Map of Roxana village

Roxana is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,454 at the 2020 census. The ZIP Code is 62084.

A majority of the land in Roxana is taken up by the Wood River Refinery, an oil refinery operated by Phillips 66. The refinery was originally built and owned by Shell Oil. As of 2016, the refinery is capable of refining 314,000 barrels (49,900 m) 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 River Bend portion of the St. Louis Metro East area. It is well known for its bright Christmas lights lining Illinois Route 111, its main street, throughout the holiday season each year.

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History

In 1918, 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.

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 Netherlands-state-owned Royal Dutch Shell. But there had never been a Queen Roxanne of the Netherlands. The Dutch monarch at the time was Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. However, Royal Dutch/Shell Group also founded Roxana Petroleum Company in 1912 in Oklahoma to explore for and produce crude oil.

Subsequently Shell built refineries near New Orleans in 1916, at Wood River in 1918, and parallel with US Route 20 across Hammond and East Chicago in Lake County, Indiana, in 1926. The Hammond-East Chicago refinery was linked directly by pipeline to Wood River and resulted in the residential neighborhood of Roxana (East Chicago) adjacent to it.

Originally constructed on 336 acres (1.36 km), the Wood River Refinery now covers approximately 2,200 acres (8.9 km). Phillips 66 acquired it, the largest in its system, in the early 2000s.

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 $36,000 worth of 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 used to sit Burbank School, built in 1936 (torn down in 2009), 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 theater was purchased from Kerasotes and was donated to the Roxana Church of the Nazarene, which is located just to the north. The church now operates the building as the Nazarene Community Center, where it is available for rental and group events.

Roxana Road Map

Roxana city Satellite Map

Geography

Roxana is located in western Madison County and is bordered to the north by Wood River, to the west by Hartford, and to the southwest by South Roxana. Illinois Route 143 passes through the northern side of the village, leading northwest into Wood River and southeast 6 miles (10 km) to Edwardsville, the county seat. Illinois Route 111 passes through the northwest part of the village, leading north into Wood River and south 8 miles (13 km) to Pontoon Beach. Illinois Route 255, a four-lane freeway, runs through the east side of the village, with access from Exits 5 and 6. Route 255 leads northwest 13 miles (21 km) to Godfrey and south 6 miles (10 km) to Interstates 255 and 270 in Pontoon Beach.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Roxana has a total area of 7.2 square miles (19 km), of which 0.1 square miles (0.3 km), or 1.69%, are water.

See also