Granite City

Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, within the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 27,549 at the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Metro East and Southern Illinois regions, behind Belleville and O'Fallon. Granite City was named by the Niedringhaus brothers, William and Frederick, who established it as a steel making company town for the manufacture of kitchen utensils made to resemble granite. The plant would later grow to occupy 1,250,000 square feet (1,000,000 m2) and employ more than 4,000 people until the 1950s, when aluminum and pyrex replaced granite-based utensil. The area was settled much earlier than Granites City's official founding. In the early 19th century, settlers began to farm the rich fertile grounds to the east of St.Louis. In 1801, the area saw the establishment of Six Mile Settlement, a farming area that occupied the area of present-day Granite city, six miles (10 km) from St. louis. The city was officially incorporated as a company town in 1896, but African-Americans were not allowed in the community and instead congregated in Brooklyn, Illinois. The first seven years went as planned with rapid growth, a School Board of Directors was hired as the first policeman, a school was built, and a church was built. In 1950, the city was prored until the prored steel plant was replaced by a stainless steel plant.

History

Granite City is the primary city name, but also Mitchell, Pontoon Beach are acceptable city names or spellings. Granite City was founded in 1896 by German immigrant brothers Frederick G. and William Niedringhaus for their Granite ware kitchen supplies factory. In the 1870s, William discovered an enamelware process in Europe whereby metal utensils could be coated with enamel to make them lighter and more resistant to oxidation. In 1891, the brothers bought 3,500 acres (14 km²) from business tycoon Lars Kovala for their new Granite City. The plant would later grow to occupy 1,250,000 square feet (116,000 m2) and employ more than 4,000 people. In 1903, a massive flood covered all of West Granite while the rest of the town stayed relatively dry. In 1906, ten thousand persons emigrated from Macedonia, Bulgaria and other parts of Central and Eastern Europe. The majority of these immigrants, primarily those from the country of Hungary, moved to the present-day Lincoln Place area of Granite city. The city was officially incorporated as a City within Madison County, Illinois, in 1896. The first seven years went as planned with rapid growth. Henry Fossiek was hired as first policeman, four schools opened, the 1st Concordian Lutheran Church was built, and a School of the Concordian built to the north of the Stamping Company changed its name to National Enameling & Stamping. Company. The granite pattern in kitchen utensil, particularly in roasting pans, remains very popular. The resulting product was enormously popular.

Geography

Granite City is located at 38°434N 90°746W (38.717849, -90.129529), adjacent to the Chain of Rocks Canal on the Upper Mississippi River, bordering Horseshoe Lake on its southeastern side. The city sits in the American Bottom, a wide, flat and fertile plain. Although at risk during the Great Flood of 1993, the city never flooded and is protected by a series of levees along both the Mississippi River and Chain of rocks Canal. According to the 2010 census, theCity has a total area of 20.70 square miles (53.6 km²), of which 19.29 square miles of (50.0 km²) is land and 1.41 square miles. (or 6.81%) is water. Interstate 270 passes through the northern edge of the city, and Interstates 255, 70, 55, and 64 all pass just to the south and east. Route 3 provides access to downtown St. Louis across the recently renovated McKinley Bridge. It is located within a few miles of five interstate highways, including I-270 and I-64. It has a population of 2,816. It was the site of the World War II Battle of the Bulge, in which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was forced to retreat from the area to avoid being overrun by the advancing Soviet Union. The Battle was one of the deadliest battles in American history, with the loss of more than 1,000 lives.

Cityscape

Granite City can be divided into eight areas: Downtown, East, West, North, Bellemore, Nameoki Strip, and the Wilson Park Area. Downtown suffered a downturn in the 1970s, which vacated much of its commercial buildings and in turn, urban decay began. Attracted by the promise of plentiful jobs, many immigrants from Central-Eastern Europe, primarily Bulgaria, Macedonia and Hungary, migrated to the City in search of good jobs with decent wages. The vast majority of these immigrants settled into housing to the west of the downtown area in a place that would come to be known as Hungary Hollow. By 1916 the multi-national residents of Hungary Hollow applied for and were granted an official name change to Lincoln Place. West Granite is located west of downtown across the railroad lines. North Granite contains both industrial and lower income residential areas and has been struggling to fight its above average crime rate. Bellemore Area is home to the recently renovated Coolidge Middle School, former Niedringhaus Elementary School, and Granite City High School as well as the city's crown jewel, Wilson Park. The original design of what is currently downtown Granite. City is based on the City of Washington D.C. and modeled on nearby cities such as Belleville, IL, Edwardsville, IL, and St. Charles, MO. Revitalization efforts include installing tree-filled medians on Niedringshaus Avenue, adding recreational businesses such as the three-screen Granite city Theater, repaving streets.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 29,849 people, 12,214 households, and 7,791 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 91.5% White, 6. 5% Black or African American, 1.0% American Indian or Alaska Native (Native American), 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.3% from other races, and 2. 1% from two or more races. The city's median income for a household in 2014 was $43,759, and the median incomes for a family was $57,596. The per capita income was $22,397. About 14.8%. of families and 18.3%. of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.7% of those under age 18 and 7.2% ofThose age 65 or over. The population age range was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 13.3%, 26.2%. from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 15% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.2 years. For every 100 females, there are 92.5 males. For each 100 females age 18 or over, there is 90.7 males. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.20. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city has a population of 29,000.

Recreation

The Granite City Park District owns 13 parks. Horseshoe Lake State Park is a 2,400-acre (9.7 km²) natural lake. There are 2 roller skating rinks in the area and Confluence Crush Roller Derby practices in the adjacent village of Pontoon Beach. Madison County Transit provides an outstanding 85-mile (137 km) network of newly paved, well maintained bikeways throughout the county as well as Granites City. The new YMCA, part of the River's Edge Development, was recently completed and includes aquatics programs, a youth center, weightlifting, batting cages, basketball/tennis courts, and a child care center. The Legacy Golf Course and the Arlington Golf Course both offer eighteen hole championship courses. The Park District offers baseball, flag football, tennis, soccer, basketball, and hockey programs for the youth. Every summer around July 4, Wilson Park hosts the Patriots in the Park program. The program includes live entertainment, carriage rides, carnival rides, food & beverage stands, and the second largest fireworks display in the St. Louis area. There is a small primitive campground is located on Walker's Island. Hunting is allowed during hunting season and there is a park for picnicking, cycling, fishing, wildlife viewing, and small boating. The park provides a place forpicnicking and cycling, biking, and fishing, and there are also two golf courses near Granite city. The area is home to the St Louis Cardinals baseball team.

Transportation

The Port Harbor Railroad (reporting marks: PHRR) provides railroad service to industrial businesses located at America's Central Port in Granite City. The railway carries everything from steel and aluminum products to foods, lumber, paper, chemicals, minerals, grains and other products. The PHRR connects with the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis at "WR Tower," a major railroad junction located at the intersection of Niedringhaus Avenue and 16th Street.

Education

Granite City Community Unit School District 9 enrolls 7100 students from the city and its surrounding area. The district operates five elementary schools (Frohardt, Mitchell, Wilson, Prather, and Maryville) One intermediate school (Grigsby) One Junior High (Coolidge) and one high school (Granite City High School) The high school has achieved a 96.3% graduation rate, nearly 10% higher than the state average. Two private Catholic K-8 schools, Holy Family and St. Elizabeth, are also located in the city.Alternative schools include the Coordinated Youth on Madison Avenue next to the Gateway Regional Medical Center and attached to the same building as the WIC Service. The Sam Wolf GraniteCity Campus (SWGCC) of Southwestern Illinois College is located at the northern end of the city, near the old army depot. The school district is notable for its wide array of sports, clubs, and technical programs. It has won ten boys' soccer state championships in 1972, 1976-1980, 1982, 1987, 1989, and 1990, and the girls' soccer team won the 2011 state championship. The wrestling team were co-champions in 1965 and currently have more dual meet victories than any other high school in the country. The baseball team were runners-up in 1963. The track, baseball field, and high school gymnasium were renovated. The city is home to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Granite City, Madison County, Illinois = 10.2. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 35. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Granite City = 4.1 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 27,549 individuals with a median age of 38.7 age the population dropped by -5.42% in Granite City, Madison County, Illinois population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,448.80 residents per square mile of area (559.39/km²). There are average 2.36 people per household in the 12,403 households with an average household income of $41,715 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 11.90% of the available work force and has dropped -5.15% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 17.80%. The number of physicians in Granite City per 100,000 population = 109.7.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Granite City = 35.1 inches and the annual snowfall = 15.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 104. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 204. 89 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 24.5 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 41, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Granite City, Madison County, Illinois which are owned by the occupant = 63.54%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 53 years with median home cost = $78,510 and home appreciation of -2.62%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $16.94 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,402 per student. There are 23.9 students for each teacher in the school, 7212 students for each Librarian and 1442 students for each Counselor. 6.21% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 6.86% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 3.05% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).