Taylorville, Illinois

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Taylorville, Illinois
City
Christian County Courthouse in Taylorville
Christian County Courthouse in Taylorville
Motto(s): 
Template:Force singular A Great Place To Live, Work, and Visit[1]
Template:Location map
Coordinates: 39°30′55″N 89°15′50″W / 39.51528°N 89.26389°W / 39.51528; -89.26389Coordinates: 39°30′55″N 89°15′50″W / 39.51528°N 89.26389°W / 39.51528; -89.26389[2]
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyChristian
Area
[3]
 • TotalTemplate:Infobox settlement/areadisp
 • LandTemplate:Infobox settlement/areadisp
 • WaterTemplate:Infobox settlement/areadisp
Elevation
[2]
Template:Infobox settlement/lengthdisp
Population
 (2020)
 • Total10,506
 • DensityTemplate:Infobox settlement/densdisp
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
62568
Area codes217, 447
FIPS code17-74574
GNIS ID2396035[2]
Websitetaylorville.net

Taylorville is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Illinois, United States.[4] The population was 10,506 at the 2020 census, making it the county's largest city.

History

Taylorville was founded on May 24, 1839, and was named after John Taylor, a planning commissioner for the state of Illinois.[5]

Taylorville was known (in the early to mid-1990s) to have had a high rate of neuroblastoma, a cancer affecting the adrenal gland and striking children.[6] The local power company Central Illinois Public Service Company was sued and lost for contaminating the groundwater in 1994.[7]

Taylorville is also known for its horse dragging.[8]

Some outer homes and a business in Taylorville were damaged by an F1 tornado on April 2, 2006.

On August 11, 2012, a Beechcraft Model 18 airplane crashed into a residential area of Taylorville, killing the pilot but injuring none on the ground.[9] A subsequent NTSB investigation into the accident concluded that an improper flap configuration and failure to maintain the correct airspeed due to pilot error, resulted in the crash.[10]

At about 5:15 PM on December 1, 2018, as part of the December 2018 tornado outbreak, an intense tornado hit Taylorville.[11][12] The tornado injured at least 26 residents and damaged more than 600 homes and businesses, 34 of which were completely destroyed.[13] Damage surveys by the National Weather Service rated the tornado EF3 with winds over 155 mph (249 km/h).[14]

Geography

Watertower
Taylorville water tower

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Taylorville has a total area of 12.23 square miles (31.68 km2), of which 10.32 square miles (26.73 km2) (or 84.38%) is land and 1.91 square miles (4.95 km2) (or 15.62%) is water.[15]

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Taylorville had a population of 10,506. The median age was 42.9 years. 20.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.5 males age 18 and over.[16][17]

96.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.6% lived in rural areas.[18]

There were 4,841 households in Taylorville, including 2,507 families, of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.6% were married-couple households, 20.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[16]

There were 5,336 housing units, of which 9.3% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.8%.[16]

Racial composition as of the 2020 census[17]
Race Number Percent
White 9,856 93.8%
Black or African American 95 0.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 25 0.2%
Asian 99 0.9%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 2 0.0%
Some other race 55 0.5%
Two or more races 374 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 173 1.6%

Education

The IHSA single season boys' basketball record of 45–0 was set by Taylorville High School in 1944. Ron Bontemps and Johnny Orr were team members.[19]

In 1911, the Taylorville Christians were a member of the Illinois–Missouri League, an American minor league baseball league. Future Baseball Hall of Famer Ray Schalk played on that team.

Media

The town newspaper is the Breeze-Courier. The State Journal-Register, published in Springfield, Illinois, covers Taylorville and Christian County quite extensively. The Decatur, Illinois Herald & Review covers the area as well.

Transportation

Taylorville is served by Illinois Route 29, Illinois Route 48 and Illinois Route 104.[20] By closest major city, Illinois Route 29 connects Taylorville to Springfield, Illinois; Illinois Route 48 connects to Decatur, Illinois – including, from there, highway access to Pana, Illinois via US Highway 51 and to Champaign, Illinois via Interstate 72; and Illinois Route 104 connects Taylorville to Jacksonville, Illinois.

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ Official City Website Retrieved on May 27, 2007
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Template:GNIS
  3. ↑ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Historic Taylorville". Small Town Taylorville. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  6. ↑ Neuroblastoma Coal Tar Cancer. Clutterinvestigations.com. Retrieved on November 20, 2015.
  7. ↑ The case files for the case against the power plant. State.il.us. Retrieved on November 20, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Dragging sparks outrage: Taylorville City Council to discuss dead horse incident". freerepublic.com. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Plane Crashes Into Residential Section of Taylorville; Pilot Killed". Taylorville Daily News. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  10. ↑ Reid, Tony (August 16, 2014). "Report cites pilot errors in fatal 2012 Taylorville plane crash". Herald & Review. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  11. ↑ Moore, Brenden. "Tornado causes injuries, severe damage in Taylorville". The State Journal-Register. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  12. ↑ Jackson, Clay (December 2018). "100 Taylorville buildings damaged in storm; 'It looked like a war zone'". Herald & Review. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  13. ↑ NWS Damage Survey for 12/01/18 Tornado Event Report #2. National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Lincoln, Illinois (Report). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. December 2, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  14. ↑ NWS Damage Survey for 12/01/18 Tornado Event #6. National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Lincoln, Illinois (Report). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Gazetteer Files". Census.gov. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  18. ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  19. ↑ Taylor Bell (2006). Glory Days Illinois: Legends of Illinois High School Basketball. Sports Publishing LLC. pp. 4–. ISBN 978-1-58261-945-3.
  20. ↑ "Taylorville, Illinois". taylorville.net. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  21. ↑ "BUCSHON, Larry". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  22. ↑ 'Illinois Blue Book 1917-1918,' Biographical Sketch of John J. Bullington, pg. 206-207
  23. ↑ Dave Bakke: When Corzine's in the news, media turn to Taylorville – News – The State Journal-Register – Springfield, IL. Sj-r.com (November 4, 2011). Retrieved on 2015-11-20.
  24. ↑ Dori Meinert (September 26, 2004) Template:Usurped. Springfield State Journal Register.
  25. ↑ "MF Global Appoints Jon S. Corzine Chairman and Chief Executive Officer" (Press release). MF Global. March 23, 2010. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  26. ↑ 'Illinois Blue book 1927-1928,' Biographical Sketch of James H. Forrester, pg. 290=291
  27. ↑ Illinois Supreme Court-Harry B. Hershey Archived July 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Illinoiscourts.gov (August 30, 1967). Retrieved on 2015-11-20.
  28. ↑ 'Wisconsin Blue Book 2009-2010), Biographical Sketch of Randy Hopper, pg. 54
  29. ↑ "Vern Mullen Stats". Pro Football Reference.
  30. ↑ William Yardley (January 2, 2014) Johnny Orr, Coach Who Turned Iowa State Into Contender, Dies at 86. New York Times
  31. ↑ Taylorville native, basketball coach Johnny Orr dies – Entertainment & Life – The State Journal-Register – Springfield, IL. Sj-r.com (December 31, 2013). Retrieved on 2015-11-20.
  32. ↑ Purcell, Edward Mills (1952). "Biography". The Nobel Prize in Physics 1952 Felix Bloch, E. M. Purcell. The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  33. ↑ Norris, Kyle (2017). "Taylorville Native Doug Quick Wins "Best TV Anchor" Award". Taylorville Daily News. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  34. ↑ Illinois Supreme Court-James B. Ricks[dead link]
  35. ↑ "James B. Ricks" (PDF). Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission.
  36. ↑ 'Illinois Blue Book 1977-1978,' Biographical Sketch of Rolland F. Tipsword, pg. 169
  37. ↑ 'Illinois Blue Book 1965-1966,' Biographical Sketch of Stuart J. Traynor, pg. 180-181
  38. ↑ 'Illinois Blue Book 1933-1934, Biographical Sketch of Clifford J. Vogelsang, pg. 219

Template:Christian County, Illinois Template:Illinois county seats

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