| LaSalle | |
| City | |
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Downtown LaSalle, Illinois.
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| Official name: La Salle | |
| Country | United States |
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| State | Illinois |
| County | LaSalle |
| Townships | LaSalle, Utica, Peru, Waltham, Dimmick |
| Elevation | 517 ft (158 m) |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 6.4 sq mi (17 km2) |
| - land | 6.4 sq mi (17 km2) |
| Population | 9,601 (2010) |
| Density | 1,500.15 / sq mi (579 / km2) |
| Founded | 1852 |
| Date | May 25th |
| Mayor | Jeff Grove |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 61301 |
| Area code | 815, 779 |
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Location of LaSalle within Illinois
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| Wikimedia Commons: LaSalle, Illinois | |
LaSalle is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, located at the intersection of Interstates 39 and 80. It is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area. Originally platted in 1837 over one square mile, the city has grown to 12 square miles (31 km2). City boundaries extend from the Illinois River and Illinois and Michigan Canal to a mile north of Interstate 80 and from the city of Peru on the west to the village of North Utica on the east. Starved Rock State Park is located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) to the east. The population was 9,796 at the 2000 census. LaSalle and its twin city, Peru, make up the core of the Illinois Valley.[1]
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LaSalle was named in honor of the early French explorer, Robert de LaSalle. In presettlement times the Illinois River was navigable upstream only to LaSalle; beyond LaSalle were a series of portages, in which boats had to be carried around rapids. During the 1830s, the Illinois and Michigan Canal was built to connect the Illinois River with Lake Michigan. LaSalle was the southwestern terminus of the Canal; Chicago the northeastern. At first LaSalle was the larger of the two cities, but it was soon dwarfed by its partner on the Lake.
Although the original town of LaSalle was platted in the 1830s, the city was not incorporated until 1852.
In 1838 large groups of Irish immigrants moved to the area to work on the canal. In May 1838, the War of the Kerry Patch broke out at Marseilles, IL. The South Irish fought the North Irish, the South Irish won and were joined by two hundred men at the Kerry Patch, near Split Rock and the Pequamsoggin. They then marched on Peru and destroyed the shanties and beat up anny Connaught or Ulter man they could find. Sherrif Woodruff and his deputy, Zimri Lewis, along with canal contractor, William Byrne, formed a posse and met them near Buffalo Rock. The posse fired upon a mob of five hundred armed South Irishmen led by "General" Sweeney. The mob dispersed,some fled into the river and were shot, many were arrested, officially only ten were killed.
In 1849, Asiatic cholera came to the illinois Valley and killed hundreds.
The Illinois Central Railroad originally crossed the Illinois river over a mile-long bridge through the eastern side of town on its way from Cairo to Galena. The railroad was the cause of a riot in 1853.[2] In 1853 laborers working on the Illinois Central bridge disputed wages with the contractor, Albert Story. He promised to pay them one dollar and a quarter for their daily wage, but later lowered it to a dollar. Some did not read the notice and were incensed at seeing their paychecks on December 15. They broke downthe door Story's house with axes, picks and shovels. Story tried to flee on horse, but the men rushed the stable and with picks, shovels, and stones murdered him. Twelve were arrested and convicted. Governor Matteson commuted the death sentence to imprisonment for life and later granted them full pardons. When governor Matteson visited LaSalle, he was publicly burned in effigy.
On April 18, 1880, a cyclonic windstorm tore off the roofs of houses, St. Partrick's school, toppled the Baptist Church, the engine house, the glassworks, and "entirely destroyed all fences between Utica and LaSalle."[3]
Six years after incorporation, two men – Frederich W. Matthiessen and Edward C. Hegeler – established the Matthiessen and Hegeler Zinc Company in LaSalle. This company would remain one of the largest employers in the city until its closure in the 1960s. Edward Hegeler built the world famous Hegeler Carus Mansion near his company's site. His daughter, Mary, married Paul Carus – Editor of the Open Court Publishing Company. In 1915 Edward Hegeler Carus, a grandson of Edward Hegeler founded Carus Chemical Company. Matthiessen later went on to become the mayor of LaSalle.
Matthiessen would later get a local state park in his honor and Hegeler owns the namesake of Hegeler City Park on St. Vincents Avenue.
Early Industries in LaSalle:
Coal was noted at LaSalle when a survey of the canal was made by Major Long in 1817. Coal mines fueled LaSalle's development. The town was the site of a furious firefight during the Bituminous Coal Miners' Strike of 1894. The earliest mine in the area was Dixwell Lathrop's Mine near Rockwell in 1839. LaSalle had one of the three mine rescue stations in Illinois, the others being in Springfield and Benton. Other mines in LaSalle include:[1]
La Salle is located at (41.341056, −89.090834).[4]
Centrally located along the Illinois and Michigan Canal at the crossroads of I-39 and I-80, LaSalle is just six miles (10 km) from Starved Rock State Park.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.4 square miles (17 km2), of which 6.3 square miles (16 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (1.40%) is water.
LaSalle's older neighborhoods can be considered divided by Joliet/St. Vincents and 11th Street to form four residential neighborhoods formalized by wards.
In the Southwest Quadrant, North of the I&M Canal is LaSalle's Downtown. Downtown businesses include: KFC, Marty's Barber Shop, La Salle Public Library, Monari's 101, King Tire, and Lawn And Garden Center, located at the former site of the Peru-LaSalle Station. Uptown Grill is located at 1st and Gooding. Illinois and Michigan Canal Lock 16 and The Volunteer operate here. The low-lying areas along the railroad were once home to LaSalle's earliest industries. Bucklin Street is a wide boulevard splitting this neighborhood in half. There are many fine homes in this part of town. LaSalle-Peru Township High School is here.
The Southeastern Quadrant is home to the Hegeler-Carus Mansion and the Carus Chemical Co. Pulaski Park is located in front of Trinity Catholic Academy. This part of La Salle includes the 8th Street Business District, which contains a drug store, a Mexican restaurant, a casual dining center, and a bakery and toy train store.
The Northeastern quadrant of LaSalle was primarily workers' residences for the M&H Zinc Co. Early paternal improvement included the asbestos-filled Matthiessen School, Hegeler Park, and St. Mary's Hospital. East of the residential area are the ruins of M&H. Saint Vincent and Saint Hyacinth's cemeteries are located near the north end of city limits.
The Northwestern quadrant the public school system: Northwest Elementary School and Lincoln Jr. High; as well as LaSalle-Peru Christian Academy. There are several large stately residences on Bucklin Street. Parts of this neighborhood were built over an old horse racing track. It is also the site of where the LaSalle Chargers of the Illinois Valley Youth Football League play home games. The far north of this quadrant is industrial, built along Route 80. Flying J and Denny's are located at Illinois Route 351 and North 30th Road.
To the east of the Little Vermillion River is the Eastern Acquirement, supposedly the "future of LaSalle", 400 homes are expected to be here, which might rise the population to 11,500.Rotary Park is being constructed here. This is a low populated area with less than 1,000 residents, but is unseldom in popularity due to the LaSalle Speedway.
The Rockwell Colony was founded in 1838 by a group from Norwich Connecticut. They hoped that he Illinois Central would cross the Illinois River and that the Illinois and Michigan Canal would terminate at that location. Instead these two events happened in nearby LaSalle. Soon after, the thriving colony of two hundred people was wiped out by a malaria epidemic.
| Climate data for LaSalle, Illinois | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 29 (−2) |
35 (2) |
47 (8) |
61 (16) |
73 (23) |
82 (28) |
85 (29) |
83 (28) |
77 (25) |
65 (18) |
48 (9) |
35 (2) |
60.0 (15.6) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 12 (−11) |
17 (−8) |
28 (−2) |
38 (3) |
49 (9) |
59 (15) |
63 (17) |
61 (16) |
52 (11) |
41 (5) |
30 (−1) |
18 (−8) |
39.0 (3.9) |
| Source: <La Salle, Illinois Weather= >weather.com (2011). "LaSalle, Illinois Weather". LaSalle, Illinois Weather Data. Open Publishing. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/61301. Retrieved 12 September 2011. | |||||||||||||
In the 1930s, the city was host to many casinos and dubbed "Little Reno". In fact, it was the least populated gambling town in the United States at the time. Currently, there are many nightclubs downtown.
LaSalle has performances by the Illinois Valley Symphony. Stage 212 and a ballet studio cultivate the performing arts.
There is a Lock 14 Museum dedicated to the I&M Canal.
There are many parks and nature areas within the city. These include:
LaSalle is currently home to the Carus Chemical Company,[5] Illinois Cement Company,[6] Air Products,[7] News Tribune, Buckman's Scrap, and the JC Whitney distribution center and Retail Store,[8] Machelle's Backstreet,[9] along with many other local industries and businesses.
The arrival of the Volunteer (canal boat) on 06-07-2008[10] is expected to draw over 70,000 visitors a year and pump $5 million into the local economy in the next 3 years.[11]
LaSalle's government is made up of a mayor, eight aldermen (two for each ward), a city clerk, city treasurer, attorney, head engineer, comptroller, building inspector, director of public works, and economic development coordinator. They are listed below:
Mayor: Jeff Grove Ward One Aldermen: James Demes, Jim Bacidore Ward Two Aldermen: Joe Edgecomb, Tom Ptak Ward Three Aldermen: John "Doc" Lavieri, John Duncan Ward Four Aldermen: Mark Schneider, T. Boo Herman City Clerk: Virginia Kochanowski City Treasurer: Bob Kziazkiewicz City Attorney: James McPhedran City Engineer: Mike Furlan City Comptroller: JoAnne Milby Building Inspector: Brian Maddox Director of Public Works: Sam McNielly Economic Development Coordinator: Don Alesky
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 3,993 |
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| 1870 | 5,200 | 30.2% | |
| 1880 | 7,847 | 50.9% | |
| 1890 | 9,855 | 25.6% | |
| 1900 | 10,446 | 6.0% | |
| 1910 | 11,537 | 10.4% | |
| 1920 | 13,050 | 13.1% | |
| 1930 | 13,149 | 0.8% | |
| 1940 | 12,812 | −2.6% | |
| 1950 | 12,083 | −5.7% | |
| 1960 | 11,897 | −1.5% | |
| 1970 | 10,736 | −9.8% | |
| 1980 | 10,341 | −3.7% | |
| 1990 | 9,090 | −12.1% | |
| 2000 | 9,470 | 4.2% | |
| 2010 | 9,601 | 1.4% | |
| Decennial US Census | |||
As of the census[12] of 2010, there were 9,609[13] people, 4,161 households, and 2,471 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,543.6 people per square mile (595.6/km²). There were 4,510 housing units at an average density of 710.7 per square mile (274.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.73% White, 1.28% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.07% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.22% of the population.
There were 4,161 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,491, and the median income for a family was $44,638. Males had a median income of $37,095 versus $21,334 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,099. About 12.1% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.2% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
The city is at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and Interstate 39. Illinois Route 351 separates the east and west of US Route 6. US Route 51 also runs through the city.
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