Royalton, Illinois

Royalton is a village in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,068 at the 2020 census.

History
According to the original surveys of Illinois, in the early 19th century the Lusk's Ferry Road ran through the middle of what is now Royalton, heading on a diagonal line toward the southeast. The Lusk's Ferry Road was an important early road connecting Fort Kaskaskia with Lusk's Ferry on the Ohio River. No trace of this road remains near Royalton. It is not clear whether the road figured in the early history of the town, or if it was long forgotten before Royalton came into existence.

Royalton was established in 1907.

On October 22, 1914, an explosion in the North Mine of the Franklin Coal & Coke Company killed 51 miners. This was the worst mine disaster to date in the coal fields of southern Illinois.

Geography
Royalton is located in southwestern Franklin County at 37.88028°N, -89.11361°W (37.880196, -89.113509). Illinois Route 149 passes through the center of town, leading north and east 4.5 mi to Zeigler and west and south 4.5 mi to Hurst.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Royalton has a total area of 1.12 sqmi, of which 1.12 sqmi (or 99.29%) is land and 0.01 sqmi (or 0.71%) is water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 1,068 people, 540 households, and 311 families residing in the village. The population density was 951.02 PD/sqmi. There were 542 housing units at an average density of 482.64 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 92.98% White, 0.56% African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.56% from other races, and 5.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.87% of the population.

There were 540 households, out of which 17.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.48% were married couples living together, 12.41% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.41% were non-families. 34.26% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.41% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 2.05.

The village's age distribution consisted of 13.4% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 31.5% from 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $33,750, and the median income for a family was $56,607. Males had a median income of $43,333 versus $20,859 for females. The per capita income for the village was $29,733. About 10.6% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.7% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable church
Royalton is home to the only remaining Russian Orthodox church in southern Illinois, The Protection of the Holy Virgin Mary Orthodox Church. The church was founded by eastern European immigrants, including Rusyns, many of whom worked in local coal mines  The three principal founders were Frank Derbak, John August and Paul Andrews. The church opened to parishioners in late 1914. It was built to mimic the construction of St. Ioasaph's in Muddy.

At one time, there was a Russian Orthodox church in nearby Dowell, but it has closed. A memorial to the Dowell church is located in Royalton.

On October 27, 1914, there was an explosion at the Royalton North No. 1 Mine, killing over 100 miners. Many of the miners who were killed in the disaster were members of the church. There is a memorial at the church, and many of the miners were buried in a cemetery dedicated to the disaster.