Chester, Illinois

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Chester is a town located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River Valley in Randolph County, Illinois. The population was 8,400 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randolph County^GR6 and is 63 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri.

Given its position on the Mississippi River, there is much room for economic development in Chester. This potential, however, has not yet been tapped as most of the Chester Riverfront remains vacant. There has been a push to make the economic development of the town center on a revitalization of the riverfront. The World Shooting Complex will be opening in the summer of 2006 in the nearby town of Sparta and this is expected to bring further economic development to the area.

Chester was the birthplace of Elzie Segar, creator of the comic character Popeye. The town motto is "The Home of Popeye" and there is a statue of Popeye in the town. The annual Popeye Picnic celebrates the character with food, games, carnival rides, and events.

The Chester area includes a number of state parks and historic sites. The Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site has a beautiful overlook of the Mississippi River. Across the river from Fort Kaskaskia is Kaskaskia Island, the only part of Illinois west of the Mississippi River. The island was the site of the first State Capital of Illinois. A historic church, founded by French explorer Pere Jacques Marquette, still holds weekly mass on the island. Five miles northeast of Chester is the Randolph County State Recreation Area, which has a 65 acre lake for fishing as well as hiking and equestrian trails. South of Chester is the Turkey Bluffs State Fish and Wildlife Area, which has many scenic overlooks and trails to spot its namesake turkeys.

Chester High School is the local public high school. Chester's sports teams have struggled because it is the smallest school in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference. However, the girls track team won their third conference championship in a row in 2006 and won the title for the fifth time in the past six years. Also, the girls' track team won the sectional for the fourth time in school history in May 2006.

Chester's newspaper is the Randolph County Herald Tribune.

[edit] Geography

Chester is located at 37°54′50″N, 89°49′23″W (37.913947, -89.823140)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.3 km² (5.9 mi²). 15.3 km² (5.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.17% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 8,400 people, 2,018 households, and 1,283 families residing in the town. The population density was 339.9/km² (879.9/mi²). There were 2,229 housing units at an average density of 146.1/km² (378.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.87% White, 3.59% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.

There were 2,018 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $39,079, and the median income for a family was $49,426. Males had a median income of $36,103 versus $22,239 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,190. About 5.4% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.