Elwin is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in South Wheatland Township, Macon County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in 2020, with a population of 119. The name "Elwin" is an amalgamation of the surnames of founders Elwood and Martin.

Geography

Elwin is located in central Macon County at (39.851636, -88.944228). Centrally located within South Wheatland Township, it was once known as South Wheatland. It is south of the center of Decatur, the Macon

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 ...

U.S. Route 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south-north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Highw ...

bypasses Elwin on its east side, with its old alignment passing through the center of the community as U.S. Route 51 Business. The two routes join south of Elwin and lead south to

Pana Pana or PANA may refer to: *Pana (mythology), a god in Inuit religion *PANA, in telecommunications, a Plain ANAlog loop Alarm circuit *Protocol for carrying Authentication for Network Access, a network access authentication protocol *Pana, used fo ...

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the Elwin CDP has an area of , all land. The community is in the Spring Creek watershed, which flows north to the

Sangamon River The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in central Illinois in the United Stat ...

in Decatur.

Demographics

References

Census-designated places in Illinois Census-designated places in Macon County, Illinois Unincorporated communities in Illinois Unincorporated communities in Macon County, Illinois {{MaconCountyIL-geo-stub