Tuscola
City
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Douglas
Coordinates	39°47′52″N 88°16′54″W / 39.79778, -88.28167
Area	2.1 sq mi (5 km²)
- land	2.1 sq mi (5 km²)
Population	4,448 (2000)
Density	2,084.9 /sq mi (805 /km²)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	61953
Area code	217
Location of Tuscola within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Tuscola, Illinois

Tuscola, Illinois Post Office.

Tuscola is a city in Douglas County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,448 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Douglas County^[1].

Geography

Tuscola is located at 39°47′52″N, 88°16′54″W (39.797682, -88.281564)^[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²), of which, 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²) of it is land and 0.47% is water.

History

The founding Supervisor of Tuscola township was O. C. Hackett, elected in 1868. Hackett was elected Supervisor with a majority of only one vote over W. B. Ervin. O. C. Hackett was the grandson of noted Kentucky frontiersman and Boonsborough resident Peter Hackett. O. C. planted Hackett's Grove, a sassafras grove situated on Section 31, Township 16, Range 9, on the east side of the township. This twenty acre grove is traversed by a branch of Scattering Fork of the Embarrass River, long known as Hackett's Run, and according to the History of Douglas County (1884), the grove had been owned by the Hackett's since long before Douglas County had an existence. O.C. Hackett's father, John Hackett, settled in nearby Coles County in 1835. Family legend holds that Abraham Lincoln stayed at the Hackett farm during the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858.

Demographics

Douglas County, Illinois Courthouse.

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 4,448 people, 1,885 households, and 1,261 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,084.9 people per square mile (806.3/km²). There were 2,000 housing units at an average density of 937.5/sq mi (362.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.11% White, 0.31% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.

There were 1,885 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 25% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 29% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,608, and the median income for a family was $44,816. Males had a median income of $35,063 versus $22,090 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,465. About 2.3% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3% of those under age 18 and 5% of those age 65 or over.

Trivia

• Home of the 2006 1a State Champion and 2007 1a State Runner-up Football Teams.
• Tuscola was one of the four proposed building sites for the FutureGen Power plant (which was eventually awarded to nearby Mattoon, Illinois).

Notable natives

• Fred Wakefield - Professional football player for the NFL.
• Joseph Gurney Cannon - Long-time Speaker of the House.
• Jennie Garth - Actress

References

External links

• Tuscola, Illinois is at coordinates 39°47′52″N 88°16′54″W / 39.797682, -88.281564 (Tuscola, Illinois)Coordinates: 39°47′52″N 88°16′54″W / 39.797682, -88.281564 (Tuscola, Illinois)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Douglas County, Illinois County seat: Tuscola Cities Arcola | Newman | Tuscola | Villa Grove Villages Arthur | Atwood | Camargo | Garrett | Hindsboro Townships Arcola | Bourbon | Bowdre | Camargo | Garrett | Murdock | Newman | Sargent | Tuscola Unincorporated communities Kemp | Murdock | Patterson Springs