Mason City, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Mason City is a city in Mason County, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 2,558 at the 2000 census, and 2,324 at a 2009 estimate.

Geography

Mason City is located at 40°12′11"N 89°41′46"W (40.202965, -89.696109).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 1 square miles (2.6 km²), all of it land.

Mason City is situated halfway between Peoria and Springfield on Route 29, a north-south highway, and halfway between Lincoln and Havana on Route 10, an east-west road.

Demographics

At the 2000 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, there were 2,558 people, 1,041 households and 681 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 2,599.1 per square mile (1,007.8/km²). There were 1,127 housing units at an average density of 1,145.1 per square mile (444.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.06% White, 0.04% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.27% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.59% of the population.

There were 1,041 households, of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% 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 2.95.

Age distribution was 25.2% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.7 males.

The median household income
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...

 was $35,615, and the median family income was $47,991. Males had a median income of $35,058 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $18,411. About 6.8% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

  • Gordon Buehrig
    Gordon Buehrig
    Gordon Miller Buehrig was a noted automobile designer. Born in Mason City, Illinois, he had early design experience with Packard, General Motors and Stutz. In 1929, he was responsible for designing the bodies of the Stutz Black Hawks entered at Le Mans...

     (1904–1990), noted automobile designer, born in Mason City.
  • John Fahay
    John Fahay
    John Fahay is a former player in the National Football League. He was a member of the Milwaukee Badgers during the 1925 NFL season before playing the following season with the Racine Tornadoes during the 1926 NFL season. That same year he was also a member of the Chicago Bulls of the American...

    , professional football player, born in Mason City.
  • John Means
    John Means
    John Means, a former community college English instructor living in his hometown Mason City, Illinois, who had gained fame in the 1980s as a stand-up comedian. Based out of San Francisco, he performed under the stage name "Dr...

     (AKA: "Dr. Gonzo"), stand-up comic, toured with Huey Lewis and the News
    Huey Lewis and the News
    Huey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...

    , born in Mason City.
  • Vic Wunderle
    Vic Wunderle
    Victor S. Wunderle is an archer from the United States.-Personal:Wunderle was raised in Mason City, Illinois. His passion for archery started at the age five. He competed in many competitions and received many honors throughout his childhood...

    , archer winner of the Olympic Individual Silver Medal (2000).
  • The song "Mason City" from the Fiery Furnace's album Blueberry Boat
    Blueberry Boat
    Blueberry Boat is the second, highly conceptual album from The Fiery Furnaces, released July 13, 2004.- Track listing :# "Quay Cur" – 10:25# "Straight Street" – 5:00# "Blueberry Boat" – 9:09# "Chris Michaels" – 7:53# "Paw Paw Tree" – 4:39...

    references the city.
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