Elizabeth is a village in Jo Daviess County,

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. The population was 694 at the 2020 census.

History

Prior to European contact, the area where the village stands today was inhabited by the Sauk and Meskwaki peoples. It is believed that white settlers had moved into the area starting in the early 1800s due to the prominence of

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in the earth. These mines that were built in Jo Daviess County are considered to be what triggered the 1832 Black Hawk War and the devastating Bad Axe Massacre. The Apple River Fort was built in response to this conflict and on June 24 a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

ensued. The injury and death toll is unknown. This is considered the last Native American offensive battle east of the Mississippi River. During the battle, it is thought that a woman named Elizabeth Armstrong rallied the locals of the fort to continue the fight and assist the soldiers in any way they could. As a result of the bravery of her and the other women in the camp, the community was renamed from simply the Apple River Settlement to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was incorporated as a village in 1868. In 1878 the Chicago Great Western Railroad was built through the area which caused an increase in population. Elizabeth station exists to this day and it was added to the

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in 1996.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 694 people, 510 households, and 215 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 391 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.10%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.43%

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, 0.29% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.00%

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, 0.58% from other races, and 3.46% from two or more races.

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or Latino of any race were 3.46% of the population. There were 510 households, out of which 19.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.43% were married couples living together, 7.45% had a female householder with no husband present, and 57.84% were non-families. 50.59% of all households were made up of individuals, and 30.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 1.71. The village's age distribution consisted of 14.0% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 31.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $54,028. Males had a median income of $35,476 versus $24,625 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $30,137. About 8.8% of families and 15.7% 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 ...

, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.

Geography

Elizabeth is located at (42.317007, -90.223231). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Elizabeth has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Printed media

Although a settlement of modest size, Elizabeth incorporated in 1868, has a long history of printed media. It was first served by the ''Elizabeth News'', starting at the latest in 1889. In 1913 or 1914 the paper changed its name to the ''Elizabeth Weekly News''. The ''Elizabeth Weekly'' continued its publication until 1979. A second newspaper, the ''Elizabeth Times'', was published in the village from 1937 through 1955.

Education

River Ridge Community Unit School District 210 operates area public schools, including River Ridge High School.River Ridge Info
." River Ridge Community Unit School District 210. Retrieved on July 15, 2018.

Notable residents

Former U.S. Congressman John C. McKenzie lived most of his life in Elizabeth and is buried at Elizabeth Cemetery. Leo E. Allen, 14-term U.S. Congressman, was born in Elizabeth. Notable multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird has a home on a farm just outside this village.

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

musical act Phox is currently writing / recording their second album in Elizabeth. No concrete details, including a release date, have been released.

References

External links

Elizabeth Chamber of CommerceVillage municipal website
{{authority control Villages in Jo Daviess County, Illinois Villages in Illinois