Bone Gap, Illinois

Bone Gap is a village in Edwards County, Illinois, United States. The population was 246 at the 2010 census, down from 272 at the 2000 census.[3]

Bone Gap, Illinois
Village
Post office (left) and IOOF building
Location of Bone Gap in Edwards County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 38°26′49″N 87°59′47″W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Edwards
Area [1]
• Total	0.58 sq mi (1.51 km^2)
• Land	0.58 sq mi (1.51 km^2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km^2)
Population  (2010)
• Total	246
• Estimate  (2019)[2]	234
• Density	401.37/sq mi (154.99/km^2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP code	62815
Area code(s)	618
FIPS code	17-07224

History

According to local historians, the Piankeshaw Indians established a village in the vicinity of modern Bone Gap prior to the arrival of permanent European settlers. This village was situated in a gap in the treeline. When the first permanent European settlers arrived in 1830, they found a large number of discarded animal bones left by the Piankeshaw inhabitants, and named the settlement "Bone Gap."[4]

Surnames among early settlers included Rude, Morgan, Knowlton, Phillips, Leach, Gibson, Rice, and Gould, the latter belonging to Methodist minister Ebenezer Gould. Many of the settlers came from northeastern states, and the community that developed became known as "Yankeetown." This area, now known as "Old Bone Gap" as it was situated just east of the current village, consisted of a store, post office, doctor's office, blacksmith shop, a Baptist church, and a Methodist parsonage. The current village of Bone Gap voted 38-7 to incorporate on March 29, 1892.[4]

Geography

Bone Gap is located in northeastern Edwards County at 38°26′49″N 87°59′47″W (38.447053, -87.996288).[5] It is 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Albion, the county seat. Illinois State Route 130 passes just to the west.

According to the 2010 census, Bone Gap has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.55 km²), all land.[6]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	496		—
1910	517		4.2%
1920	455		−12.0%
1930	364		−20.0%
1940	385		5.8%
1950	327		−15.1%
1960	245		−25.1%
1970	308		25.7%
1980	350		13.6%
1990	271		−22.6%
2000	272		0.4%
2010	246		−9.6%
2019 (est.)	234	[2]	−4.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]

As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 272 people, 99 households, and 80 families residing in the village. The population density was 450.5 people per square mile (175.0/km²). There were 110 housing units at an average density of 182.2 per square mile (70.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.26% White, 0.37% Native American and 0.37% Asian.

There were 99 households, out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.7% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the village, the age distribution of the population shows 27.9% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $27,813, and the median income for a family was $33,214. Males had a median income of $21,354 versus $17,500 for females. The per capita income for the village was $10,804. About 15.8% of families and 25.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.9% of those under the age of eighteen and 15.4% of those 65 or over.

Notable people

• Cy Warmoth, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Senators; born in Bone Gap

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
3. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Bone Gap village, Illinois". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
4. Edwards County Sesquicentennial Book, 1814-1964.
5. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
6. "G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2015-08-02.
7. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
8. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.