Prairie City is a village in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 379 at the 2010 census. Geography Prairie City is located at (40.620740, -90.463582). According to the 2010 census, Prairie City has a total area of , all land. State Highway 41 passes through Prairie City. The Decker Press From 1937-1950, Prairie City was home to the Decker Press, which in the mid-1940s was the largest publishing house in America devoted exclusively to putting out poetry. The business was not financially successful and its founder, Prairie City native James A. Decker, sold it to a local lumber dealer, Harry M. Denman, who in turn sold it several months later to Ervin Tax, a poet from Chicago. Decker left town, but his sister, Dorothy, remained. Tax tried to make the business more efficient and profitable—buying new presses and binding equipment and hiring an artist, sales promoter and other employees. But The Decker Press came to a tragic end in May 1950 when Dorothy, who had fallen in love with Tax in a one-side relationship, shot Tax in the head with a rifle and then killed herself. Demographics Per the 2010 US Census, Prairie City had 379 people. Among non-Hispanics this includes 371 White (97.9%), 5 Black (1.3%), 1 Asian (0.3%), & 1 from two or more races. The Hispanic or Latino population included 1 person (0.3%). Of the 135 households 43 had children under the age of 18 living with them, 80 were married couples living together, 5 (3.7%) had a female householder with children & no husband present, and 34 were non-families. 25 households were one person and 37 had someone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 2.92. The age distribution was 78.1% over the age of 18 and 19.3% 65 or older. The median age was 43.5 years. The gender ratio was 50.1% male & 49.9% female. Among 135 occupied households, 121 were owner-occupied & 14 were renter-occupied. At the 2000 census there were 461 people, 155 households, and 119 families in the town. The population density was . There were 171 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.61% White, 1.08% Asian, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87%. Of the 155 households 40.0% had children under the