Sciota /saɪˈoʊdə/ is a village in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 61 at the 2010 census.

Sciota Amicus, Clarkesville
Village
Farmers Elevator Company in Sciota, 2013.
Etymology: Named for Sciota Township
Location of Sciota in McDonough County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 40°33′39″N 90°45′06″W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	McDonough
Founded	1867
Government
• Type	Village
Area [1]
• Total	0.31 sq mi (0.81 km2)
• Land	0.31 sq mi (0.81 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	758 ft (231 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	38
• Density	121.79/sq mi (46.98/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)	61475
Area code	309
FIPS code	17-68198
Wikimedia Commons	Sciota, Illinois

Geography

Sciota is located at 40°33′39″N 90°45′06″W (40.5608731, -90.7517996) at an elevation of 758 ft (231 m).[2] According to the 2010 census, Sciota has a total area of 0.32 square miles (0.83 km²), all land.[3]

The village of Sciota lies in an area of prime farmland[4] with soil classified as Mollisols.[5]

Sciota is situated directly east of the headwaters of an unnamed tributary of Spring Creek, itself a tributary of the East Fork La Moine River.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census,[7] there were 61 people, 26 households, and 12 families residing in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 100.00% White.

History

Sciota was laid out in September 1867 by William B. Clarke and was called Clarkesville in his honor. Another town in Illinois already had been named Clarksville (without the "e") so when the new town's post office was established on February 7, 1868, it was called Amicus.[8] This discrepancy between town name and post office name led the residents to change both names to Sciota, after Sciota Township in which the town lies (Sciota Township was named after the Scioto River in Ohio).[9] The Illinois General Assembly approved the name change on March 29, 1869.[10]

A Christian church was erected in 1869,[11] a Baptist church in 1871,[12] and a school building in 1872.[13]

In 1878, Sciota was the largest grain market in McDonough County.[14] At that time, the primary crops were corn and oats; now, the village is surrounded by fields of corn and soybeans.

A newspaper, The Sciota Sentinel, was published by H. C. Harl around 1895 but only one issue seems to have survived (October 17, 1895, no. 49).[15]

Transportation and infrastructure

Sciota is accessible by public roads from the south via McDonough County road East 800th Street (County Highway 13) which intersects with Illinois Route 9 1/2 mile south of the village. East 800th Street is called Buel Street within the village proper and extends north to the county line.

Sciota is served by the Keokuk Junction Railway.[16] As of January 2010, there were two rail sidings. There is one grade crossing protected by a pair of crossbucks with flashing lights and a mechanical warning bell (no gates).

The village received a state grant of $400,000 in 2001 to connect to the Good Hope water supply system and to build a water tower.[17] While Sciota has a water supply system, it does not have a sanitary sewer system; residents rely on septic systems for sewage disposal.

Notes

References

Callary, E. (2008). Place Names of Illinois. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-03356-8.

Clark, S. J. (1878). History of McDonough County, Illinois: Its Cities, Towns and Villages, with Early Reminiscences, Personal Incidents and Anecdotes, and a Complete Business Directory of the County. Springfield, Ill.: D. W. Lusk. Internet Archive. Retrieved on January 2, 2010.

External links

• Media related to Sciota, Illinois at Wikimedia Commons