City in Illinois, United States
Highland
is a city in
Madison County
,
Illinois
,
United States
. The population was 9,991 at the 2020 census.
[3]
Highland began as a
Swiss
settlement and derived its name from later
German
immigrants
.
Highland is a
sister city
of
Sursee
in Switzerland.
Highland is a part of the
Metro-East
region of the
Greater St. Louis
metropolitan area.
History
[
edit
]
Highland was settled in the early 19th century by Swiss-German settlers. The town was founded in 1837 and celebrated its 175th Jubilee in 2012.
[4]
It was first named
Helvetia
(pronounced hellveesha) in accordance with the heritage of the town's Swiss-German founding members. The town voted to change its name to the English version, "Highland", in the early 20th century, as well as stopping production of its
German language
newspaper, in part to avoid negativity towards those of Germanic heritage at the advent of the
First World War
. Around the same time, a small town in northern Illinois also started calling itself Highland. Eventually, the town in northern Illinois became
Highland Park
.
Highland has a rich history including extended visits by such notables as
Abraham Lincoln
.
[5]
On November 21, 1915, the
Liberty Bell
passed through Highland on its nationwide tour returning to
Pennsylvania
from the
Panama?Pacific International Exposition
in
San Francisco
.
[6]
Geography
[
edit
]
Highland is in southeastern Madison County, 30 miles (48 km) east of
St. Louis
.
U.S. Route 40
passes through the city north of downtown, leading west 11 miles (18 km) to
Troy
and on to St. Louis, and to the northeast 20 miles (32 km) to
Greenville
.
Illinois Route 160
passes through the center of Highland, leading north 6 miles (10 km) to
Grantfork
and south 10 miles (16 km) to
Trenton
, while
Illinois Route 143
leads northwest 6 miles (10 km) to
Marine
and northeast 5 miles (8 km) to
Pierron
.
Interstate 70
passes through the northern part of the city limits, with access from Exit 24 (IL 143) to the west and Exit 30 (US 40) to the east.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
, Highland has a total area of 7.84 square miles (20.31 km
2
), of which 6.81 square miles (17.64 km
2
) are land and 1.03 square miles (2.67 km
2
), or 13.13%, are water.
[1]
The city drains to the south to Sugar Creek, a tributary of the
Kaskaskia River
, and to the northwest to the East Fork of Silver Creek, another tributary of the Kaskaskia. Highland Silver Lake is a reservoir constructed on the East Fork; the Highland city limits extend north 5 miles (8 km) to the southern border of Grantfork to enclose the entire lake.
Economy
[
edit
]
Highland has been home to businesses that include
Pet Milk
and the
Wicks Organ Company
. For the past 60 years, Highland Supply Corporation has been producing and selling floral grass - a traditional decorative product used to line
Easter baskets
. Highland is also home to The Korte Company (builder of many large and well-known buildings including
Universal Studios
in
Florida
).
Government
[
edit
]
The current mayor is Kevin B. Hemann.
[7]
Highland is in the process of implementing citywide availability of a
municipal broadband
network using
Fiber to the home
technology.
[8]
Education
[
edit
]
The Highland Community Unit School District serves Highland area students including those from
Alhambra, Illinois
,
Grantfork, Illinois
, and
New Douglas, Illinois
. Kindergarten through sixth grade schools are located in each of the districts municipalities while the district's middle and high schools are located in Highland. Starting in August 2014 6th grade is located at the Highland Middle School. In September 2014, the district's teachers staged a
strike
for the first time in the district's history.
[9]
St. Paul's Church on a postcard
Additionally, Highland has a local parochial school named
St. Paul Catholic School
offering Kindergarten through eighth grade education.
The Louis Latzer Memorial Public Library has a collection of more than 48,000 print volumes, a substantial media collection, and public computer access along with access to subscription databases and a genealogy collection. It is also a member of the Illinois Heartland Library System.
[10]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Census
| Pop.
| Note
| %±
|
1850
| 704
| | ?
|
---|
1870
| 1,757
| | ?
|
---|
1880
| 1,969
| | 12.1%
|
---|
1890
| 1,857
| | ?5.7%
|
---|
1900
| 1,970
| | 6.1%
|
---|
1910
| 2,675
| | 35.8%
|
---|
1920
| 2,902
| | 8.5%
|
---|
1930
| 3,319
| | 14.4%
|
---|
1940
| 3,820
| | 15.1%
|
---|
1950
| 4,283
| | 12.1%
|
---|
1960
| 4,943
| | 15.4%
|
---|
1970
| 5,981
| | 21.0%
|
---|
1980
| 7,122
| | 19.1%
|
---|
1990
| 7,525
| | 5.7%
|
---|
2000
| 8,438
| | 12.1%
|
---|
2010
| 9,919
| | 17.6%
|
---|
2020
| 9,991
| | 0.7%
|
---|
As of the
census
[12]
of 2010, there were 9,919 people, 4,013 households, and 2,633 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,561.1 inhabitants per square mile (602.7/km
2
). There were 3,610 housing units at an average density of 667.9 per square mile (257.9/km
2
). The racial makeup of the city was 97.00%
White
, 0.2%
African American
, 0.2%
Native American
, 0.9%
Asian
, 0.4% from
other races
, and 1.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic
or
Latino
of any race were 1.4% of the population.
There were 4,013 households and 2,633 families. 50.3% of the families have children 18 years old or younger. There are 2,017 husband-wife families. 29.5% of all the households were made up of one individual and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 23% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.8 years. Of the total population 4,714 are males and 5,205 are females.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,524, and the median income for a family was $52,240. Males had a median income of $36,536 versus $25,620 for females. The
per capita income
for the city was $21,101. About 3.6% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the
poverty line
, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
Sports
[
edit
]
Highland Speedway is a 1/4 mile dirt oval racetrack that hosts
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series
and
DIRTcar
Summer Nationals races in addition to weekly races.
Mentions in popular media
[
edit
]
Highland is the setting for the first song on the
Illinois
album by
Sufjan Stevens
, titled 'Concerning the UFO sighting near Highland, Illinois', in which Stevens mentions a 21st-century
UFO
sighting by the owner of the local
mini-golf
course.
[13]
[14]
Highland was also mentioned on
The Daily Show
on February 9, 2006. A report mentioned local pharmacist and state legislator
Ron Stephens
, who protested an executive order by Illinois Governor
Rod Blagojevich
requiring a pharmacist to fill
emergency contraception
prescriptions.
[15]
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Geoff Hartlieb
, pitcher for the
Miami Marlins
; attended Highland High School; played at
Lindenwood University
- James Head
, mixed martial artist in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Arlo U. Landolt
, astronomer
- Sam LaPorta
, football player for the
Detroit Lions
- Ken Oberkfell
, third baseman with six
Major League Baseball
teams;
World Series
champion (1982); born in Highland
- Jake Odorizzi
, Major League Baseball pitcher for the
Kansas City Royals
,
Tampa Bay Rays
,
Minnesota Twins
and Houston Astros; previously played for Highland High School
- Harry Parker
, pitcher for the
St. Louis Cardinals
,
New York Mets
and
Cleveland Indians
; born in Highland
- Aaron Rakers
, relief pitcher for the
Baltimore Orioles
and
San Diego Padres
; born in Highland
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Illinois"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
February 13,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Highland, Illinois
- ^
a
b
"P1. Race ? Highland city, Illinois: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)"
. U.S. Census Bureau
. Retrieved
February 13,
2023
.
- ^
[1]
Archived
2014-08-12 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Allan H. Keith,
Historical Stories: About Greenville and Bond County, IL
. Consulted on August 15, 2007.
- ^
"Liberty Bell Attracts Crowd in Greenville During 1915 Stop". Greenville Advocate. July 3, 2007.
- ^
"Mayor's Office"
. City of Highland, Illinois. Archived from
the original
on August 20, 2009
. Retrieved
August 12,
2009
.
- ^
"Highland Communications Services"
. City of Highland, Illinois. Archived from
the original
on August 24, 2011
. Retrieved
August 16,
2011
.
- ^
Associated Press
(September 10, 2014).
"Southwestern Illinois teachers vote to strike"
.
WAND
. Archived from
the original
on September 14, 2014
. Retrieved
September 13,
2014
.
- ^
"Library Information"
. Louis Latzer Memorial Public Library
. Retrieved
February 22,
2017
.
- ^
"Census of Population and Housing"
. Census.gov
. Retrieved
June 4,
2015
.
- ^
"U.S. Census website"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
January 31,
2008
.
- ^
Kozemko, Jared.
"Sufjan Stevens' Illinoise is a new state of mind"
. the Lafayette.
- ^
Stage, Wm.
"Space Case"
. Riverfront Times.
- ^
"Ill. governor confused by 'Daily Show' bit"
.
USA Today
. Associated Press. February 23, 2006
. Retrieved
July 17,
2007
.
External links
[
edit
]
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