Belvidere, Illinois

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Belvidere is a city in Boone County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,820 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Boone County^GR6.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Belvidere is located at 42°15′17″N, 88°50′39″W (42.254758, -88.844093)^GR1, and sits at an altitude that is approximately 800 feet above sea level. Located in north central Illinois, Belvidere is approximately 75 miles northwest of the downtown of Chicago, Illinois, and approximately 12 miles east of Rockford, Illinois. Belvidere is divided by the Kishwaukee River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.6 km² (9.1 mi²). 23.5 km² (9.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.55%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 20,820 people, 7,531 households, and 5,324 families residing in the city. The population density was 886.3/km² (2,295.3/mi²). There were 7,970 housing units at an average density of 339.3/km² (878.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.53% White, 1.15% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 11.57% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.07% of the population.

There were 7,531 households out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,529, and the median income for a family was $50,601. Males had a median income of $37,116 versus $24,454 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,804. About 7.8% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

[edit] Early Belvidere

The location where Belvidere now sits was first settled in 1835 by a Mr. Whitney, who in tribute named the place Elysian Fields. The name was later changed to Belvidere by a Mr. Peck.

Belvidere was originally built on the north side of the Kishwaukee River. In 1851, a railroad was built south of the river, the business section followed to the south side of the river, where Belvidere's "downtown" is now located.

[edit] 1967 Tornado

On April 21, 1967 a devastating tornado struck Belvidere. Twenty-four lives were lost in the tornado, many of whom were school children. The F4 tornado struck at the end of the school day of Belvidere High School, while many children including those that attended area grade schools were waiting on school buses outside of the high school. Out of sixteen school buses outside of the high school, twelve were overturned or thrown. The tornado did US$ 22 million in damage, demolished over 100 homes, and injured over 300 (see the Belvidere Tornado Outbreak).

[edit] Miss America

In 1969 Belvidere native Judith Anne Ford won the Miss America pageant. Judith Anne Ford graduated from Belvidere High School.

[edit] Belvidere auto assembly plant

DaimlerChrysler operates Belvidere Assembly, an auto assembly plant, in Belvidere. The Belvidere plant manufactured the Dodge Neon until the spring of 2006. After a massive restructuring of the Belvidere plant, it now produces the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot.