Illinois
Basic Information
- Type of Place
- Suburb
- Metro Area
- St. Louis
- Politics c. 1860?
- Unions, Organized Labor?
Sundown Town Status
- Sundown Town in the Past?
- Surely
- Was there an ordinance?
- Yes, Written Evidence
- Sign?
- Yes, Strong Oral Tradition
- Year of Greatest Interest
- Still Sundown?
- Surely Not
Census Information
| Total | White | Black | Asian | Native | Hispanic | Other | BHshld | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | ||||||||
| 1870 | ||||||||
| 1880 | ||||||||
| 1890 | ||||||||
| 1900 | ||||||||
| 1910 | ||||||||
| 1920 | ||||||||
| 1930 | ||||||||
| 1940 | ||||||||
| 1950 | ||||||||
| 1960 | ||||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||
| 1980 | ||||||||
| 1990 | 7731 | |||||||
| 2000 | 10,425 | 9288 | 726 | |||||
| 2010 | ||||||||
| 2020 |
Method of Exclusion
- Police or Other Official Action
- Reputation
Main Ethnic Group(s)
Group(s) Excluded
- Black
Comments
The ordinance was found in 1992. The town was extremely hostile to blacks, possibly not even letting them travel through.
In about 1992, one resident who had looked through many old ordinances said that she found city council minutes that reference the ordinance.
Since about 1990, a large number of African Americans have moved into the town. It is surely no longer enforcing its sundown policies. However, one African American man who moved into the town in 1999 says he experiences “subtle racism” from many white residents, both old and young. (email; January 2010)