Flora, Illinois
| Flora | |
| City | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | Clay |
| Coordinates | 38°40′16.44″N 88°28′31.61″W / 38.6712333°N 88.4754472°W |
| Area | 4.4 sq mi (11 km2) |
| - land | 4.4 sq mi (11 km2) |
| Population | 5,086 (2000) |
| Density | 1,146.2 / sq mi (443 / km2) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 62839 |
| Area code | 618 |
   Location of Flora within Illinois
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| Wikimedia Commons: Flora, Illinois | |
Flora is a city in Clay County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,086 at the 2000 census.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
Flora is located at 38°40′11″N 88°29′3″W / 38.66972°N 88.48417°W (38.669813, -88.484105).[1]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11 km2), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 5,886 people, 2,127 households, and 1,325 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,146.2 people per square mile (442.3/km²). There were 2,352 housing units at an average density of 530.1 per square mile (204.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.76% White, 0.18% African American, 0.33% Native American, 1.12% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.
There were 2,127 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 21.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,157, and the median income for a family was $36,313. Males had a median income of $30,867 versus $19,693 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,653. About 9.5% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.
In 1961, Flora was named "Ford Town USA" and some 1500 vehicle owners were supplied with a new Ford car or truck to drive during that week.[3]
Flora's main industry is agriculture, although there are companies located in Flora that employ several hundreds. Flora is surrounded by a gently rolling countryside, with approximately 80-85% of it dedicated to farming and livestock.
Current DCCA profile information is available on the City of Flora's website http://florail.us/dcca1.htm
[edit] 'Is We Is'
In 1987 a group of Flora officials formed the Barbed Wire Choir and recorded a music video in an attempt to land a state prison. The song featured several city officials, including the mayor, asking then-Gov. Jim Thompson "Is we is or is we isn't/gonna get ourselves a prison." After initially being shown on local TV stations, the video was soon picked up by national stations such as WGN, MTV and ABC's "Good Morning America." Mayor Charles Overstreet appeared on the "The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers," and weatherman Spencer Christian later visited the town. After the hoopla died down, Flora lost their bid to three other communities. It also appeared briefly on Oprah at one point.[citation needed] A VHS copy of the video was found at the local newspaper and uploaded to YouTube January 1st 2008 by a former resident of the town. The video can be viewed here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5-d2WOgpfQ
[edit] References
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Models, Models, Models - TIME
[edit] External links
- Flora Sports - http://www.florasports.com/
- Flora Homepage - http://www.florail.us
- Flora Police - http://www.florapolice.com
- Flora-Clay County ESDA http://www.flora-claycountyesda.com/
- City of Flora tourism videos- http://www.elocallink.tv/vp2/vp6_brain.php?loc=/vp2/vp3_show.php&qstring=cid%3D424
- Flora Schools http://www.floraschools.com
- Flora Academic Foundation http://floraschools.com/faf.htm
- http://www.southeastillinois.com
- WNOI 103.9 Radio http://www.wnoi.com/
- Clay County Health Department http://www.healthdept.org
- Clay County Hospital http://www.claycountyhospital.org
- State Farm Agent Angie Borrelli http://angieborrelli.com/
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