Evansville is beautifully situated on the eastern side of the Kaskaskia River. The land upon which it is built is hilly, affords good drainage, and had fine plats for dwellings and businesses. In 1805, Alexander Clark settled on a farm three miles south of Evansville. In 1807, John Campbell from South Carolina settled near the mouth of the Nine Mile Creek.
The Village of Evansville apparently had two beginnings. In 1811, a man by the name of Andrew White was the first one who saw the natural fitness of the region for a good town and he formed a town site among the beautiful rolling hillside of the east banks of the Kaskaskia River. What progress the place made from that time until 1834 no one seems to know. It is recorded that in that year a gentleman by the name of Cadwell Evans laid part of it out into streets and lots. This was the beginning of the Village of Evansville.[4]
Flooding of the Kaskaskia
Although the Kaskaskia River has flooded many times, the three major floods happened in 1943, 1973, and 1993. Each time during the three major floods, water reached many homes and caused thousands of dollars in damage to property. The largest recordable flood happened in 1993.
Great Flood of 93'
The water reached a crest of nearly 50 feet during the Great Flood of 1993. Indications of a big flood began in March when the Boat Launching facilities went under water. Little did the residents know, but the facilities would not be seen again until October. During the spring and summer when the streets of Evansville are crowded with boats and trailers coming for a weekend, no boats came during the summer of 93. They couldn't put into the river because of the extreme height of the water on the boat launching facilities. The Spring Boat Races were canceled and the recreational activities were put on hold during the summer of 93, in Evansville. June brought much rain, and the river began to swell, at this point we didn't realize what was coming in a few short weeks.
By mid-July, the river had risen so much that the Mayor was forced to close Liberty Street, the main thoroughfare through town. Traffic was routed around the downtown area until mid-August. The river reached an all time high in August. Over six downtown businesses were forced out of operation, and most sustained many thousand of dollars worth of damage. None of the Spring harvest was shipped on the Kaskaskia River. The people of Evansville endured. They have always been known for taking charge of a situation and durling the great flood that is what happen. Everyone pitched in, worked together, helping neighbor. So many strangers came to our village to help with the flood. They came as strangers and left as our friends. We could have never survived without the help from so many. Not once during the crisis did the village loose the ability to provide fresh potable water to the residents. Even though the Water treatment facilities were surrounded by over 10 feet of water, the Sandbagging continued, and the battle was won!
Finally, the water began to recede. A sigh of relief was heard around town. Little did so many know, but the damage left by the Great Flood of 93 would force many persons from their homes forever. As the river went down the destruction was seen. Floors were warped, walls caved in, foundations cracked, and buildings fell in. FEMA and IEMA made their visit. The final decision was let to the community. Having little experience in structural damage surveying, in independent consultant was found who determined the extent of damage. Any building over 50% damage would not be permitted for residency. As the water receded the village returned to near normalcy. The streets in the downtown area were opened again to traffic, and the mud left from the flood was flushed back into the channel. By mid-August most of the Community Services were back on line.[5]
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Evansville has a total area of 0.817 square miles (2.12km2), of which 0.79 square miles (2.05km2) (or 96.7%) is land and 0.027 square miles (0.07km2) (or 3.3%) is water.[6]
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 724 people, 298 households, and 191 families residing in the village. The population density was 976.9 inhabitants per square mile (377.2/km2). There were 317 housing units at an average density of 427.7 unitsper square mile (165.1 units/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 98.90% White, 0.41% African American, 0.14% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, and 0.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.
There were 298 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $32,292, and the median income for a family was $41,719. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $20,208 for females. The per capita income for the village was $20,194. About 7.0% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.3% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
Government
As of 2021, the town's government is made up of Kenneth Kempfer, President, Board of Trustees; Bethany Wunderlich, Village Clerk; Denise Holmes, Treasurer; Lori Valleroy, Collector; Mike Hanna, Fire Chief; Tia Martel, Librarian; Mark McConachie, Zoning Administrator; and Ed Braun, Superintendent.[9]
Education
Evansville has one public elementary school for grades K-8, Evansville Attendance Center(EAC), and is located in the Sparta Community Unit School District 140. It also provides two public libraries, Evansville Public Library in Village Hall and Central Public Library located in the school, EAC.
Churches
There are four churches located in Evansville. These Churches consist of Light House Pentecostal Church, St. Boniface Catholic Church, St. Peter's Lutheran Church, and United Church of Christ. [10]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
