24-526: East Cape Girardeau is a village in Alexander County , Illinois , United States . The population was 289 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cape Girardeau – Jackson , MO -IL Metropolitan Statistical Area . A post office was established at East Cape Girardeau in 1874, and remained in operation until 1913. The village lies east of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, hence the name. East Cape Girardeau
48-677: A Republican won the county. Despite the rightward swing taken by the county, the city and county seat of Cairo remains overwhelmingly Democratic. 37°11′N 89°20′W / 37.19°N 89.34°W / 37.19; -89.34 Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives The Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives is seventh (behind the Lieutenant Governor , Attorney General , Secretary of State , Comptroller , Treasurer , and President of
72-461: A crowd of white spectators estimated at 10,000, in the county seat of Cairo on November 11, 1909. James was accused of murdering a young white woman. Later that same evening, the mob lynched a white man named Henry Salzner, hanging him in the courthouse square for allegedly killing his wife. Neither man had had a trial, nor was anyone ever prosecuted for the lynchings, even though Illinois had passed an anti-lynching law four years earlier. According to
96-416: A household in the village was $ 37,875, and the median income for a family was $ 48,194. Males had a median income of $ 34,554 versus $ 20,313 for females. The per capita income for the village was $ 17,811. About 8.4% of families and 27.7% of the population were below the poverty line , including 30.7% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over. Alexander County, Illinois Alexander County
120-734: A now shuttered super-maximum correctional facility operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections , was located in Tamms , as was the State of Illinois execution chamber . Prior to the January 11, 2003, commutation of death row sentences, male death row inmates were housed in Tamms, Menard , and Pontiac correctional centers. After that date, only Pontiac continued to host the male death row. On January 4, 2013, after years of controversy over inmate conditions,
144-778: Is across the Mississippi River from Cape Girardeau, Missouri . The two are connected by the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge which opened in December 2003 following the demolition of the Old Mississippi River Bridge constructed in 1928. As of the 2020 census there were 289 people, 153 households, and 83 families residing in the village. The population density was 144.86 inhabitants per square mile (55.93/km). There were 161 housing units at an average density of 80.70 per square mile (31.16/km). The racial makeup of
168-416: Is located at 37°17′46″N 89°29′43″W / 37.29611°N 89.49528°W / 37.29611; -89.49528 (37.296030, -89.495237). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, East Cape Girardeau has a total area of 2.00 square miles (5.18 km), of which 1.96 square miles (5.08 km) (or 98.30%) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km) (or 1.70%) is water. East Cape Girardeau
192-507: Is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois . As of the 2020 census , the population was 5,240. Its county seat is Cairo and its western boundary is formed by the Mississippi River . Alexander County is part of the Cape Girardeau , MO -IL Metropolitan Statistical Area which is made up of jurisdictions on both sides of the Mississippi River. Alexander County was organized from part of Union County in 1819. It
216-519: Is unique among antebellum free state rural counties in having a postbellum political history largely determined by a significant black electorate. It is most similar in this respect to – though still substantially different from – some counties of the south and the Eastern Shore of Maryland . The county was thus solidly Republican until the New Deal , and gradually turned solidly Democratic up through
240-526: The 2010 United States Census , there were 8,238 people, 3,329 households, and 2,093 families residing in the county. The population density was 35.0 inhabitants per square mile (13.5/km ). There were 4,006 housing units at an average density of 17.0 per square mile (6.6/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 60.9% white, 35.4% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.4% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of
264-637: The U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 253 square miles (660 km ), of which 236 square miles (610 km ) is land and 17 square miles (44 km ) (6.8%) is water. Its borders are partly defined by the Mississippi River and the Ohio River . The lowest point in the state of Illinois is located on the Mississippi River in Cairo in Alexander County, where it flows out of Illinois and into Kentucky . In recent years, average temperatures in
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#1732855499646288-450: The presidency of Bill Clinton . In the twenty-first century, the county has shown a trend towards the GOP due to large-scale black emigration and a rapid swing of its Caucasian population toward Republican candidates. This became clear in 2016 , when Donald Trump carried the county by 8.3 points—a hard swing from favorite son Obama's 13.6-point victory four years earlier, and the first time
312-422: The city government and the police and fire departments, and relatively few African Americans were hired to work in the local stores. There were three lynchings of blacks in Alexander County in the years between Reconstruction and the early 20th century. The county had the second-highest number of lynchings of African Americans in all of Illinois. The most notorious of these was the lynching of Will James before
336-629: The county seat of Cairo have ranged from a low of 26 °F (−3 °C) in January to a high of 90 °F (32 °C) in July, although a record low of −12 °F (−24 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in June 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 3.04 inches (77 mm) in September to 4.76 inches (121 mm) in May. The Tamms Correctional Center ,
360-400: The county voted Republican since 1972 . An even harder swing was taken in 2020 , when he carried Alexander again by 14.2 points, even as the nation as a whole trended slightly leftward. Furthermore, Dick Durbin lost the county in the simultaneous U.S. Senate election , making it his first Senate election in which he failed to win the county and the first Senate election since 1972 in which
384-701: The first county seat, is now within Pulaski County , which was formed from Alexander and Johnson counties in 1843. Settled largely by white migrants from the Upland South, southern Illinois had many racial attitudes of the South. As African Americans settled in Cairo to seek jobs on steamboats, ferries, in shipping and railroads, there were tensions between the racial groups. White residents sometimes used violence and terrorism, as well as discrimination, to keep black residents in second-class positions. They excluded them from
408-532: The population of Alexander County decreased to 5,240. The 36.4% decline was the largest of any of the 3,138 U.S. counties. Although the population of the county had been decreasing for decades, the closure of the Tamms Correctional Center in 2013 probably caused an acceleration of the decline in the 2010s. Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from
432-424: The population. In terms of ancestry, 13.9% were German , 6.8% were Irish , 5.3% were English , and 4.7% were American . Of the 3,329 households, 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.1% were non-families, and 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size
456-503: The prison officially closed, negatively impacting the county's economy. In late September 2009, press reports indicated that the Alexander County Sheriff's office had five of its seven squad cars repossessed as payments had not been made. The sheriff once had 29 deputies, but was reduced to just five at the time of the reports. The Illinois State Police have provided assistance to the county with additional patrols. As of
480-422: The racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 5,240 people, 2,154 households, and 1,357 families residing in the county. Here is a list of school districts with any territory in the county, no matter how slight, even if the schools and/or administrative offices are located in other counties: Alexander County
504-521: The village was 82.70% White , 7.27% African American , 0.35% Asian , 0.69% from other races , and 9.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.77% of the population. There were 153 households, out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.75% were married couples living together, 2.61% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.75% were non-families. 33.33% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.57% had someone living alone who
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#1732855499646528-485: Was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 41.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 28,833 and the median income for a family was $ 44,699. Males had a median income of $ 35,880 versus $ 25,743 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 15,858. About 11.8% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line , including 33.1% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over. Between 2010 and 2020,
552-447: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.33 and the average family size was 2.80. The village's age distribution consisted of 26.8% under the age of 18, 1.4% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 117.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males. The median income for
576-525: Was named for William M. Alexander , a physician who practiced in the town of America (the first county seat). Alexander was elected as a representative to the state House, where he became Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1822. The county was initially developed for agriculture and settled by numerous migrants from the Upper South. The county seat was moved to Unity in 1833, then to Thebes in 1843, and finally to Cairo in 1860. America,
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