Plainfield, Illinois
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Plainfield is a village located in Will County, Illinois.
Plainfield is the oldest community in Will County. Located within the village are neo-Gothic churches, upright wing cottages, a school built in 1847, and a number of late-19th-century homes. According to a list prepared by the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, there are homes in Plainfield that rank sixth on a list of the 10 most endangered areas in the state of Illinois. The village is the fastest growing in the county.
The Plainfield Tornado, an F5 tornado, devastated the village on August 28, 1990 killing 28 people. It is for this reason that Plainfield is most known.
The first ice cream sundae is reported to have been created in Plainfield. It is claimed that a Plainfield druggist created it and named it the sonntag after his surname--Sonntag, which means Sunday in German.
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History
Plainfield was named Walker's Grove until its incorporation in 1834. The area was originally settled by a large community of Potawatomi.
The earliest white people in the area were French fur traders. The first white settler in the area was James Walker, who traveled through the area with his father, Methodist Reverend Jessie Walker as early as 1826. Reverend Walker evangelized the Potawatomie during his trips to the area.
In 1828, James Walker, in the company of several men, erected a sawmill around which the settlement of Walker's Grove developed.
Walker's Grove flourished because of the DuPage River and established routes to Fort Dearborn in Chicago and Ottawa. Reuben Flagg hauled lumber from Walker's mill to Chicago in order to erect the first two frame structures in the city. Chicago also depended upon the settlement for mail and supplies. These are some of the reasons why Plainfield is known as "The Mother of Chicago."
A population explosion started to take form in the 2000s with the removal of farms/rural communities. Before the population boom, the town was mostly an agricultural town, major ones being Rousonelos Farms, The Kings, etc.
Geography
Plainfield is located at 41°37'2" North, 88°12'10" West (41.617280, -88.202837)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 32.2 km² (12.4 mi²). 30.1 km² (11.6 mi²) of it is land and 2.1 km² (0.8 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 6.67% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 13,038 people, 4,315 households, and 3,521 families residing in the village. According to a 2003 special census, the village has a population of 20,673. The population density is 433.6/km² (1,122.8/mi²). There are 4,609 housing units at an average density of 153.3/km² (396.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the village is 95.85% White, 0.84% African American, 0.08% Native American, 1.25% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. 3.87% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 4,315 households out of which 47.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.6% are married couples living together, 5.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% are non-families. 14.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.01 and the average family size is 3.37.
In the village the population is spread out with 31.9% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village is $80,799, and the median income for a family is $86,417. Males have a median income of $59,328 versus $35,861 for females. The per capita income for the village is $28,242. 1.8% of the population and 1.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 2.2% of those under the age of 18 and 2.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
- Plainfield, Illinois Official Website (http://www.plainfield-il.org/)
- Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois (http://www.landmarks.org/)