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. References Jefferson County Historical Society (1978), Facts and Folks A History of Jefferson County, Illinois, Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, TX, 61 Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 785 people, 283 households, and 223 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 310 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.09% White, 0.13% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 1.02% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population. There were 283 households, out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were non-families. 16.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living