Wonder Lake (village), Illinois

Wonder Lake is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,345 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Wonder Lake is located at (42.38427, -88.367814)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²).The center of the village is the largest private man-made lake in the state of Illinois. Blocks of homes surround the lake on both sides; at the northern most end of Wonder Lake, a waterfall type dam empties into Nippersink Creek which continues on in McHenry County and flows into the Fox River in Lake County. Nicknamed by local residents in the mid 1960's as "Wonder Creek".

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 1,345 people, 445 households, and 367 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,657.4 people per square mile (641.1/km²). There were 488 housing units at an average density of 601.4 per square mile (232.6/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.17% White, 0.37% Black or African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 1.12% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.46% of the population.

There were 445 households out of which 45.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.4% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.5% were non-families. 12.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the village the population was spread out with 31.9% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 105.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $59,712, and the median income for a family was $62,404. Males had a median income of $49,792 versus $27,500 for females. The per capita income for the village was $21,428. About 2.6% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Lake vs. Village

The name Wonder Lake now refers to both the lake itself and a village incorporated in 1974 from one of the east side unincorporated blocks of homes, Sunrise Ridge, called ‘subdivisions’ that fully surround the lake. Initially named the Village of Sunrise Ridge, the name was changed to The Village of Wonder Lake a few years later. The population of the combined village and all surrounding subdivisions has published population estimates currently over 10,000.

In an effort to reverse the filling of the lake with sediment, the village annexed the lake bottom (not without a court challenge) in the early 2000s so as to gain control of the lake bottom and allow proceeding with cleanup. As can be expected, this raised considerable concern and debate due to the large cost of such an undertaking. The planning and debate continue to the present (mid 2009).

References

1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.