Swansea is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois. It is a part of the St. Louis metropolitan area and Metro East in southern Illinois. It is surrounded by the communities of Fairview Heights, Belleville, O’Fallon, and Shiloh. As of the 2020 census, Swansea had a population of 14,386.
History
In the late 19th century the area that is now Swansea was a mix of farming and commerce. It was home to underground coal mines, foundries, brickyards, and the Gundlach Drill Works, manufacturers of the most efficient grain drills of that era. The early residents were fiercely independent and bent on conducting their own affairs. When the municipality that sat on their doorstep reached out to annex their lands and businesses they decided to start their own community.
On November 27, 1886, a group of 35 area residents petitioned the county government "that they are desirous of having said territory organized as a village...That the name of the proposed village shall be New Swansea."
The residents voted on December 16, 1886, to form their own community and name it “New Swansea”. A petition for annexation to the city of Belleville was being circulated in the territory. Establishing an independent community was a quick and effective method of avoiding annexation. And so a new municipality was incorporated on December 20, 1886. In 1898 the lot at the corner of Brackett and Illinois Streets was purchased for $300. The Village Hall was completed shortly thereafter at a cost of $619.50.
In April 1895, an ordinance was passed to change the name of the village from “New Swansea” to just “Swansea”, in order to conform to the name given by the USPS to the post office established in the village.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Swansea has a total area of , of which (or 97.3%) is land and (or 2.7%) is water. Swansea is largely flat and runs primarily in a north–south direction along the Illinois route 159 corridor. It is bounded by Belleville to the south and west, Fairview Heights to the north and Shiloh to the east. The City of Saint Louis, Missouri, lies 16 miles to the west.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Swansea, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|9,201
|10,349
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,286
|86.97%
|77.06%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |64.55%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|909
|2209
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3268
|8.59%
|16.45%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |22.72%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|23
|21
|style='background: #ffffe6; |35
|0.22%
|0.16%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.24%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|166
|235
|style='background: #ffffe6; |389
|1.57%
|1.75%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.70%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|8
|24
|style='background: #ffffe6; |18
|0.08%
|0.18%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.13%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|5
|16
|style='background: #ffffe6; |70
|0.05%
|0.12%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.49%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|104
|267
|style='background: #ffffe6; |731
|0.98%
|1.99%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.08%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|163
|309
|style='background: #ffffe6; |589
|1.54%
|2.30%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.09%
|-
|Total
|10,579
|13,430
|style='background: #ffffe6; |14,386
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Swansea had a population of 14,386. The median age was 43.8 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.1 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 6,064 households in Swansea, of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.7% were married-couple households, 15.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Notable person
- Clayton Keller - NHL player, 7th overall pick in 2016 NHL Entry Draft