Thebes, Illinois

Thebes, Illinois
Village
Historically registered Thebes Courthouse
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Alexander
Coordinates
Area	2.31 sq mi (6 km2)
- land	1.74 sq mi (5 km2)
- water	0.57 sq mi (1 km2)
Population	436 (2010)
Density	250.6 / sq mi (97 / km2)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	62990
Area code	618
Location of Thebes within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Thebes, Illinois

For other similarly named locations, see Thebes (disambiguation).

Thebes is a village in Alexander County, Illinois, United States. The population was 436 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Thebes, like the city of Cairo, also in Alexander County, is named after the Egyptian city of the same name. This part of southern Illinois is known as "Little Egypt".

Abraham Lincoln practiced law here. Legend says that Dred Scott, a slave whose Supreme Court decision set back black rights by declaring that African-American slaves had no claim to freedom, may have been imprisoned in the courthouse jail.

The Mississippi River at Thebes is in excess of four feet deep, which enabled the town to become a busy steamboat port. Union troops passed through Thebes on their way to attack the South during the American Civil War. Thebes Bridge, an important railroad bridge, opened for rail traffic in 1905 and is still in use today.

In literature, Thebes is the home village of Captain Andy Hawks, his wife Parthenia Ann Hawks and daughter Magnolia in the Edna Ferber novel Show Boat.

Geography

Thebes is located at (37.219177, -89.456915).

According to the 2010 census, Thebes has a total area of 2.318 square miles (6.00 km²), of which 1.75 square miles (4.53 km²) (or 75.5%) is land and 0.568 square miles (1.47 km²) (or 24.5%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	114		—
1900	417		—
1910	717		71.9%
1920	857		19.5%
1930	751		−12.4%
1940	730		−2.8%
1950	541		−25.9%
1960	471		−12.9%
1970	442		−6.2%
1980	455		2.9%
1990	461		1.3%
2000	478		3.7%
2010	436		−8.8%
Est. 2014	391		−10.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 478 people, 171 households, and 129 families residing in the village. The population density was 265.6 people per square mile (102.5/km²). There were 213 housing units at an average density of 118.4 per square mile (45.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 87.24% White, 10.67% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.21% Asian, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.21% of the population.

There were 171 households out of which 42.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were married couples living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the village the population was spread out with 34.3% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $20,250, and the median income for a family was $26,786. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $15,000 for females. The per capita income for the village was $11,262. About 29.2% of families and 31.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.4% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

External links

• Thebes Historical Courthouse
• Information on Thebes Courthouse at the Library of Congress