349:
such a big deal to have such a small place named after you. Another story is that Thomas
Ridgway, for whom Ridgway was named, was on a train going through here. Mr. Ridgway was the President of the Springfield and Illinois Southeastern Railroad, and he asked what the town had been named. It is said that the foreman of the construction crew, or one version says he was conductor or engineer of the train, spoke up and said the trainmen call it Popeye or Popeye's Station. Mr. Ridgway, so the story goes, said that was no name for a town. This trainman is then supposed to have said, “Why don’t you name it after me?” So they did. His name was supposed to have been John William Norris of Fairfield. Nellie Johnson, wife of Mel Johnson, said her father was on the train when this happened. Mel and Nellie Johnson operated Johnson's Hardware of the south side of East Main Street in Norris City for years. Another version of this story is that the engineer of the work train constructing the railroad tracks to the site of Norris City boarded at the home of William Norris, and his wife Emaline (White) Norris at the west edge of the site of the new village. It is said that he was the one who spoke up and suggested the name for the town. He was fond of the cooking of Mrs. Emaline Norris, who was noted as a good cook. For this reason, it is said that he suggested the name Norris City, naming the town after her and not her husband, William Norris. Jessie (Robb) Newkirk, wife of Vollie Newkirk (parents of Beth (Newkirk) Rister) and a granddaughter of William and Emaline Norris said that her grandmother always said that the town was named after her and not after her husband. A brother and a sister of Jessie Newkirk also told the same story that had been told to them by their grandmother Norris.
345:
caused many debates throughout the years. The new community, for a short time in early 1871, was called “Popeye” or “Popeye’s
Station, after William A. Johnson, the first depot agent at the site who had the nickname of Popeye. The trainmen said they were stopping at “Popeye” or “Popeye’s Station.” The story is that Mr. Johnson's eyes protruded, so he was given the nickname of Popeye. This was before the days of the Popeye cartoon character, which was created by a native of Chester, Ill.. The story is, that children going to Gum Prairie Grade School near Mr. Johnson's house gave him the nickname. The other story is that he was given the nickname by the trainmen. Stories about how Norris City got its name are varied, but the following is a result of my research: First off, it was not named after any of the aforementioned people involved in getting Norris City started and platted. This deepens the mystery. According to one story, the people of the new village got together to try to agree upon a name for it. It was decided that the name would come from the person or family having the most land in the area. After the acreages were added up, the Norris family beat out the Johnson family by just a few acres. Thus, as the story goes, it was named Norris City. William Norris was the head of the Norris family at that time so it was said to have been named after him.
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Another version is that a meeting was held and the railroad had been doing some business with
William Norris so they decided to name the town Norris City after him. So the story goes that he went home from the meeting and told his wife, Emaline (White) Norris, and she replied she didn't think it was
693:
In the village, the population was spread out, with 20.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over,
689:
living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.81.
661:
of 2000, there were 1,057 people, 492 households, and 296 families residing in the village. The population density was 911.6 inhabitants per square mile (352.0/km). There were 563 housing units at an average density of 485.6 per square mile (187.5/km). The racial makeup of the village was 98.30%
352:
The book, “Illinois, a
Descriptive and Historical Guide,” compiled in 1939 by Federal Works Agency, Works Project Administration, states that Norris City, altitude 444, population 1109, a trading center for an agricultural and coal mining district was named in honor of a pioneer settler, William
344:
The post office at Norris City was established May 15, 1871, with
William A. Johnson appointed as the first Postmaster. The name for Norris City had to have been decided prior to the time it was platted and prior to the opening of the post office. The question of how Norris City got its name has
392:(37.979816, -88.327219). According to the 2010 census, Norris City has a total area of 1.182 square miles (3.06 km), of which 1.18 square miles (3.06 km) (or 99.83%) is land and 0.002 square miles (0.01 km) (or 0.17%) is water.
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A popular festival known as Dairy Days takes place during the weekend of the fourth
Saturday in September each year. Dairy Days has been held annually since 1947. The festival was organized by the
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The median income for a household in the village was $ 22,121, and the median income for a family was $ 29,412. Males had a median income of $ 25,972 versus $ 14,868 for females. The
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Norris. A reference report of the
Illinois State Historical Library states, “No information is available in our records as to the origins of the name, Norris City.”
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The original plat of Norris City was filed for record in the White County
Courthouse in Carmi, Illinois on August 17, 1871, at 8 a.m.
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800:. (New York City: Columbia University Press, 1972 reprint of 1962 revision using as main body unaltered 1952 text), p. 1336
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There were 492 households, out of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were
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for the village was $ 13,671. About 9.4% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the
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until 2009, when the Dairy Days
Association was formed to coordinate the annual festival.
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Norris City, Illinois
992:
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940:'Illinois Blue Book 1949-1950,' Biographical Sketch of Ora Collard, pg. 232-233
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714:
379:
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705:, including 23.9% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.
1207:‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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914:"Sue James to retire from Dairy Day committee — the Villagers Voice"
729:, Illinois state representative and businessman; born in Norris City
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837:"G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1"
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735:, pro football and basketball player; born in Norris City
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53:Location of Norris City in White County, Illinois.
315:Going into downtown Norris City along Main Street
330:. The population was 1,275 at the 2010 census.
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8:
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954:
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811:"US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990"
682:of any race were 0.09% of the population.
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1038:Map of Illinois highlighting White County
65:Location of Illinois in the United States
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263:
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928:"Dairy day 2015 — the Villagers Voice"
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338:Norris City was incorporated in 1901.
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1257:Populated places established in 1901
674:, and 0.76% from two or more races.
169:0.00 sq mi (0.00 km)
161:1.17 sq mi (3.04 km)
153:1.17 sq mi (3.04 km)
1247:Villages in White County, Illinois
976:Municipalities and communities of
867:"Census of Population and Housing"
409:
25:Village in Illinois, United States
14:
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1262:1871 establishments in Illinois
307:The high school in Norris City
1:
798:Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer
765:. United States Census Bureau
198:976.96/sq mi (377.19/km)
893:United States Census Bureau
841:United States Census Bureau
815:United States Census Bureau
763:"2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files"
299:The Norris City Post Office
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361:Norris City is located at
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177:427 ft (130 m)
16:Not to be confused with
694:there were 80.9 males.
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979:White County, Illinois
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889:"U.S. Census website"
745:; born in Norris City
651:U.S. Decennial Census
401:Historical population
380:37.97972°N 88.32722°W
314:
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289:Norris City, Illinois
221: • Summer (
90:37.97972°N 88.32722°W
1252:Villages in Illinois
1225:United States portal
847:on February 13, 2020
195: • Density
817:. February 12, 2011
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385:37.97972; -88.32722
376: /
140:Charles "Skip" Land
95:37.97972; -88.32722
86: /
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741:, pitcher for the
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187: • Total
166: • Water
150: • Total
137: • Mayor
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699:per capita income
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286:Wikimedia Commons
158: • Land
20:in Fulton County.
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739:Floyd Newkirk
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71:Coordinates:
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1144:Indian Creek
1086:Phillipstown
1080:
998:
936:
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896:. Retrieved
883:
871:. Retrieved
869:. Census.gov
861:
851:December 25,
849:. Retrieved
845:the original
831:
819:. Retrieved
805:
797:
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767:. Retrieved
757:
712:
703:poverty line
696:
692:
684:
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396:Demographics
360:
351:
347:
343:
340:
337:
324:White County
319:
318:
22:
1174:Brownsville
1166:communities
1149:Mill Shoals
1091:Springerton
1081:Norris City
1075:Mill Shoals
994:County seat
898:January 31,
727:Ora Collard
383: /
320:Norris City
242:ZIP Code(s)
93: /
32:Norris City
1241:Categories
1194:Rising Sun
1060:Crossville
750:References
733:Max Morris
715:Lions Club
657:As of the
371:88°19′38″W
368:37°58′47″N
182:Population
132:Government
81:88°19′38″W
78:37°58′47″N
1203:Footnotes
1134:Hawthorne
1101:Townships
1024:Grayville
821:April 23,
769:March 15,
357:Geography
266:FIPS code
254:Area code
204:Time zone
174:Elevation
1154:Phillips
1047:Villages
676:Hispanic
670:, 0.28%
666:, 0.66%
328:Illinois
270:17-53403
117:Illinois
1184:Epworth
1124:Enfield
1065:Enfield
873:June 4,
709:Culture
334:History
281:2399506
106:Country
40:Village
1189:Herald
1070:Maunie
1011:Cities
680:Latino
659:census
646:−10.2%
616:−21.2%
601:−11.5%
511:−14.7%
466:289.2%
451:457.5%
406:Census
122:County
1114:Carmi
1019:Carmi
1001:Carmi
672:Asian
664:White
641:1,145
631:20.6%
626:1,275
611:1,057
596:1,341
586:14.9%
581:1,515
566:1,319
556:−9.3%
551:1,243
536:1,370
526:16.8%
521:1,295
506:1,109
496:23.2%
491:1,300
481:21.5%
476:1,055
247:62869
230:UTC-5
209:UTC-6
190:1,145
126:White
114:State
1179:Emma
1129:Gray
1119:Emma
900:2008
875:2015
853:2015
823:2011
771:2022
637:2020
622:2010
607:2000
592:1990
577:1980
571:6.1%
562:1970
547:1960
541:5.8%
532:1950
517:1940
502:1930
487:1920
472:1910
457:1900
442:1890
427:1880
415:Note
410:Pop.
276:GNIS
145:Area
678:or
461:868
446:223
259:618
234:CDT
223:DST
213:CST
1243::
997::
982:,
891:.
839:.
813:.
779:^
431:40
420:%±
326:,
278:ID
1077:‡
1026:‡
969:e
962:t
955:v
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902:.
877:.
855:.
825:.
773:.
436:—
236:)
232:(
225:)
215:)
211:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
