Brighton, Illinois

Brighton is a village located mostly in Macoupin County and partially in Jersey County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village had a population of 2,221.<ref name="Census 2020"/>

History

Brighton is a small community that dates back to the early 19th century, when settlers began the transformation of the Illinois prairie into productive farmland. The village was named after Brighton, Massachusetts. A post office was opened in 1837, and the village was incorporated in 1869.<ref name="BHNAug07">Brighton description & history Template:Webarchive, retrieved August 24, 2007</ref> Brighton is noted for its five-star historic museum.Template:Citation needed

Brighton currently has two restaurants and one traffic signal.

Geography

Brighton is located in southwestern Macoupin County and eastern Jersey County. The village center and most of its area are within Macoupin County. Some rural residents of Madison County have Brighton mailing addresses.

Illinois Routes 111 and 267 pass jointly through the west side of the village, leading north Template:Convert to Medora and south Template:Convert to Godfrey. Carlinville, the Macoupin county seat, is Template:Convert to the northeast, while Jerseyville, the Jersey county seat, is Template:Convert to the northwest.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Brighton has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (or 98.01%) is land and Template:Convert (or 1.99%) is water.<ref name="gaz2021">Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

Brighton is a part of the Metro East region of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area.

As of the 2020 census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> there were 2,221 people, 874 households, and 606 families residing in the village. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 927 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the village was 94.28% White, 0.77% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 4.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.

There were 874 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.23% were married couples living together, 17.73% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.66% were non-families. 24.03% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.73% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 2.58.

The village's age distribution consisted of 25.5% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $61,167, and the median income for a family was $66,827. Males had a median income of $42,734 versus $29,063 for females. The per capita income for the village was $26,345. About 15.0% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The village's current mayor is Matthew P. Kasten.

Notable people

• Joe Bernard, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals
• Jason Isringhausen, pitcher for the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Rays
• Bushrod Johnson, Confederate general in the American Civil War

In popular culture

• Martha A. Bentley, There the Heart Is: A History of Brighton, Illinois, 1826–1964, was reprinted in 1995.
• The opening scene of The Music Man (1962) is set in Brighton, purported to be one stop from River City, Iowa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Although the state is never explicitly said, a map within the show suggests that The Ghost and Molly McGee, a 2021 Disney Channel show, is set in this version of Brighton.<ref name="Festival of Lights/Saving Christmas"> Template:Cite episode</ref> Series co-creator Bill Motz revealed that the quad cities in the area of Illinois and Iowa were the inspiration for the show's setting.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website