IL where he lived with his live-in girlfriend, Martha Culley until his arrest and conviction.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 4,534 people, 1,945 households, and 1,182 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,967.8 people per square mile (761.1/km²). There were 2,236 housing units at an average density of 970.5/sq mi (375.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.26% White, 0.35% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.02% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.19% of the population.

There were 1,945 households out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 84.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,500, and the median income for a family was $30,861. Males had a median income of $27,721 versus $14,514 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,980. About 16.4% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.1% of those under age 18 and 19.1% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

• Eldorado Memorial Public Library District
• Eldorado Community Unit School District 4
• Eldorado Main Street
• Eldorado Historical Museum
• Egyptian Health Department
• The Deadly Dr. Dale Part 1
• The Deadly Dr. Dale Part 2

• Eldorado, Illinois is at coordinates 37°48′51″N 88°26′27″W / 37.814212, -88.440937 (Eldorado, Illinois)Coordinates: 37°48′51″N 88°26′27″W / 37.814212, -88.440937 (Eldorado, Illinois)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Saline County, Illinois County seat: Harrisburg Cities Eldorado | Harrisburg Villages Carrier Mills | Galatia | Muddy | Raleigh | Stonefort Townships Brushy | Carrier Mills | Cottage | East Eldorado | Galatia | Harrisburg | Independence | Long Branch | Mountain | Raleigh | Rector | Stone Fort | Tate Unincorporated communities Andersonville | Apple Tree | Banklick | Bankston | Barnum | Battlesford | Beulah Heights | Big Muddy | Blackman Hill | Bolton | Brooklyn | Brushy | Cave Hill | College Park | Cookseyville | Cornersville | Cottage Grove | Dallasanie | Delta | Derby | Dooley Station | Dorrisville | Douglas | Eagle Mountain | Eagle Valley | Eagle | East Eldorado | Flint Hill | Francis Mills | Garris Ridge | Gaskins City | Grayson | Haley's Hill | Halltown | Hamburg | Harco | Hartford | Hawkeye | Highland Park | Horseshoe | Hull | Independence | Ingram Hill | L'Aigle | Lakeview | Ledford | Little Italy | Little Ridge | Little Saline Grove | Long Branch | Mountain | Mt. Airy | New Castle | New Hope | North Galatia | Old Stonefort | Old Town | Pankeyville | Pick | Prospect Hill | Rathbone Station | Rector | Red Bank | Red Bud | Rileyville | Rudement | Saline City | Somerset | South America | Tanner | Tate | Texas City | Texas Station | Texas | Tison | Wasson | West End | West Harrisburg | Whiteside | Whitesville