Elwood is a village in

Will County, Illinois Will County is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county. The county seat ...

, United States. The population was 2,279 at the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

Geography

Elwood is located at (41.413615, -88.110438). The nearest major highways are

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

to the north and

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

to the west. The former

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

passes through the village on the east side. According to the 2010 census, Elwood has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

, there were 2,279 people, 880 households, and 630 families residing in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 94.9 percent

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1.5 percent

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1 percent Native American, 0.5 percent

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.06 percent

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 2.2 percent from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.8 percent from two or more races.

Hispanics The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties former ...

and

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

of any race were 6.3 percent of the population. There were 880 households, out of which 35.2 percent had children under the age of 18 living within, 58.3 percent were husband-wife family living together, 9.2 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4 percent were non-families. 24.1 percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 28.4 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.08. In the village, the age distribution of the population shows 25.5 percent under the age of 18 and 15.4 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.8 years. 50.8 percent of the populations was female while 49.8 percent was male. The median income for a household in the village was $78,515

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

, and the median income for a family was $83,698. Males had a median income of $68,500 versus $38,299 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $30,223. About 6.5 percent of families and 8.5 percent 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 12.2 percent of those under age 18 and 8.2 percent of those age 65 or over.

History

Elwood was founded in 1854, and incorporated as a village in 1869. The completion of the Joliet– Bloomington

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

played a major role in the founding of Elwood. By 1900, Elwood was a small farming community with a population of about 400. In the late 1930s, the federal government acquired nearby land for troop training and weapons production, on which site the

Joliet Arsenal Joliet Army Ammunition Plant (JOAAP, formerly known as the Joliet Arsenal) was a United States Army arsenal located in Will County, Illinois, near Elwood, Illinois, south of Joliet, Illinois. Opened in 1940 during World War II, the facility consis ...

was built and commenced operation in 1940. Arsenal construction played an important role in the development of Elwood and brought about 175 people into the area. In 1942, a massive explosion at the arsenal killed 42 workers and caused widespread damage. In 1954, the village celebrated its centennial, and 20,000 people gathered to watch the parade. By 1970, Elwood had a population of about 750. On May 8, 1988, a tornado touched down about three miles (5 km) north of the village, uprooting large trees and heavily damaging a few homes and

pole built Pole framing or post-frame construction (pole building framing, pole building, pole barn) is a simplified building technique that is an alternative to the labor-intensive traditional timber framing technique. It uses large poles or posts bu ...

buildings. In 1990, the village began to experience more rapid growth. By 1996, Elwood's population rose to nearly 1,423, and is now estimated at 2,300, with development accelerating due to the construction of the

CenterPoint Intermodal Center CenterPoint Intermodal Center is an intermodal freight terminal located in Elwood, Illinois. It is considered the largest inland port in North America. The Intermodal Center includes a 785-acre Union Pacific Railroad complex just south of Joliet a ...

facility. The Northern Illinois Planning Commission estimates that Elwood will have a population of nearly 20,000 by 2030. The

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (MNTP) is a tallgrass prairie reserve and similarly preserved as United States National Grassland operated by the United States Forest Service. The first national tallgrass prairie ever designated in the U.S ...

, a

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

reserve operated by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

is located on the site of the former

Joliet Army Ammunition Plant Joliet Army Ammunition Plant (JOAAP, formerly known as the Joliet Arsenal) was a United States Army arsenal located in Will County, Illinois, near Elwood, Illinois, south of Joliet, Illinois. Opened in 1940 during World War II, the facility consis ...

near Elwood, Illinois, and was established by federal law in 1996. In 1999, the 982 acre (397 ha)

Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery The Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery covers in Elwood, Illinois. It is located approximately southwest of Chicago, Illinois. When fully completed, it will provide 400,000 burial spaces. The cemetery was dedicated in 1999 by the United Stat ...

was dedicated in Elwood. When fully completed, it will provide 400,000 burial spaces.

Fires

Two major fires have taken place in Elwood, the first on August 26, 1995, in which the fire station was destroyed. The second, which occurred on May 5, 2008, completely destroyed Bill's Inn. A residential fire in the Wyndstone Village subdivision on April 17, 2009 caused significant damage to some

townhomes In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

References

External links

* http://www.villageofelwood.com/ {{authority control Villages in Illinois Villages in Will County, Illinois Populated places established in 1854 1854 establishments in Illinois