Benton

History

On April 19, 1928, Benton was the site of the next-to-last public hanging in Illinois, when local gangster Charles Birger was executed on the gallows next to the county jail for the December 12, 1926 murder of Joe Adams, mayor of nearby West City. A replica of the gallows and hangman's noose were built by the late retired Old Ben Coal miner, businessman & carpenter, Birchard L. Wampler (March 9, 1938 – June 29, 2010) and his son Birchard Neil Wampler. They remain standing today next to the old Franklin County Jail turned Museum. In September 1963, George Harrison of the Beatles visited Benton while on vacation, the first time any member of the group visited American soil. He stayed at the home of his sister, Louise, at 113 McCann Street. The bungalow used to be the Hard Day's Nite Bed and Breakfast. During his trip he traveled from Benton to Fenton's Music Store in Mt. Vernon, IL to purchase a Rickenbacker 425 that later sold at auction for $657k. Harrison also performed with a band called "The Four Vests" at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Eldorado, Illinois. In an interview, Harrison's sister Louise said "his real first visit to America was when he came to the Midwest in September 1963 and he met these wonderful, warm, friendly, real warm Midwesterners... school teachers, retired miners and all kinds of just wonderful people... and a little band. He had a fantastic time. He thought they were just wonderful people." In April 1995, a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rally was held outside the Franklin County Courthouse in Benton that drew a crowd of about 400, though not all those in attendance were in support of the KKK. Two members of the KKK spoke negatively of Jews, Blacks, Gays, liberal politicians, and reporters. About 40 police officers were present for the event, and…

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Benton has a total area of , of which (or 96.81%) is land and (or 3.18%) is water. Benton Public Library serves all residents of Benton Consolidated High School District. [https://www.bentonlibrary.com/ www.bentonlibrary.com] The library has a program in which people can pay for brick to be engraved and used on its property, and the funds made go to the library. The library contains about 48,000 materials, including Books, Audio books, Magazines, Large Print Materials, and Music CDs. Access to computers is also available at the library. It opened a reading garden behind the building which contains painted chairs made by the local high school and other donated play equipment, including a large handmade wooden ship. The Benton Public Park has a few playgrounds, and picnic areas, as well as tennis courts, basketball courts, and ball fields. The Public Park also has a paved walking path that loops around the ball fields. The park is located near a railroad, and a red caboose sits at the entrance of the park.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Benton Grade Sch K-4
  Elementary · Benton · 617 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Benton Cons High School
  High · Benton · 577 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Christopher Elem School
  Elementary · Christopher · 486 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• Denning Elementary School
  Elementary · West Frankfort · 467 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Benton Grade Sch 5-8
  Middle · Benton · 458 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• Frankfort Comm High School
  High · West Frankfort · 434 students · 11.4:1 ratio
• Frankfort Intermediate School
  Elementary · West Frankfort · 420 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• Sesser-Valier Elem School
  Elementary · Sesser · 282 students · 14.1:1 ratio