Mount Olive, Illinois

Soulsby Service Station, a typical gas station along U.S. Route 66.

Mount Olive is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,150 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Mount Olive is located at 39°4′18″N 89°43′36″W (39.071624, -89.726719).

According to the 2010 census, Mount Olive has a total area of 1.153 square miles (2.99 km²), of which 1.15 square miles (2.98 km²) (or 99.74%) is land and 0.003 square miles (0.01 km²) (or 0.26%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	709		—
1890	1,986		180.1%
1900	2,935		47.8%
1910	3,501		19.3%
1920	3,503		0.1%
1930	3,079		−12.1%
1940	2,559		−16.9%
1950	2,401		−6.2%
1960	2,295		−4.4%
1970	2,288		−0.3%
1980	2,357		3.0%
1990	2,126		−9.8%
2000	2,150		1.1%
2010	2,099		−2.4%
2014 (est.)	2,032		−3.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,150 people, 906 households, and 609 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,948.2 people per square mile (754.7/km²). There were 991 housing units at an average density of 898.0 per square mile (347.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.79% White, 0.83% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 1.28% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3% of the population.

There were 906 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the age distribution of the population shows 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,065, and the median income for a family was $41,765. Males had a median income of $30,709 versus $21,125 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,172. About 6.1% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Frank Biscan, pitcher for the St Louis Browns
• Jess Dobernic, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds
• Mike Kreevich, player for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators

Points of interest

In Mount Olive is located the Union Miners Cemetery where miners killed in the Battle of Virden and community and labor organizer Mary Harris "Mother" Jones are buried.

The cemetery sits just south of U.S. Route 66. Soulsby Service Station is the oldest operating station on the historic route in Illinois.