Editing Junction, Illinois

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Junction, Illinois
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| settlement_type    = [[List of towns and villages in Illinois|Village]]
| image_skyline      = Junction-welcome-sign-il.jpg
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| image_caption      = Welcome sign
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| image_map          = File:Gallatin County Illinois Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Junction Highlighted.svg
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| map_caption        = Location of Junction in Gallatin County, Illinois.
| image_map1         = Illinois in United States (US48).svg
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| map_caption1       = Location of Illinois in the United States
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| subdivision_name1  = [[Illinois]]
| subdivision_type2  = County
| subdivision_name2  = [[Gallatin County, Illinois|Gallatin]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[List of townships in Illinois|Township]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[Gold Hill Township, Gallatin County, Illinois|Gold Hill]]
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| established_title  = Founded
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| area_total_km2     = 2.14
| area_total_sq_mi   = 0.83
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| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.00
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| population_as_of   = [[2010 United States Census|2010]]
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| population_total   = 129
| pop_est_as_of      = 2019
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| postal_code        = 62954
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| area_code          = [[Area code 618|618]]
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| blank_info         = 17-38778
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| blank2_name_sec2   = Wikimedia Commons
| blank2_info_sec2   = Junction, Illinois
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}}
'''Junction''' is a village in [[Gold Hill Township, Gallatin County, Illinois|Gold Hill Township]], [[Gallatin County, Illinois|Gallatin County]], [[Illinois]], United States. The population was 56 at the 2020 census.<ref>{{cite web |title=Junction, Illinois, USA 2020 Census |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Junction_village,_Illinois?g=160XX00US1738778}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:The Old Slave House.jpg|thumb|left|200px|1970s photograph of the [[Crenshaw House (Gallatin County, Illinois)|John Hart Crenshaw House]] near Junction]]
Junction was founded in the 1880s, and was named for its location at the junction of the [[Louisville and Nashville Railroad|L&N]] and [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad|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, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvHgwa-XImcC&dq= 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 (Illinois)|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., "[https://www2.illinois.gov/iema/Mitigation/documents/CountyPlans/plan_GallatinCounty.pdf Hazard Mitigation Plan, Gallatin County, Illinois] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222023858/https://www.illinois.gov/iema/Mitigation/documents/CountyPlans/plan_GallatinCounty.pdf |date=February 22, 2017 }} (2011), p. 36.</ref>

On June 1, 2022, Junction General Baptist Church burned down after lightning struck the steeple.<ref>{{cite web |title=Church destroyed by fire in Gallatin County |date=June 2, 2022 |url=https://www.wevv.com/news/church-destroyed-by-fire-in-gallatin-county/article_2568de76-e279-11ec-98ef-f37c67f1e19d.html}}</ref> 

===Crenshaw House===
The [[Crenshaw House (Gallatin County, Illinois)|Hickory Hill mansion]], almost five miles west of Junction, is the 19th-century home of illegal slave trader and slave breeder [[John Crenshaw|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, "[https://thesouthern.com/news/local/future-of-crenshaw-house-or-old-slave-house-in-question/article_40effc33-b49f-564e-a733-249c7324478d.html Future of Crenshaw House, or Old Slave House, in Question]," ''The Southern'', February 21, 2016.</ref>

==Geography==
Junction is located at the center of Gallatin County at {{coord|37|43|22|N|88|14|17|W|type:city}} (37.722726, -88.237973).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</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 (Illinois)|Saline River]], a tributary of the Ohio, passes just to the south.

According to the 2010 census, Junction has a total area of {{convert|0.883|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|0.88|sqmi|sqkm|2}} (or 99.66%) is land and {{convert|0.003|sqmi|sqkm|2}} (or 0.34%) is water.<ref name="census-g001">{{cite web
  |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US1738778
  |title=G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1
  |accessdate=August 4, 2015
  |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]
  |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213061305/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US1738778
  |archive-date=February 13, 2020
  |url-status=dead
  }}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1910= 800
|1920= 321
|1930= 292
|1940= 320
|1950= 239
|1960= 238
|1970= 199
|1980= 192
|1990= 201
|2000= 139
|2010= 129
|2020= 56
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2019CenPopScriptOnlyDirtyFixDoNotUse">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html|date=May 24, 2020|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=May 27, 2020}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
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 (U.S. Census)|White]]. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.79% of the population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Junction, Illinois, USA 2020 Census |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Junction_village,_Illinois?g=160XX00US1738778}}</ref>

There were 35 households, out of which 10.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.6% were [[Marriage|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==
*[[John Crenshaw|John Hart Crenshaw]], landowner, salt maker, illegal slave trader kidnapper, and illegal slave breeder

==Further reading==
* 1887. ''History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties, Illinois''. Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Co.
* Musgrave, Jon, ed. 2002. [http://www.illinoishistory.com/books ''Handbook of Old Gallatin County and Southeastern Illinois'']. Marion, Ill.: [http://www.illinoishistory.com/ IllinoisHistory.com]. 464 pages.
* Musgrave, Jon. 2004, Rev. ed. 2005. [http://www.illinoishistory.com/books ''Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw: The Real Story of the Old Slave House and America's Reverse Underground R.R.'']. Marion, Ill.: [http://www.illinoishistory.com/ IllinoisHistory.com]. 608 pages.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Junction, Illinois}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050530032102/http://www.lth6.k12.il.us/schools/gallatin/flood_junction.htm 1997 flood in Junction]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080402053945/http://www.lth6.k12.il.us/schools/gallatin/junction.htm Junction School]

{{Gallatin County, Illinois}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Gallatin County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Villages in Illinois]]