Junction, Illinois
Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Junction is a village in Gold Hill Township, Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 56 at the 2020 census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
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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.<ref>Edward Callary, Place Names of Illinois (University of Illinois Press, 2010), p. 180.</ref>
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.<ref>Southern Illinois Regional Planning and Development Commission, et. al., "Hazard Mitigation Plan, Gallatin County, Illinois Template:Webarchive (2011), p. 36.</ref>
On June 1, 2022, Junction General Baptist Church burned down after lightning struck the steeple.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Crenshaw House
[edit]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.<ref>Molly Parker, "Future of Crenshaw House, or Old Slave House, in Question," The Southern, February 21, 2016.</ref>
Geography
[edit]Junction is located at the center of Gallatin County at Template:Coord (37.722726, -88.237973).<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> 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 Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (or 99.66%) is land and Template:Convert (or 0.34%) is water.<ref name="census-g001">Template:Cite web</ref>
Demographics
[edit]Template:US Census population 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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
[edit]- John Hart Crenshaw, landowner, salt maker, illegal slave trader kidnapper, and illegal slave breeder
Further reading
[edit]- 1887. History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties, Illinois. Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Co.
- Musgrave, Jon, ed. 2002. Handbook of Old Gallatin County and Southeastern Illinois. Marion, Ill.: IllinoisHistory.com. 464 pages.
- Musgrave, Jon. 2004, Rev. ed. 2005. Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw: The Real Story of the Old Slave House and America's Reverse Underground R.R.. Marion, Ill.: IllinoisHistory.com. 608 pages.