Cambridge is a village in Henry County,

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. The population was 2,160 at the 2010 census, down from 2,180 in 2000. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Henry County.

History

Before 1843, the land where Cambridge is currently located was the private property of a man named Rev. Ithamar Pillsbury, who was very well known amongst the

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...

settlers (migrants from

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and

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

who were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s) who were moving to Henry County in large numbers at that time. Reverend Pillsbury deeded a large portion of his land to the town council and they immediately agreed it was a good place to lay out a town. Lots were sold to incoming migrants and on June 9 of 1843 (after some quarreling among the town founders about how to finance it) construction began on the town. Roads were laid out, post routes established, public buildings erected and people were invited to move there. The original settlers were entirely of

origins or were

s from

whose families had moved to that place from

only one generation earlier, in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War. This resulted in Henry County being culturally very contiguous with early

culture.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Cambridge has a total area of , of which (or 99.35%) is land and (or 0.65%) is water.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 2,180 people, 856 households, and 595 families in the village. The population density was . There were 896 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the village was 98.17% White, 0.78% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.46%. Of the 856 households 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 26.2% of households were one person and 14.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.95. The age distribution was 24.6% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males. The median household income was $38,636 and the median family income was $46,786. Males had a median income of $31,442 versus $20,129 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,842. About 8.1% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over. 2010 Census According to the 2020 census, the population was 2,086. Of this, 2,077 (96.16%) were White, 35 (1.62%) were black or African American, 26 (1.20%) were two or more races, 13 (0.60%) were Asian, 7 (0.32) were American Indian or Alaska Native, 2 (0.09%) were some other race. 45 (2.08%) were Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

Court House

As the county seat of Henry County, Illinois, Cambridge hosts the county government. The Henry County Court House, designed by Thomas J. Tolan & Son, Architects, of

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

(1875–1878), is the key architectural landmark of the village. The courthouse was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2004.

Schools

Cambridge has a single school district, School District #227, which includes a single elementary school, junior high (attached to the high school), and high school. The high school graduates around 50-60 students annually. Like many small towns, the cultural life of the community revolves around the arts and sports related to the school. The elementary school was selected as a 2006

Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

, part of the

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...

. It was one of only 18 selected in Illinois.

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

2006 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools
Accessed February 22, 2007.

Links to Bishop Hill

Historically, Cambridge has been linked to nearby

Bishop Hill, Illinois Bishop Hill is a village in Henry County, Illinois, United States, along the South Edwards River. The population was 128 at the 2010 census, up from 125 in 2000. It is the home of the Bishop Hill State Historic Site, a park operated by the Illi ...

. Bishop Hill was founded in 1846 by a sect of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrants led by their prophet,

Erik Janson Eric or Erik Jansson or Janson (19 December 1808 – 13 May 1850) was the leader of a Swedish Radical Pietism, Radical Pietist sect that emigrated to the United States in 1846. Early and family life Jansson was born in Biskopskulla Church, Biskops ...

. For several years, local Americans and their Swedish neighbors traded and lived in peace. In 1850, Erik Janson was murdered by a former follower in the court house in Cambridge. The historic record reveals some tension between the Swedes in Bishop Hill and the residents of Cambridge. Additionally, the influx of Swedish immigrants attracted additional immigrants from Sweden to the Henry County area. As the population grew, they called for religious leadership from the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

, an official branch of the Swedish government. Before they fled from Sweden, Erik Janson and his followers had a contentious break from the Lutheran Church. The Cambridge Lutheran church was established as an offshoot of

Lars Paul Esbjörn Lars Paul Esbjörn (October 16, 1808 – July 2, 1870) was a Swedish-American Lutheran clergyman, academic and church leader. Esbjörn was a founder of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church and of Augustana College. He served as the first pre ...

's Augustana Lutheran Church in nearby

Andover, Illinois Andover is a village in Henry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 578 at the 2010 census, down from 594 in 2000. History Andover is the oldest community in Henry County. Andover was the first area to be settled as a town within ...

. This religious-related tension would remain between the Augustana Lutherans (including Augustana College in

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Island. The popul ...

) and the people of Bishop Hill well into the late 20th century. For more information on Cambridge's relationship with Bishop Hill see Troy Swanson's "Those Crazy Swedes: Outside Influence on the Bishop Hill Colony" in ''Nobler things to View: Collected Essays on the Erik-Janssonists'' published by the Bishop Hill Heritage Association in 1998.

Notable people

Dan Halldorson Daniel Albert Halldorson (April 2, 1952 – November 18, 2015) was a Canadian professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Canadian Tour. Halldorson was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Brandon, Manitoba. He did not attend col ...

, former PGA golfer *

John P. Hand John Pryor Hand (November 10, 1850 – May 22, 1923) was an American jurist. Born in Henry County, Illinois, Hand studied at Rock River Seminary in Mount Morris, Illinois. In 1872, Hand received his bachelor's degree from University of Iowa. He ...

, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court *

John Hughes (lawman) John Reynolds Hughes (February 11, 1855 – June 3, 1947) was a Texas Ranger and cowboy of the Old West, and later an author. Several books were written about his long history as one of the most influential Texas Rangers of all time. It has ...

, likely inspiration for

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

* George Allen Neeves, member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

* Brian Phelps 25-year radio host of Los Angeles-based "Mark and Brian Show" * Charles F. Wennerstrum, lawyer and justice on the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...

References

https://www.cambridgeil.org/index.asp?SEC=3992A7A7-584E-431C-856B-ADE840F11C6C&Type=B_DIR

External links

Cambridge official Web siteHenry County Official Web site
{{authority control Villages in Henry County, Illinois Villages in Illinois County seats in Illinois