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Collinsville, Illinois

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Template:Geobox Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County, and partially in St. Clair County, both in Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 24,707. Collinsville is approximately 12 miles from St. Louis, Missouri[1] and is considered part of that city's Metro-East area.[2] Famously, it is the home of the world's largest ketchup bottle, a former water tower, and is the world's horseradish capital [1].

Geography

Collinsville is located at 38°40′28″N 89°59′43″W / 38.67444°N 89.99528°W / 38.67444; -89.99528 (38.674398, -89.995402).Template:GR According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.6 square miles (35.2 km²), of which, 13.6 square miles (35.2 km²) of it is land and 0.07% is water. Collinsville is approximately 12 miles due east of Saint Louis, MO.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 24,707 people, 10,458 households, and 6,672 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,817.4 people per square mile (701.9/km²). There were 11,025 housing units at an average density of 811.0/sq mi (313.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.48% White, 5.85% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 1.19% Hispanic (according to the two-question "short form" of the 22nd federal census, 2000).

There were 10,458 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,353, and the median income for a family was $54,956. Males had a median income of $39,379 versus $27,409 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,048. About 5.6% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.2% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Identifying traits

Collinsville is the self-proclaimed "Horseradish Capital of the World", including an annual Horseradish Fest. The city and surrounding area are said to produce 85% of the world's horseradish, of such high quality that it's actually exported to Germany and China (key users of the herb) for gourmet use.

Known for having a large Italian population, Collinsville hosts the Italian Fest every year in the Fall.

90W also passes through Collinsville, thus making it one quarter of the distance west from Greenwich, England or east of the International Date Line.

"The World's Largest Ketchup Bottle", a water tower in Collinsville.

Collinsville is also home of "the world's largest catsup bottle", a 170 foot tall water tower in the shape of a ketchup bottle.

Monk's Mound, the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas (and larger at its base than the Great Pyramid of Giza), is also located within the city limits of Collinsville in the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, the largest Pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico and one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

Collinsville was the scene of the only lynching of a German-American during World War I. On April 5, 1918, a group of Collinsville residents numbering in the hundreds took Robert Paul Prager from his home and paraded him barefoot and wrapped in an American flag through the streets of Collinsville, forcing him to sing patriotic songs. The Collinsville police interceded and took Prager into protective custody. A group formed outside of the city jail, however, and were permitted entry into the jail. Two men found Prager hiding in the basement in a pile of sewer tiles. These men took Prager outside and the group marched him to the outskirts of town, where they lynched him. His final request was to be buried in the American flag. Eleven men stood trial for the murder, but all were acquitted.

Collinsville High School, The Kahoks, named for a fictional Native American tribe, have won several Illinois State Championships, in 1961, 1965 (basketball), 1980 (baseball, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1992 (soccer), and 2007, 2008, 2009 (Dance Team). Former Coach Vergil Fletcher, who was recently named one of the 100 "legends of Illinois high school basketball" by the Illinois High School Activities Association, won over 700 games in his career. Virgil died on June 30, 2009. Other famed Kahoks were Kevin Stallings, now coach of Vanderbilt University; Bogie Redmon, also a "top 100 legend," who played on the undefeated 1961 team; Tom Parker, a star at the University of Kentucky after his Collinsville High School days; and Richard Keene, a McDonald's All-American, who played at Illinois in the 1990s.

Notable residents

References

  • The patriotic hysteria leading to the lynching of Robert Prager is described in Christopher Capozzola's Uncle Sam Wants You: The Modern American Citizen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008): pp. 184-186. ISBN 9780195335491.
  1. ^ City of Collinsville Illinois -- Collinsville Now! http://216.8.64.82/CollinsvilleNow/tabid/174/Default.aspx Retrieved January 13, 2007
  2. ^ City of Collinsville: History of Collinsville http://www.ci.collinsville.il.us/history.htm Retrieved January 13, 2007
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