Olney, Illinois Front and northern side of the Olney CNB Bank, positioned at 202 S.
Location of Olney inside Illinois Location of Olney inside Illinois Wikimedia Commons: Olney, Illinois Olney (/ lni/ awl-nee) is a town/city in Richland County, Illinois, United States.
2 Squirrel populace Richland County was organized as a county in 1841, when it was formed by a partitioning of Clay and Lawrence Counties.
There was some controversy regarding the locale of the county seat; however, Olney was determined as the choice based on a donation of territory and the central location.
The name of the town Olney was suggested by Judge Aaron Shaw who desired to honor a friend, Nathan Olney.
Overall, the county was pro-Union and an estimated 1,700 Richland County people fought for the Union in the Civil war.
Nearly 1,000 Olney inhabitants served in World War I, and amid World War II, Richland County may have been the only Illinois county outside of Cook that provided 4 generals for the war accomplishment. The first census of Richland County was in 1850 at which time 4,012 citizens resided in the county.
One hundred years later the 1950 census found a spot north of Olney near Dundas to be the populace center of the United States.
A white squirrel in Olney Olney is known for its populace of white squirrels.
There are two hypotheses about how there came to be white squirrels in Olney. Ridgely and John Robinson captured a cream colored squirrel and then raised a several litters of them before bringing a pair to Olney in 1902.
In 1943, the squirrel populace reached its peak at 1000, but now the populace holds steady at around 200.
In the mid-1970s, John Stencel, instructor at Olney Central College, received a small grant from the Illinois Academy of Science to study the white squirrels.
When the white squirrels dip below 100, they are concerned about genetic drift, or shifts in allele (gene) recurrence, which may reduce genetic variation and therefore speed up the extinction of a small population.
In 1997, the Olney City Council amended its ordinance which disallowed dogs from running at large to include cats.
They are hopeful this will have a positive effect on the white squirrel population.
White squirrels have the right-of-way on all enhance streets, sidewalks, and thoroughfares in Olney, and there is a $750 fine for running one over. The police department's badge even has a picture of a white squirrel on it.
The white squirrel has proved to be an enduring motif of Olnean pride, and stands as Olney's most defining feature.
The populace of white squirrels makes Illinois the only state to have populations of white as well as black squirrels, the latter residing in the Quad Cities area.
Olney is positioned at 38 44 N 88 5 W (38.7306, -88.0819). According to the 2010 census, Olney has a total region of 6.664 square miles (17.26 km2), of which 6.66 square miles (17.25 km2) (or 99.94%) is territory and 0.004 square miles (0.01 km2) (or 0.06%) is water. In the city, the populace was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older.
Olney has a several parks to appreciate all of which serve different purposes: Olney City Park: A great place to visit if you are looking for the famous white squirrels.
The park is one of the premier sports parks in southern Illinois, drawing thousand of spectators and athletes to the City of Olney every summer.
Miller's Grove & Bird Haven: A wonderful place to watch the white squirrels and to go fishing on East Fork Lake.
Bruce, Illinois State Senator and United States Congressman; born in Olney Elaine Shepard, actress; born in Olney Olney is served by a daily newspaper, the Olney Daily Mail.
WUSI-TV (Channel 16) is licensed to Olney.
"White Squirrels of Olney".
City of Olney, Illinois.
"City of Olney Municipal Code" (PDF).
"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015".
"Enumeration of Population and Housing".
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclop dia Britannica article Olney, U.S.A..
Municipalities and communities of Richland County, Illinois, United States County seat: Olney Bonpas Claremont Decker Denver German Madison Noble Olney Preston This populated place also has portions in an adjoining county or counties
Categories:
Cities in Richland County, Illinois - Cities in Illinois - County seats in Illinois - Populated places established in 1848 - 1848 establishments in Illinois
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