New Athens | |
|---|---|
 Location of New Athens in St. Clair County, Illinois. | |
| Coordinates:38°19′05″N89°52′42″W / 38.31806°N 89.87833°W /38.31806; -89.87833 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | St. Clair |
| Named after | Athens, Greece |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.30 sq mi (5.95 km2) |
| • Land | 2.11 sq mi (5.47 km2) |
| • Water | 0.19 sq mi (0.48 km2) |
| Elevation | 427 ft (130 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 1,955 |
| • Density | 925.5/sq mi (357.35/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 62264 |
| Area code | 618 |
| FIPS code | 17-52116 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2399452[2] |
| Website | www |
New Athens (/ˈeɪθənz/) is a village inSt. Clair County,Illinois,United States. Based upon common usage, the 'A' is always sounded with a long vowel, rather than a short vowel, by its residents, unlike the most commonly used English pronunciation of thecity in Greece.
The population was 2,054 at the 2010 census. New Athens sits on the Kaskaskia River and was originally called Athens. The village was laid out in 1836 and incorporated in 1866. The name change to New Athens came in 1868 after it was discovered there was alreadyan Athens in another part of the state.
New Athens is home to several churches, including St. Agatha Catholic Church, St. John United Church of Christ, St. Paul Lutheran Church, The United Methodist Church of New Athens, and First Baptist Church.
The first organized settlement in what would later become the future town of New Athens, Illinois was Manville Ferry named after early settler and ferryman on theKaskaskia River, Ira Manville. Manville ran the ferry until his death in 1821.[3] By 1818, the third generation of the Sturdivant familycounterfeiters, known as the "Sturdivant Gang", were organized by Roswell S. Sturdivant and his brother, Merrick Sturdivant, who led the criminal organization, would base their southwestern Illinois counterfeiting operations at Manville Ferry and the other part of their criminal operation in southeastern Illinois on theOhio River at Sturdivant's Fort, inPope County, Illinois, now present-dayRosiclare,Hardin County, Illinois.
According to the 2010 census, New Athens has a total area of 2.129 square miles (5.51 km2), of which 1.92 square miles (4.97 km2) (or 90.18%) is land and 0.209 square miles (0.54 km2) (or 9.82%) is water.[4]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 603 | — | |
| 1890 | 624 | 3.5% | |
| 1900 | 856 | 37.2% | |
| 1910 | 1,131 | 32.1% | |
| 1920 | 1,406 | 24.3% | |
| 1930 | 1,269 | −9.7% | |
| 1940 | 1,355 | 6.8% | |
| 1950 | 1,518 | 12.0% | |
| 1960 | 1,923 | 26.7% | |
| 1970 | 2,000 | 4.0% | |
| 1980 | 1,937 | −3.1% | |
| 1990 | 2,010 | 3.8% | |
| 2000 | 1,981 | −1.4% | |
| 2010 | 2,054 | 3.7% | |
| 2020 | 1,955 | −4.8% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[5] | |||
As of thecensus[6] of 2000, there were 1,981 people, 774 households, and 541 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,148.3 inhabitants per square mile (443.4/km2). There were 819 housing units at an average density of 474.7 per square mile (183.3/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 97.98%White, 0.76%African American, 0.15%Native American, 0.35%Asian, 0.15%Pacific Islander, and 0.61% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 0.56% of the population.
There were 774 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% weremarried couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $39,625, and the median income for a family was $49,236. Males had a median income of $36,307 versus $22,462 for females. Theper capita income for the village was $17,627. About 6.8% of families and 8.4% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.
The village of New Athens is the home of New Athens Community Unit School District #60 (NACUSD 60) – New Athens Township High School Yellow Jackets.The school website provides additional resources and references.
Municipalities and communities ofSt. Clair County, Illinois,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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