Bluford is a village in Jefferson County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census the village population was 688, down from 785 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Bluford is in eastern Jefferson County, south of Illinois Route 15 and east of Mount Vernon, the county seat. According to the 2010 census, Bluford has a total area of , of which (or 99.45%) is land and (or 0.55%) is water.
History
The town of Bluford was named after Bluford "Bluf" Green (1868–1912) when he was a small boy by his father Wiley Green (1835–1878), who was the local justice of the peace.
An extended story about Bluford by Mrs. Opal H. Wood, follows:
In 1881, before there was a Bluford, construction was started on the Air Line Railroad, later the Southern Railroad. George Evans, Mt. Vernon banker, laid out the town on 40 acres of land bisected by the railroad. In 1882, Rev. Z. H. Byard, a United Brethren preacher, built the first store building and dwelling. Byard also was the first postmaster in Bluford, and the first railroad station agent. Bluford was incorporated in 1925. Dwight Bressler was its first mayor.
Bluford spread on both sides of the railroad. The south section unofficially was called Tilford, and the north, Bluford, both being names of the sons of Minerva (Flint) and Wiley Green. When son Tilford died, all the town became Bluford. No reason was given why the boys should have been so honored.
