# Nashville, Illinois

Nashville is a city in Washington County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 3,105. It is the county seat of Washington County.

## Geography

According to the 2010 census, Nashville has a total area of 2.809 square miles (7.28 km$^2$), of which 2.72 square miles (7.04 km$^2$) (or 96.83%) is land and 0.089 square miles (0.23 km$^2$) (or 3.17%) is water.
Nashville is located on Nashville Creek, at the headwaters of Little Crooked Creek, which flows northwest into the Kaskaskia River. Just to the southeast of Nashville is the headwaters of Beaucoup Creek, which flows south into the Big Muddy River. Nashville is thus situated next to the Kaskaskia/Big Muddy divide.

## History

Nashville was originally called New Nashville; under the latter name, it was laid out in 1830. The local post office was established as Nashville in 1831.
On July 16, 2024, approximately 200 residents were evacuated because the failure of the Nashville Dam was considered imminent after the region received 5 inches of rain in 6 hours.

## Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,147 people, 1,324 households, and 884 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,173.9 inhabitants per square mile (453.2/km$^2$). There were 1,421 housing units at an average density of 530.1 per square mile (204.7/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the city was 98.73% White, 0.16% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.79% of the population.
There were 1,324 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,097, and the median income for a family was $51,875. Males had a median income of $34,020 versus $24,010 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,935. About 1.9% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

## Education

Primary schools
* One public school - Nashville Grade School
* Two parochial schools - Trinity-St. John Lutheran School and St. Ann Catholic School
Secondary school
* One public high school - Nashville Community High School District 99

## Major employers

A few manufacturing businesses have sites in Nashville. Nascote Industries is an automobile parts manufacturer that is part of Magna International; its Nashville plant was established in 1985 and employs over 1,000 people. Grupo Antolin owns the other auto parts manufacturing plant in Nashville, employing 522 people as of 2018. The second plant was originally established in 1987 as Ligma Corporation, a joint venture between Magna International and Lignotock G.m.b.H. of Germany. Norrenberns Truck Service, a trucking and warehouse outfit that was founded in 1925, was acquired in 1981 as a one-truck operation, moved to Nashville a few years later, where it has since expanded to 130 trucks and a staff of 275 people in 2004. Prior to Ligma and Nascote Industries, the town's biggest employer was National Mine Service Company (now part of the Marmon Group), which shut down operations in Nashville in 1983 and put 240 people out of work.

## Media

Nashville is served by both WNSV, the only FM station in the county, and The Nashville News, a weekly newspaper.

## Notable people

* G. R. Beckmeyer, Illinois state representative, businessman, and former mayor of Nashville
* Harry Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, born in Nashville in 1908
* William St. John Forman, former U.S. Representative and former mayor of Nashville
* Hugh Green, Illinois politician, born near Nashville
* Byron O. House, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, lived in Nashville
* Lloyd A. Karmeier, Illinois Supreme Court Justice, lives in Nashville and was a Circuit Court judge for the area
* Ralph L. Maxwell, Illinois Supreme Court Justice, born in Nashville
* Thomas B. Needles, Illinois politician
* Royce Newman, offensive lineman for the Green Bay Packers
* Kirk Rueter, former pitcher for the San Francisco Giants