Highwood, Illinois

Highwood
City
Country United States
State Illinois
County Lake
Coordinates
Area 0.6 sq mi (2 km2)
 - land 0.6 sq mi (2 km2)
Population 4,143 (2000)
Density 6,552.1 / sq mi (2,530 / km2)
Timezone CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code 60040
Area code 847
Location of Highwood within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Highwood, Illinois

Highwood is a city in the Moraine Township of Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,143 at the 2000 census. Highwood is a neighbor to Highland Park and the two share a weekly newspaper and school district. An attempt was made in 2005 to convert Highwood to a home rule city, but this effort failed, limiting the town's abilities to raise funds and pass ordinances. Highwood achieved home rule status in 2007.

Contents

History

Highwood was founded in 1887 in conjunction with the establishment of Fort Sheridan. Throughout much of its history, it grew up around the Fort. Because of this, many of the town's businesses were taverns and bars to serve the Fort and the North Shore. It set the Guinness World Record for most bars per square mile and was called "the toughest town in America" by President Theodore Roosevelt. Most of the 19th and early 20th century residents of Highwood were of Irish or Scandinavian descent. In 1905, the first of many Italian immigrants started arriving in the town, but since then the demographics have changed as more immigrants are of Latino descent. With the closing of the active duty portion of Fort Sheridan in 1993, the Town of Highwood doubled in size after annexing some of Fort Sheridan's old property. Currently a Navy housing development is underway in Fort Sheridan.

Geography

Highwood is located at .[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2), all of it land. There may be plans of having beach access for Highwood residents on the Ft. Sheridan lake front.

Schools

St. James School, a Catholic K-8 school. Public school students attend the North Shore School District 112. Oak Terrace School, grades K-5, are in Highwood. Northwood Junior High in Highland Park for 6th through 8th grade and Highland Park High School for 9th through 12th grade.

Demographics

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 4,143 people, 1,555 households, and 933 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,552.1 people per square mile (2,539.1/km²). There were 1,604 housing units at an average density of 2,536.7 per square mile (983.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 43.14% White, 2.15% African American, 0.58% Native American, 2.12% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 17.19% from other races, and 4.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38.23% of the population.

There were 1,555 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,993, and the median income for a family was $53,000. Males had a median income of $30,560 versus $27,560 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,138. These income statistics are significantly lower than in surrounding towns. About 4.3% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.9% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links