Gibson City, Illinois
| Gibson City | |
| City | |
| Nickname: The BIG LITTLE CITY of Ford County, Illinois. | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | Ford |
| Elevation | 751 ft (229 m) |
| Coordinates | 40°27′56″N 88°22′29″W / 40.46556°N 88.37472°W |
| Area | 2.35 sq mi (6 km2) |
| - land | 2.32 sq mi (6 km2) |
| - water | 0.03 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Population | 3,407 (2010) |
| Density | 1,604.0 / sq mi (619 / km2) |
| Mayor | Daniel E. Dickey |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 60936 |
| Area code | 217 |
   Location of Gibson City within Illinois
| |
| Wikimedia Commons: Gibson City, Illinois | |
| Website: http://gibsoncityillinois.com | |
History
The site of Gibson City was purchased and platted by Jonathan B. Lott in 1869. In 1870, Lott built a home and a post office there, and several stores and an a grain elevator were constructed. Lott named the place Gibson after the maiden name of his wife, Margaret Gibson Lott, and City was added later by the post office department.[1] Both the Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad and the Chicago and Paducah Railroad reached the town in 1871, allowing its population to grow. Gibson City was incorporated as a village in 1872. A third railroad, the LaFayette, Muncie and Bloomington Railroad, was built through Gibson City in 1874.[2][3] In the same year, one of the railroads signed a contract that paid Augustana College, located in Paxton at the time, a commission of $1 per acre on all railroad land sold to Swedish settlers.
In 1883, a fire in the town caused $50,000 ($1,000,000 in 2007 dollars) in property damage.[2]
Geography
Gibson City is located at 40°27′56″N 88°22′29″W / 40.46556°N 88.37472°W (40.465653, -88.374711).[4]
According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of 2.35 square miles (6.1 km2), of which 2.32 square miles (6.0 km2) (or 98.72%) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.078 km2) (or 1.28%) is water.[5]
Demographics
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 3,373 people, 1,469 households, and 928 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,604.0 people per square mile (620.2/km²). There were 1,565 housing units at an average density of 744.2 per square mile (287.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.13% White, 0.59% African American, 0.53% Asian, 0.03% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.
There were 1,469 households out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,638, and the median income for a family was $41,047. Males had a median income of $33,938 versus $20,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,926. About 8.9% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
Illinois State Highways 9, 47, and 54 intersect on the edge of Gibson City.
Media
Gibson City Courier
The town's weekly newspaper is the Gibson City Courier, but is also widely served by the Paxton Record in nearby Paxton, Illinois.
Gibson City Daily
GibsonCityDaily.com is a source for daily local news.
WGCY
WGCY is an FM station licensed to Gibson City broadcasting at a frequency of 106.3 mHz. Its programming consists of easy listening music and local high school sports.
Notable people
- Earl Hamilton, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies
- Russell Johnson (1893–1995), cartoonist
- John Arthur Love was the 36th Governor of Colorado and the Director of the Office of Energy Policy in the Nixon administration.
- Larry Pratt, catcher for the Boston Red Sox, Brooklyn Tip-Tops and Newark Pepper; born in Gibson City
References
- ↑ Callary, Edward. 2009. Place Names of Illinois. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, p. 135.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.iltrails.org/ford/1945citydir.html 1947 Gibson City Directory.
- ↑ https://www.davidrumsey.com/maps3731.html Map of Ford County and Paxton, 1876.
- ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ↑ "2010 Census U.S. Gazetteer Files for Places – Illinois". United States Census. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
- ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
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