New Lenox, Illinois

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

New Lenox is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,771 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 23,197 as of 2005.

The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission forecasts New Lenox will have a population of 101,725 in 2030.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Expansion
5 External links

[edit] Geography

New Lenox is located at 41°30′30″N, 87°58′14″W (41.508251, -87.970597).^GR1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 26.2 km² (10.1 mi²). 26.1 km² (10.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.20%) is water.

[edit] History

(From the official village website):

What is now the Village of New Lenox was first settled in the late 1820s, in the area of Gougar crossing ( Route 30 and Gougar Road ) and it was called VanHorne Point. New Lenox Township was established when Will County was created in 1852 with the building of the Rock Island Railroad between Chicago and Rock Island, Illinois. Originally named Tracey in honor of the general superintendent of the Rock Island Railroad. Mr. Tracy later requested that the community be renamed. The first supervisor of the Rock Island Railway for New Lenox Township, John Van Duser, named the Township New Lenox from the town of Lenox, New York, which was Van Duser's home town. In 1863 the name for the new settlement officially became New Lenox after the Township.

The Village of New Lenox wasn't officially created until October 4, 1946. In 1945 and 46 community leaders, F. Carlton Cole, Walter Baers and others reasoned that the community should be incorporated. Recognizing the benefits and the potential growth of the area, a community vote in the spring of 1946 resulted in the authorization for the creation of the Village of New Lenox. On October 4, 1946, the State of Illinois officially certified that the Village of New Lenox was legally organized and incorporated as a Village in the State of Illinois

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 17,771 people, 5,853 households, and 4,834 families residing in the village. The population density was 680.0/km² (1,760.5/mi²). There were 6,064 housing units at an average density of 232.0/km² (600.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.65% White, 0.30% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.17% of the population.

There were 5,853 households out of which 49.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.0% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.4% were non-families. 14.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the village the population was spread out with 33.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $67,697, and the median income for a family was $72,947. Males had a median income of $53,301 versus $32,193 for females. The per capita income for the village was $25,161. About 1.4% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Expansion

Planned to be completed in 2007, the I-355 expressway extension of the interstate highway system will meet with I-80 freeway in New Lenox. This interchange is expected to cause New Lenox to grow even more rapidly.

Also, a shopping mall, named Cedar Crossings, is scheduled to be completed in 2008 on the north side of New Lenox.