|
Roxana is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,542 at the 2010 census. A majority of the land in Roxana is taken up by the Wood River ConocoPhillips oil refinery; the refinery was built and originally owned by Shell Oil. As of December 2005, the refinery refines of oil per day to produce gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, asphalt, propane, and other products, and supplies part of the St. Louis, Chicago, Indiana and Ohio regions.〔()〕 Roxana is considered to be part of the Riverbend or Metro East area, including Alton, East Alton, Godfrey, Rosewood Heights, Bethalto, Wood River, Hartford and South Roxana. It is well known for its bright Christmas lights lining Illinois Route 111, its main street, throughout the holiday season each year. The zip code for Roxana is 62084. ==History== In 1918, the Shell Oil Company opened its Wood River Refinery in what was then called Wood River Field, an area south of the city of Wood River. As houses began being built close to the refinery, the population there grew to the point that in 1921, this unincorporated area became the incorporated Village of Roxana. Originally constructed on , the refinery now covers and is the largest in the ConocoPhillips system. The origin of the village's name is unknown. Local lore is that the name "Roxana" was chosen to honor a "Queen Roxanne" of the Netherlands, inasmuch as the village owed its very existence to state-owned Royal Dutch Shell. However, there has never been a Queen Roxanne of the Netherlands. The Dutch monarch at the time was Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. Starting with the formation of the Seattle-based American Gasoline Company, Royal Dutch/Shell Group also founded Roxana Petroleum Company in 1912 in Oklahoma to locate and produce crude oil. This was followed by the opening of refineries in New Orleans in 1916 and at Wood River in 1918. A Baptist church was organized in September 1921, and the land where the current First Baptist Church of Roxana now stands, at the corner of Tydeman Street and Central Avenue, was purchased in early 1922. The first services were held there on December 3, 1922. J.A. Wilson served as the church's first pastor.〔()〕 A formal village hall, called for by a vote for a "Municipal Building", was built on bonds in 1938. It currently houses Roxana's Village President, Treasurer, Water Department, and Clerk's offices, the fire and police departments, the village board room, and a municipal gymnasium.〔()〕 In the early 1940s, a large Art Deco-style theater was built at the northwest corner of Thomas Street and Central Avenue, at 400 N. Central Avenue. To the south across Thomas Street lay Burbank School, built in 1936, and at the southeast corner of the intersection lay Roxana Drug Store. Seating approximately 580 people, the theater was originally designed for vaudeville acts as well as movie showings. In 1949, a tornado tore the roof off, but after repairs were made, the theater reopened. In the late 1960s, it was closed for nearly two years before being sold in June 1968 from the estate of Albert Critchlow to Bloomer Amusement Co. of Belleville. It was thereafter operated as "BAC Cine" for many years. In 1992, the Cine was purchased by Kerasotes Theatres, Inc., of Springfield, Illinois, which operated it until its closing in February 2002.〔()〕 In 2000, the theatre was purchased from Kerasotes and was donated to the Roxana Church of the Nazarene, which is located just north of the theatre. The church now operates the building as the Nazarene Community Center, where it is available for rental and group events.〔()〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Roxana, Illinois」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|