Valmeyer, Illinois

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

title: "Valmeyer, Illinois" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["metro-east", "villages-in-monroe-county,-illinois", "ghost-towns-in-illinois", "villages-in-illinois"] topic_path: "general/metro-east" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valmeyer,_Illinois" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Valmeyer, Illinois
settlement_type	Village
image_skyline	Valmeyer City Hall.jpg
imagesize	250px
image_caption	Valmeyer City Hall and Emergency Services
image_map	File:Monroe County Illinois Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Valmeyer Highlighted.svg
map_caption	Location in Monroe County, Illinois
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	United States
subdivision_type1	State
subdivision_name1	Illinois
subdivision_type2	County
subdivision_name2	Monroe
unit_pref	Imperial
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	9.08
area_total_sq_mi	3.50
area_land_km2	8.93
area_land_sq_mi	3.45
area_water_km2	0.14
area_water_sq_mi	0.06
population_as_of	2020
population_footnotes
population_total	1233
population_density_km2	138.04
population_density_sq_mi	357.49
timezone	CST
utc_offset	-6
timezone_DST	CDT
utc_offset_DST	-5
elevation_footnotes
elevation_ft	646
coordinates
coordinates_footnotes
postal_code_type	ZIP code
postal_code	62295
area_code	618
blank_name	FIPS code
blank_info	17-77265
blank1_name	GNIS feature ID
blank1_info	2400041
website
::

History

After the Great Flood of 1993 the residents of Valmeyer decided to relocate the town 2 mi to the east, on land that is more than 300 ft higher than the floodplain. The town was rebuilt with financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The old townsite has been described as a ghost town with few inhabitants but still an important traffic artery. Valmeyer's successful relocation is seen as a potential model for other localities retreating from sea level rise.

A documentary about Valmeyer's 1993 flood fight and subsequent rebuilding titled "Valmeyer, IL: The Documentary" was released in 2015.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Business_District_of_Old_Valmeyer_1.jpg" caption="The remains of the business district in Old Valmeyer has been reduced to a few broken sidewalks and empty space."] ::

Geography

Valmeyer is located in western Monroe County. Illinois Route 156 runs along the southern edge of the new village and passes through the center of the old village. IL 156 leads east 7 mi to Waterloo, the county seat, and west 5 mi to its terminus at Harrisonville, 1 mi east of the Mississippi River.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Valmeyer has a total area of 3.45 sqmi, of which 3.42 sqmi are land and 0.054 sqmi, or 1.56%, are water.

Demographics

|1920= 406 |1930= 528 |1940= 591 |1950= 656 |1960= 709 |1970= 733 |1980= 898 |1990= 897 |2000= 608 |2010= 1263 |2020= 1233 |footnote=source:

As of the census of 2000, there were 608 people, 222 households, and 166 families residing in the village. The population density was 182.7 PD/sqmi. There were 241 housing units at an average density of 72.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 98.68% White, 0.33% African American, 0.33% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.

There were 222 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.0% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the village, the age distribution of the population shows 27.8% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was , and the median income for a family was . Males had a median income of $38,500 versus $26,838 for females. The per capita income for the village was . None of the families and 3.0% of the population were living below the poverty threshold, including no under eighteens and 10.2% of those over 64.

References

"2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Illinois". United States Census Bureau.
"P1. Race – Valmeyer village, Illinois: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau.
(2023). "Valmeyer IL ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com.
{{GNIS. 2400041
Eric Horng. (June 20, 2008). "How a Flood Town Became a City on a Hill". [[ABC News (United States).
"The Illinois town that got up and left". BBC.
Saathoff, Corey. (2015-03-11). "New documentary captures essence of Valmeyer".
"Census of Population and Housing". United States Census Bureau.
"U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::