Palestine is located at . According to the 2010 census, Palestine has a total area of, all land.
History
It is said that French explorer Jean Lamotte first gazed upon this region in 1678. He gave it the name Palestine, as it reminded him of Palestine, the Biblical land of milk and honey. Palestine was chartered in 1811, while the area still belonged to Virginia, and is one of the oldest towns in the State of Illinois. It was named the seat of Crawford County in 1818. Elections in 1843 moved the county seat to a new site, which would become the town of Robinson. It was officially incorporated as an Illinois town in 1855. Palestine, Texas was named after the city by Daniel Parker.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,366 people, 625 households, and 400 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,832.3 people per square mile. There were 714 housing units at an average density of 957.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 99.12% White, 0.07% African American, 0.22% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population. There were 625 households out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couplesliving together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.76. In the town, the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,911, and the median income for a family was $35,500. Males had a median income of $30,139 versus $20,184 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,185. About 13.6% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.4% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.
