Atlanta, Illinois

Atlanta (formerly Xenia) is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,692 at the 2010 census.

History

Early settlement

In December of 1836, surveyors platted the community of New Castle, located on the site of present-day Atlanta. The New Castle post office opened on November 26, 1847.

In May of 1853, surveyors platted the town of Xenia, named after the town of Xenia, Ohio, the former home of an early settler's wife. The recently constructed main line of the Chicago & Alton Railroad intersected the town. As a result of being bypassed by the rail line, residents of New Castle voted to incorporate into Xenia. However, the town was unsuccessful in applying for a post office under that name, as there was already a Xenia in Clay County. In return, settlers moved to name the town Hamilton, after Colonel L. D. Hamilton, however a Hamilton existed in Hancock County by this point. Finally, the name Atlanta was agreed upon, named after the city of Atlanta in Georgia. With no other towns by that name, the change was approved. By October 20 of that same year, the post office was renamed to the misspelled Atalanta. This error would be fixed on March 4, 1861, with the correctly spelled "Atlanta". The community of Atlanta was incorporated by the Illinois General Assembly on February 14, 1855.

In 1869, the Peoria, Atlanta and Decatur Railroad was first surveyed. Work commenced the following year, and the line was completed by November of 1874.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Atlanta has a total area of , of which (or 99.37%) is land and (or 0.63%) is water.

Demographics

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,649 people, 694 households, and 469 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 734 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.58% White, 0.12% Native American, 0.12% from other races, and 0.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.

There were 694 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $43,194, and the median income for a family was $51,157. Males had a median income of $32,891 versus $25,658 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,460. About 3.5% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

Per the 2010 United States Census, Atlanta has 1,692 people. Among non-Hispanics this includes 1,638 White (96.8%), 5 Black (0.3%), 6 Asian (0.4%), 2 Native American & 15 from two or more races. The Hispanic or Latino population included 26 people (1.5%).

There were 718 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with children & no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.7% had someone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.84.

The median age was 39.3 years. The gender ratio was 48.3% male & 51.7% female. Among 718 occupied households, 79.4% were owner-occupied & 20.6% were renter-occupied.

Culture

Media

In May 1869, the ''Atlanta Argus'' was established by Albion Smith, to this point the second newspaper printed in Logan County. The newspaper ran alone until 1964, when it merged with the ''The Armington Helper'' of nearby Armington in Tazewell County. The new ''Atlanta Argus and The Armington Helper'' ran until the paper was disbanded in 1983.

The town is home to the WLCN radio station, which broadcasts in a country music format.Olympia Community Unit School District 16.
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/ref> Students attend Olympia High School.

The town, along with the majority of Logan County, is located within the boundaries of the community college district of Heartland Community College in Normal.

Notable people

* Jeremiah D. Botkin, U.S. Congressman
*Paul Callaway, organist and conductor
* Ellen Rankin Copp, sculptor
* Lee Dunham, baseball player
*Tom Ewing, politician
* Lester C. Hunt, politician
*Dave Kindred, sportswriter
* Eleanor Sophia Smith, composer and music educator

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

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Cities in Illinois
Cities in Logan County, Illinois
1853 establishments in Illinois