Benton, Illinois Franklin County Courthouse in Franklin County Courthouse County Franklin Location of Benton inside Illinois Location of Benton inside Illinois Benton is a town/city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States.
It is the governmental center of county of Franklin County. The town/city is part of the Metro Lakeland area.
2.1 Benton Public Library Benton, the governmental center of county of Franklin County, took its name from the prominent senator from Missouri, Thomas Hart Benton.
Franklin County was platted in 1818, the year Illinois became a state, at twice its current size.
In 1839 the county was split roughly in half and the governmental center of county was permanently fixed "at a hill at the south end of Rowling's Prairie", the site of the future town/city of Benton.
The Franklin County Courthouse sits in the center of the Public Square.
It is the third courthouse that has served the citizens of Franklin County.
Much of Benton's expansion in the past can be traced to the abundance of high sulfur coal, the existence of multiple barns s, rich soil and the trade of her citizens .
On April 19, 1928 Benton was the site of the last enhance hanging in Illinois, when small-town gangster Charles Birger was executed on the gallows next to the county jail for the December 12, 1926 murder of Joe Adams, mayor of close-by West City, Illinois.
They remain standing today next to the old Franklin County Jail turned Museum.
In September 1963, George Harrison of The Beatles visited Benton while on vacation, the first time any member of the group visited American soil.
According to the 2010 census, Benton has a total region of 5.66 square miles (14.66 km2), of which 5.48 square miles (14.19 km2) (or 96.82%) is territory and 0.18 square miles (0.47 km2) (or 3.18%) is water. Benton Public Library serves all inhabitants of Benton High School District.
Benton and encircling areas are served by a daily newspaper, The Benton Evening News.
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,880 citizens , 2,938 homeholds, and 1,824 families residing in the city.
The ethnic makeup of the town/city was 98.72% White, 0.29% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.06% from other competitions, and 0.51% from two or more competitions.
There were 2,938 homeholds out of which 26.6% had kids under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female homeholder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families.
In the city, the age distribution of the populace shows 22.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 22.4% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median income for a homehold in the town/city was $27,177, and the median income for a family was $35,339.
About 15.6% of families and 17.5% of the populace were below the poverty line, including 27.6% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.
Charlie Birger, bootlegger amid prohibition, hanged on 19 April 1928 at the Franklin County Jail in Benton Gary Forby, Illinois State Senator "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015".
Municipalities and communities of Franklin County, Illinois, United States
Categories:
Cities in Illinois - Cities in Franklin County, Illinois - County seats in Illinois - Populated places established in 1841 - Southern Illinois
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