Jerseyville, Illinois

Jerseyville is the largest city in and the county seat of Jersey County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 8,337.

Jerseyville is a part of Southern Illinois, the Metro-East region and the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In 1827, James Faulkner, a Pennsylvania native, and his family built a small framed structure that was named the "Little Red House," in the area that is now known as Jerseyville. The "Little Red House" served as the first stagecoach station, first tavern, first school, and first bank in the immediate area. By 1834, the small settlement that grew up around Faulkner's home, then known as Hickory Grove by its residents, was surveyed and platted by three immigrants from New Jersey, John Lott, Edward M. Daly Brandon F. Kennedy, and Mason A. Roberts. Lott and Daly's involvement marked the beginning of a proportionally large number of merchants, businessmen and settlers from New Jersey. A meeting was called in that same year at the "Little Red House" to vote for a town name, so a post office could be established. The name of Jerseyville was chosen to honor the native state of many of its inhabitants. In 1839, Jersey County was formed out of Greene County and Jerseyville was named as its county seat.

Jerseyville was a minor stopping point on the historic Underground Railroad before and during the Civil War. The "Little Red House" and a few other residences were utilized as stations for the Underground Railroad until the end of the Civil War, with some residences having false cellars that were used to hide slaves searching for freedom.

After the American Civil War ended, and the construction of the Alton & Chicago Railroad was completed, Jerseyville saw a period of commercial, industrial and urban growth. The first major period of growth in the city occurred from 1880 to 1916, and from that time to the present, Jerseyville's growth has since been steady and substantial. The majority of the commercial structures that are now located in the Downtown Historic District and Courthouse Square were built during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was also during this time that the present Jersey County Courthouse was built. The two-story, Romanesque Revival building was completed in 1893, and is considered to be one of the most aesthetic courthouses in the area. Other nearby Victorian style buildings in the city include Queen Anne, Edwardian and Italianate architectural features, with several of these buildings having been recently renovated.

From 1912 to 1918, Jerseyville was the terminus of an interurban electric passenger railroad from Alton which was the stub of a project by the Alton, Jacksonville and Peoria Railway for a line to Peoria.

In recent decades, Jerseyville has been a testing ground in the agricultural biotechnology field. Bayer (formerly Monsanto) owns and operates a facility located just south of the city, which in 1987, was the site of the world's very first biotechnology field trial – first with tomatoes and later that year with soybeans. The facility was also home to the first triple stacked corn trial in 1998, which later became a part of one of Monsanto's top-selling products. The facility was further expanded in 2008, and now consists of sixteen greenhouses and almost of land for field testing.

The Downtown Historic District is presently home to some antique stores and gift shops. Jerseyville also has some clothing and shoe stores, pharmacies, a public library, a post office, and several local restaurants and banks. Most of the growth that has occurred since the early 1990s has been in the southern and southwestern portions of the city, where new residential subdivisions and retail shopping centers have been built, and where numerous land annexations have been made by the city.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Jerseyville has a total area of , of which (or 99.98%) is land and (or 0.02%) is water.

Climate

Typically, the city's climate reflects most Midwest cities, located in the transitional zone between the humid continental climate type and the humid subtropical climate type (Köppen Dfa and Cfa, respectively), with neither large mountains nor large bodies of water to moderate its temperature. Spring is the wettest season and produces severe weather ranging from tornadoes to snow or ice storms. Summers are hot and humid, and the humidity often makes the heat index rise to temperatures feeling well above . Fall is mild with lower humidity and can produce intermittent bouts of heavy rainfall with the first snow flurries usually forming in late November. Winters can be cold at times with periodic light snow and temperatures below freezing.

In recent years, average temperatures in Jerseyville have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Jerseyville had a population of 8,337. The median age was 42.3 years. 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 85.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 81.6 males age 18 and over.

98.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.7% lived in rural areas.

There were 3,534 households and 1,805 families in Jerseyville, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.5% were married-couple households, 17.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 3,845 housing units, of which 8.1% were vacant. The population density was . The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.6%.

Nearby colleges and universities include Principia College in Elsah, Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey and Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine in Alton.

Religious organizations

Jerseyville is home to a number of religious organizations, consisting of both small and large congregations.

Churches that serve Jerseyville are listed here in alphabetical order:

Church of the Nazarene
Eastland Baptist Church
Faith Temple Pentecostal Church
First Assembly of God
First Baptist Church
First Church of Christ, Scientist
First Presbyterian Church
Gospel Assembly Church
Grace Community Baptist Church
Holy Ghost Church
Hope Lutheran Church
Jerseyville Church of Christ
Jerseyville Methodist Church
Kingdom Increase Church
LifechurchX
Open Door House of Praise
Peace United Church of Christ
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
Victory Baptist Church

Infrastructure

Transportation

Two major highways run through the city. US Highway 67 runs along a north–south route, while Illinois Route 16 runs along a west–east route. Also, Illinois Route 109 has its northern terminus in Jerseyville at US Highway 67.

A four-lane expansion of US Highway 67 in Jerseyville has been in the planning stages for years, and is currently in Illinois' five-year road construction plan. The plan includes the Jerseyville Bypass, which is expected to go around the eastern portion of the city when it is completed. Construction of the bypass has not started yet, but all of the work prior to actual road construction was scheduled to be completed by 2012. In nearby Delhi, an extension of the expressway was opened up to traffic in 2021. This is a part of the completion of the entire US Highway 67 four-lane project in Illinois between Godfrey and the Quad Cities area.

Utilities

Utility companies serving Jerseyville are Ameren (natural gas and electricity), Grafton Technologies and Frontier Communications (landline telephone service and internet), and Sparklight (cable television). Water and sewer services are provided and maintained by Illinois American Water.

Notable people

Kathie Conway, member of the Missouri House of Representatives
Hugh W. Cross, (1896–1972) former Illinois Lieutenant Governor and member of the Illinois House of Representatives
Russell E. Dunham, (1920–2009) World War II veteran and recipient of the Medal of Honor.
Brent Hawkins, former professional football player for two teams
Arthur Scott King, (1876–1957) noted physicist and astrophysicist
Anthony L. Knapp, (1828–1881) US congressman and Illinois senator
Robert M. Knapp, (1831–1889) US congressman and former mayor of Jerseyville
Stan McGarvey, former NCAA Division II head football coach.
Thomas J. Selby, (1840–1917) congressman and former mayor of Jerseyville
Jim Watson, former member of the Illinois House of Representatives

References

External links

City of Jerseyville