Beckemeyer

History

Samuel B. Watkins was reported to be the first settler in the area, circa 1817. Beckemeyer began as a way station on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. It was organized and laid out in 1866 and originally named "Buxton" in honor of a railroad attorney. A large coal seam underlying the village and surrounding area was mined starting in 1894, resulting in growth of Buxton. It was renamed "Beckemeyer" after an election held in 1905. The first school and bank were opened in 1906. On March 25, 1947, the Centralia Coal mine exploded killing 111 people. Nine of the people killed were citizens of Beckemeyer. In 1997 a memorial was built in Beckemeyer, the memorial called "Miners Memorial Park" is dedicated to the miners from Beckemeyer that died in the explosion. On February 7, 1976, a train crashed into a truck going 56 mph killing 12 people including 11 children, and left another four injured. The accident was the worst in Clinton County History. A Zinc smelter plant called Circle Smelting Corp operated in the village from 1904 to 1994, in 1993 a study indicated the town was highly contaminated with over 10,000 cubic yards of industrial waste high in lead content from the industry. In 1994 the EPA forced the plant to shut down and declared it a Superfund site. About 35,000 cubic yards of material was removed from over 300 properties and deposited under a concrete cover.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Beckemeyer has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,437
• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  2,958
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,829
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,562
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,488
• Double-crested Cormorant

  Phalacrocorax auritus (Lesson, 1831) · Aves
  2,383
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,291
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,238

Largest nearby schools

• Central Comm High School
  High · Breese · 620 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Aviston Elem School
  Elementary · Aviston · 429 students · 18.7:1 ratio
• Breese Elem School
  Middle · Breese · 420 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• Carlyle Elementary School
  Elementary · Carlyle · 384 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Carlyle Junior High School
  Middle · Carlyle · 296 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• Carlyle High School
  High · Carlyle · 282 students · 10.1:1 ratio
• Germantown Elem School
  Elementary · Germantown · 239 students · 12.6:1 ratio
• Beckemeyer Elem School
  Elementary · Beckemeyer · 185 students · 16.8:1 ratio