Griggsville, Illinois

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Griggsville is a city in Pike County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,258 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Points of interest
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Griggsville is located at 39°42′30″N, 90°43′33″W (39.708403, -90.725797)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.7 km² (1.0 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,258 people, 500 households, and 360 families residing in the city. The population density was 467.0/km² (1,215.0/mi²). There were 548 housing units at an average density of 203.4/km² (529.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.21% White, 0.16% African American, 0.08% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.24% of the population.

There were 500 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,875, and the median income for a family was $36,071. Males had a median income of $27,454 versus $18,182 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,578. About 10.2% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

This 562-apartment high rise, reaching a height of 70 ft., was constructed in 1962.

Griggsville is located between the Mississippi River and the Illinois River and the hot muggy summers are the perfect habitat for mosquitoes. When pesticides were banned in the 1960s during the DDT pesticide scares, the town had to come up with an alternate way to protect themselves. J.L. Wade, a Griggsville resident and owner of a local antenna manufacturing factory realized that Griggsville was right in the migration path of the Purple Martin, the largest bird in the swallow family, supposedly able to eat 2,000 mosquitoes in a single day.

J.L. Wade quickly realized that to get the purple martins to stay, he simply needed to give them a reason to stay, so he converted his antenna factory into a bird house building factory. The mosquito population dwindled, which lead the town to adopt the nickname "The Purple Martin Capital of the Nation", as well as labeling the Purple Martin "America's Most Wanted Bird." Additionally, Wade's Purple Martin business, formerly Trio Manufacturing, published a newsletter called The Nature Society News. The factory on the edge of town was well known for the purple train cars lining the property, which were recently removed. Today the town sports over 5,000 birdhouses including a 562-apartment high rise, reaching a height of 70 ft.

Other notable Griggsville natives include former Laker basketball star Lew Hitch, and the alt.post-folk.against bands New Prairie Identity, The Folk du Foyer, and the Folk du Foyer offshoot Folk de Foyer.

[edit] Points of interest

The 'Purple Martin High-Rise' is located in central Griggsville on Illinois Route 107.
The Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area is 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Griggsville.