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Junction, Illinois

Coordinates: 37°43′22″N 88°14′17″W / 37.72278°N 88.23806°W / 37.72278; -88.23806
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Junction, Illinois
Welcome sign
Welcome sign
Location of Junction in Gallatin County, Illinois.
Location of Junction in Gallatin County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 37°43′22″N 88°14′17″W / 37.72278°N 88.23806°W / 37.72278; -88.23806
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyGallatin
Area
 • Total0.83 sq mi (2.14 km2)
 • Land0.83 sq mi (2.14 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total129
 • Estimate 
(2019)[2]
111
 • Density134.38/sq mi (51.88/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)
62954
Area code618
FIPS code17-38778
Wikimedia CommonsJunction, Illinois

Junction is a village in Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 56 at the 2020 census.[3]

History

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1970s photograph of the John Hart Crenshaw House near Junction

Junction was founded in the 1880s, and was named for its location at the junction of the L&N and B&O railroads. When a post office was established in 1884, it was named "Cypress Junction." The name was changed to "Junction City" in 1888, and shortened to "Junction" in 1894.[4]

Junction's location in a relatively flat area leaves it prone to flooding along the Ohio River, which can cause waters in the nearby Saline River to back up. A major flood in March 1997 displaced several area residents and blocked all but one road leading into the village.[5]

On June 1, 2022, Junction General Baptist Church burned down after lightning struck the steeple.[6]

Crenshaw House

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The Hickory Hill mansion, almost five miles west of Junction, is the 19th-century home of illegal slave trader and slave breeder John Hart Crenshaw. It was infamously known as the "Old Slave House," as it was used as a criminal front for the kidnapping of free blacks who were illegally sold into the Southern slave trade on the Reverse Underground Railroad, as well as a farm for slave breeding.[7]

Geography

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Junction is located at the center of Gallatin County at 37°43′22″N 88°14′17″W / 37.72278°N 88.23806°W / 37.72278; -88.23806 (37.722726, -88.237973).[8] The village lies along Illinois Route 13, a few miles west of the Ohio River, and north of the Shawnee National Forest. The Saline River, a tributary of the Ohio, passes just to the south.

According to the 2010 census, Junction has a total area of 0.883 square miles (2.29 km2), of which 0.88 square miles (2.28 km2) (or 99.66%) is land and 0.003 square miles (0.01 km2) (or 0.34%) is water.[9]

Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1910800
1920321−59.9%
1930292−9.0%
19403209.6%
1950239−25.3%
1960238−0.4%
1970199−16.4%
1980192−3.5%
19902014.7%
2000139−30.8%
2010129−7.2%
202056−56.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]

As of the 2020 census, there were 56 people, 35 households, and 38 families residing in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 92.9% White. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.79% of the population.[11]

There were 35 households, out of which 10.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.6% were married couples living together, 22.9% had a female householder with no husband present.

The median income for a household in the village was $32,375, and the median income for a family was $42,500. 45.5% of those over 64 were living below the poverty line.

Notable people

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  • John Hart Crenshaw, landowner, salt maker, illegal slave trader kidnapper, and illegal slave breeder

Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  3. ^ "Junction, Illinois, USA 2020 Census".
  4. ^ Edward Callary, Place Names of Illinois (University of Illinois Press, 2010), p. 180.
  5. ^ Southern Illinois Regional Planning and Development Commission, et. al., "Hazard Mitigation Plan, Gallatin County, Illinois (2011), p. 36.
  6. ^ "Church destroyed by fire in Gallatin County". June 2, 2022.
  7. ^ Molly Parker, "Future of Crenshaw House, or Old Slave House, in Question," The Southern, February 21, 2016.
  8. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  9. ^ "G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  10. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  11. ^ "Junction, Illinois, USA 2020 Census".
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