Taylorville is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,506 at the 2020 census, making it the county's largest city.

History Taylorville was founded on May 24, 1839, and was named after John Taylor, a planning commissioner for the state of Illinois.

Taylorville was known (in the early to mid-1990s) to have had a high rate of neuroblastoma, a cancer affecting the adrenal gland and striking children.Neuroblastoma Coal Tar Cancer. Clutterinvestigations.com. Retrieved on November 20, 2015. The local power company Central Illinois Public Service Company was sued and lost for contaminating the groundwater in 1994.The case files for the case against the power plant. State.il.us. Retrieved on November 20, 2015.

Some outer homes and a business in Taylorville were damaged by an F1 tornado on April 2, 2006.

On August 11, 2012, a Beechcraft Model 18 airplane crashed into a residential area of Taylorville, killing the pilot but injuring none on the ground. A subsequent NTSB investigation into the accident concluded that an improper flap configuration and failure to maintain the correct airspeed due to pilot error, resulted in the crash.

At about 5:15 PM on December 1, 2018, as part of the December 2018 tornado outbreak, an intense tornado hit Taylorville. The tornado injured at least 26 residents and damaged more than 600 homes and businesses, 34 of which were completely destroyed. Damage surveys by the National Weather Service rated the tornado EF3 with winds over .

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Taylorville has a total area of , of which (or 84.38%) is land and (or 15.62%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Taylorville had a population of 10,506. The median age was 42.9 years. 20.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.5 males age 18 and over.

96.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.6% lived in rural areas.

There were 4,841 households in Taylorville, including 2,507 families, of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.6% were married-couple households, 20.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 5,336 housing units, of which 9.3% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.8%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 9,856 93.8% Black or African American 95 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native 25 0.2% Asian 99 0.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 2 0.0% Some other race 55 0.5% Two or more races 374 3.6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 173 1.6% Education The IHSA single season boys' basketball record of 45–0 was set by Taylorville High School in 1944. Ron Bontemps and Johnny Orr were team members.

In 1911, the Taylorville Christians were a member of the Illinois–Missouri League, an American minor league baseball league. Future Baseball Hall of Famer Ray Schalk played on that team.

Media The town newspaper is the Breeze-Courier. The State Journal-Register, published in Springfield, Illinois, covers Taylorville and Christian County quite extensively. The Decatur, Illinois Herald & Review covers the area as well.

Transportation Taylorville is served by Illinois Route 29, Illinois Route 48 and Illinois Route 104. By closest major city, Illinois Route 29 connects Taylorville to Springfield, Illinois; Illinois Route 48 connects to Decatur, Illinois – including, from there, highway access to Pana, Illinois via US Highway 51 and to Champaign, Illinois via Interstate 72; and Illinois Route 104 connects Taylorville to Jacksonville, Illinois.

Notable people

Larry Bucshon – U.S. representative for Indiana John J. Bullington – Illinois state representative, soldier, and politician; lived and practiced law in Taylorville'Illinois Blue Book 1917-1918,' Biographical Sketch of John J. Bullington, pg. 206-207 Jon Corzine – 54th Governor of New Jersey and United States Senator representing New JerseyDave Bakke: When Corzine's in the news, media turn to Taylorville – News – The State Journal-Register – Springfield, IL. Sj-r.com (November 4, 2011). Retrieved on 2015-11-20.Dori Meinert (September 26, 2004) . Springfield State Journal Register. Yvonne Craig – actress who appeared in season 3 of the 1960s Batman TV series as Batgirl; born in Taylorville Rodney Davis – Congressman, raised in Taylorville and graduated from Taylorville High School James H. Forrester – Illinois state senator, judge, and lawyer; lived and practiced law in Taylorville'Illinois Blue book 1927-1928,' Biographical Sketch of James H. Forrester, pg. 290=291 Harry B. Hershey – Illinois Supreme Court justice; lived in and served as mayor of TaylorvilleIllinois Supreme Court-Harry B. Hershey . Illinoiscourts.gov (August 30, 1967). Retrieved on 2015-11-20. Randy Hopper – Wisconsin State Senator; born in Taylorville'Wisconsin Blue Book 2009-2010), Biographical Sketch of Randy Hopper, pg. 54 Vern Mullen – professional football player Johnny Orr – basketball player and coach; born in TaylorvilleWilliam Yardley (January 2, 2014) Johnny Orr, Coach Who Turned Iowa State Into Contender, Dies at 86. New York TimesTaylorville native, basketball coach Johnny Orr dies – Entertainment & Life – The State Journal-Register – Springfield, IL. Sj-r.com (December 31, 2013). Retrieved on 2015-11-20. Pat Perry – former MLB pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs; born in Taylorville Edward Mills Purcell - winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance Doug Quick – weatherman, author and museum curator; born in Taylorville James B. Ricks – Illinois Supreme Court justice; served as mayor of TaylorvilleIllinois Supreme Court-James B. Ricks Jesse J. Ricks – attorney and Union Carbide executive; son of James B. Ricks Ruth Robertson – photojournalist; born in Taylorville Nook Schreier – musician and music director, born in Taylorville Joyce Taylor – 1960s film and television actress; born in Taylorville Rolland F. Tipsword – Illinois state representative, judge, and lawyer; lived and practiced law in Taylorville'Illinois Blue Book 1977-1978,' Biographical Sketch of Rolland F. Tipsword, pg. 169 Stuart J. Traynor – Illinois state legislator and lawyer, lived and practiced law in Taylorville.'Illinois Blue Book 1965-1966,' Biographical Sketch of Stuart J. Traynor, pg. 180-181 Clifford J. Vogelsang – Illinois state senator, judge, and lawyer; lived and practiced law in Taylorville'Illinois Blue Book 1933-1934, Biographical Sketch of Clifford J. Vogelsang, pg. 219

References

External links

Taylorville city website Taylorville Schools Lincoln Land Community College-Taylorville Taylorville Park District Taylorville Chamber of Commerce Taylorville Main Street