Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
q2K BHP
Black History Portal
THE BHP WIRE —
HIDDEN TRUTHS
What's New!
Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
Pinckneyville, Illinois | |
|---|---|
 The Perry County Courthouse in downtown Pinckneyville | |
| Motto: The friendly little city | |
 Interactive map of Pinckneyville, Illinois | |
  Pinckneyville Location within Illinois  Pinckneyville Location within the United States | |
| Coordinates: 38°04′51″N 89°21′50″W / 38.08083°N 89.36389°W[2] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Perry |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.38 sq mi (11.35 km2) |
| • Land | 4.11 sq mi (10.64 km2) |
| • Water | 0.27 sq mi (0.71 km2) |
| Elevation | 427 ft (130 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 5,066 |
| • Density | 1,233.7/sq mi (476.34/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 62274 |
| Area code | 618 |
| FIPS code | 17-59884 |
| GNIS ID | 2396207[2] |
| Website | www |
Pinckneyville is a city in and the county seat of Perry County, Illinois, United States.[2] The population was 5,066 at the 2020 census. It is named for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, an early American diplomat and presidential candidate.
Pinckneyville is the location of the Pinckneyville Power Plant, a combustion turbine generator (CTG)-type power plant run by Ameren.[3]
Perry County was formed on January 29, 1827. It was named for Commodore Oliver H. Perry. When Perry County was established, 80 acres were taken from nearby Jackson and Randolph counties; 20 acres were reserved for the county seat. On May 17, 1857, Pinckneyville (named after Charles Cotesworth Pinckney) was organized and named as the county seat. Before being organized, Pinckneyville consisted as of 1834 of a log courthouse, four stores, a tavern, and a grocery (the first store was opened in 1827); around 20 families lived in the town. 1834 was also the same year that the Perry County jail was constructed; a larger jail, which is now the home of the Perry County jail museum, was built in 1871.[4]
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), southern Illinois was under martial law. In the years after Reconstruction, many laws were established to ensure the second-class status of African Americans. Many actions, however, were de facto laws. From 1890 to 1968, many sundown towns were established throughout the United States, including several in southern Illinois. Pinckneyville, on the other hand, was one amongst thousands of towns that, while established earlier, became a sundown town. Pinckneyville became sundown around 1928; the extant story in Pinckneyville is that a white woman was raped by a black man. The white leadership of the town loaded the black population of the town on a bus, drove them out of town, and left them in East St. Louis; a black man, probably the alleged rapist, was lynched at the town square. However, the rape explanation is considered to be unreliable because of the vagueness of the story and because it conflicts with accounts offered by others who lived in Pinckneyville at the time. The town continued to be a sundown town; the town had a "hanging tree", although African Americans were hanged in at least three separate places; under the city limits sign, there was a sign saying "No Coloreds After Dark" that came down in the late 1960s or early 1970s. In the town cemetery's black section, there are only two grave markers, yet it is estimated that there are approximately twenty graves.[citation needed]
As of the 2000 United States census, 1,331 of the 5,464 residents were black, however this population total includes the inmates of Pinckneyville Correctional Center, who are mostly African-American.[5] Pinckneyville is home to the Illinois Rural Heritage museum. In 2010, it was awarded the Governor's Hometown Award.[4]
Pinckneyville is located on Illinois Route 13 about 60 miles (97 km) southeast of St. Louis.
According to the 2010 census, Pinckneyville has a total area of 4.315 square miles (11.18 km2), of which 4.04 square miles (10.46 km2) (or 93.63%) is land and 0.275 square miles (0.71 km2) (or 6.37%) is water.[6]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 436 | — | |
| 1870 | 773 | 77.3% | |
| 1880 | 964 | 24.7% | |
| 1890 | 1,298 | 34.6% | |
| 1900 | 2,357 | 81.6% | |
| 1910 | 2,722 | 15.5% | |
| 1920 | 2,649 | −2.7% | |
| 1930 | 3,046 | 15.0% | |
| 1940 | 3,146 | 3.3% | |
| 1950 | 3,299 | 4.9% | |
| 1960 | 3,085 | −6.5% | |
| 1970 | 3,377 | 9.5% | |
| 1980 | 3,319 | −1.7% | |
| 1990 | 3,372 | 1.6% | |
| 2000 | 5,464 | 62.0% | |
| 2010 | 5,648 | 3.4% | |
| 2020 | 5,066 | −10.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[7] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[8] | Pop 2010[9] | Pop 2020[10] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 3,861 | 3,741 | 3,338 | 70.66% | 66.24% | 65.89% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 1,331 | 1,423 | 1,240 | 24.36% | 25.19% | 24.48% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 9 | 7 | 5 | 0.16% | 0.12% | 0.10% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 11 | 26 | 36 | 0.20% | 0.46% | 0.71% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.02% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0.04% | 0.07% | 0.10% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 6 | 39 | 95 | 0.11% | 0.69% | 1.88% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 244 | 407 | 347 | 4.47% | 7.21% | 6.85% |
| Total | 5,464 | 5,648 | 5,066 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 census, Pinckneyville had a population of 5,066. The median age was 36.6 years. 12.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 202.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 232.1 males age 18 and over.[11][12]
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[13]
There were 1,424 households in Pinckneyville, of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.6% were married-couple households, 20.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[11]
There were 1,600 housing units, of which 11.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.6%.[11]
| Race | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| White | 3,387 | 66.9% |
| Black or African American | 1,262 | 24.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 6 | 0.1% |
| Asian | 36 | 0.7% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0 | 0.0% |
| Some other race | 260 | 5.1% |
| Two or more races | 115 | 2.3% |
As of the census[14] of 2000, there were 5,464 people, 1,504 households, and 920 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,728.5 inhabitants per square mile (667.4/km2). There were 1,662 housing units at an average density of 525.8 per square mile (203.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 71.25% White, 24.36% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.77% from other races, and 0.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.47% of the population.
There were 1,504 households, out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 14.0% under the age of 18, 15.0% from 18 to 24, 39.7% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 188.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 209.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,391, and the median income for a family was $41,574. Males had a median income of $23,402 versus $21,848 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,601. About 8.2% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.
Elementary schools in Pinckneyville include District #50, CCSD 204, and St. Bruno Catholic School. Tamaroa grade school also feeds into the high school. Pinckneyville Community High School is the only high school serving the Pinckneyville area. The mascot is the panther. School colors are Columbia, Navy, and White. PCHS has longtime rivalries with DuQuoin High School and Nashville Community High School.
Pinckneyville is known for its boys basketball program, winning over 2,000 games and appearing in the State Finals Tournament 11 times (winning in 1948, 1994 and 2001).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
Municipalities and communities of Perry County, Illinois, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Villages | ||
| Precincts |
| |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Pinckneyville is a city in and the county seat of Perry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,066 at the 2020 census. It is named for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, an early American diplomat and presidential candidate. Pinckneyville is the location of the Pinckneyville Power Plant, a combustion turbine generator (CTG)-type power plant run by Ameren.
Air Illinois Flight 710 was a scheduled passenger flight from Chicago to Carbondale, Illinois, United States. On the night of October 11, 1983, the Hawker Siddeley HS 748 operating the Air Illinois flight crashed near Pinckneyville, Illinois, due to the flightcrew's mismanagement of electrical generator and distribution problems, noting the captain's habit of violating safety regulations in order to arrive on time. All 10 passengers and crew were killed in the accident. The airline was grounded until it proved it could meet minimal FAA safety standards, returning to service in steps from December 1983 to March 1984; in April 1984, Air Illinois folded, declaring bankruptcy.
Pinckneyville Community High School is a public high school in Pinckneyville, Illinois. It is located in Perry County Illinois.
The Perry County Jail, also known as the Perry County Jail Museum, is a history museum and historic jail in Pinckneyville, Illinois. Built in 1871, the jail was the second county jail used by Perry County. The county's first jail was built in 1833-34 and was demolished to make room for the new jail; it was a two-story brick building measuring 14 by 16 feet (4.3 m × 4.9 m) on the interior, and it cost $750 to build. The legislature passed two separate private laws to enable Perry County to obtain funds for the second jail's construction: one in 1865 to permit a tax levy, and the other in 1867 to permit the issuance of bonds. Although the county quickly solicited architects' plans upon being permitted to issue bonds, four years passed before they announced their choice of the design created by Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford. The contractor was chosen in May, a superintendent named in July, and the building deemed complete in December. The new brick jail was built by contractor E. Hough of Indianapolis for $14,150. The county sheriff's residence was attached to the jail, an arrangement which allowed the sheriff to oversee the jail at all times. The county used the jail until 1987, when a newer jail was built. The building housed county offices until 1993, when the Perry County Historical Society leased the building for a museum. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 10, 2000. It is one of two properties in Perry County on the National Register, along with the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in Du Quoin.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
