Mount Sterling is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,006 at the 2020 census.

Foodservice distributor Dot Foods is based in Mount Sterling.

History

Mount Sterling was organized in 1854. It did not have a courthouse until 1868, although it was designated the county seat from when the county was organized.

Mount Sterling was one of several Illinois towns that publicly competed for a new state prison in one of the state's prison sweepstakes competitions. During the 1987 competition, the town of Flora famously produced the "Is We Is or Is We Isn't/Gonna Get Ourselves A Prison" video. Ultimately, Mount Sterling won the 1987 competition and the state constructed the Western Illinois Correctional Center along State Highway 99 a mile south of town. In 1989 immediately prior to opening, the prison hosted a "Spend a night in prison" event for state and local dignitaries and prominent business-owners, an event that ultimately soured some of its participants on the economic value of prisons to small town economies.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Mount Sterling has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Mount Sterling had a population of 2,006. The median age was 37.6 years. 25.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.5 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 841 households in Mount Sterling, of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 37.6% were married-couple households, 23.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 43.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

References

  • City of Mt. Sterling official website