Fulton is a city in

Whiteside County, Illinois Whiteside County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 58,498. Its county seat is Morrison. The county is bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. Whiteside County comprises ...

, United States. The population was 3,481 at the 2010 census, down from 3,881 in 2000. Fulton is located across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

from Clinton, Iowa.

History

A post office called Fulton has been in operation since 1838. The city was named for

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...

, inventor of the steamboat.

Geography

Fulton is located at (41.866873, -90.158834), on the east bank of the Mississippi River near Lock and Dam #13. The most northeastly portion of the county is in the Driftless Area of Illinois, where the Apple River meets the

Upper Mississippi River The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, at the confluence of its main tributary, the Missouri River. History In terms of geologic and hydrographic history, the Upper ...

. According to the 2010 census, Fulton has a total area of , of which (or 97.26%) is land and (or 2.74%) is water. Fulton is a city most known for its pride in its Dutch heritage. This is shown through the addition of a traditional Dutch windmill, De Immigrant, located near the city's dike, which borders the Mississippi. Other local attractions include: the Martin House Museum, Heritage Canyon, the Dutch Days festival held annually on the first weekend of May, and its view of the Mississippi River.

Climate

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 3,881 people, 1,582 households, and 1,071 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,672 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.91%

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 ...

, 0.59%

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 ...

, 0.18% Native American, 0.52%

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 ...

, 0.33% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.26% of the population. There were 1,582 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.89. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $37,068, and the median income for a family was $45,134. Males had a median income of $32,359 versus $20,653 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 city was $19,845. About 3.5% of families and 5.8% 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 7.8% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

John R. Huizenga John Robert Huizenga (April 21, 1921 – January 25, 2014) was an American physicist who helped build the first atomic bomb and who also debunked University of Utah scientists' claim of achieving cold fusion. Early life and education John Rober ...

, professor of chemistry and physics who contributed to the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

and the discovery of the elements Einsteinium and

Fermium Fermium is a synthetic element with the symbol Fm and atomic number 100. It is an actinide and the heaviest element that can be formed by neutron bombardment of lighter elements, and hence the last element that can be prepared in macroscopic qua ...

Jack Reagan John Edward Reagan (July 13, 1883 – May 18, 1941) was the father of Ronald Reagan, motion picture actor, who served as the 33rd governor of California and 40th president of the United States and radio station manager Neil Reagan. Ancestry Jac ...

, father of President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Nelle Wilson Reagan Nelle Clyde Wilson Reagan (July 24, 1883 – July 25, 1962) was the mother of United States President Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) and his older brother Neil Reagan (1908–1996). Early life Nelle was born in Fulton, Illinois, the oldest of ...

, mother of Ronald Reagan *

Paul Rhymer Paul Mills Rhymer (November 21, 1905-October 26, 1964) was an American scriptwriter and humorist best known as the creator of radio's long-run ''Vic and Sade'' series. With a listening audience of 7,000,000, ''Vic and Sade'' was voted the number on ...

, creator and writer of the radio series Vic and Sade (Born in Fulton, raised in

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...

)

Gallery

File:Clinton Iowa and Fulton Illinois.JPG, Fulton (right of river) and its neighbor, Clinton, Iowa (left of river) as seen from an airplane File:Image_Martin_House.jpeg, Martin House at 707 10th Avenue File:Mississippi_River_Lock_and_Dam_number_13.jpg, Aerial view of

Lock and Dam No. 13 Lock and Dam No. 13 is a lock and dam located on the Upper Mississippi River above Fulton, Illinois and Clinton, Iowa, United States. This facility offers visitors a view of the barges and boats locking through on the widest pool in the Upper Miss ...

, located on the Mississippi River, Clinton, Iowa. File:Clinton Railroad Bridge 01 (cropped).jpg, The

Clinton Railroad Bridge The Clinton Railroad Bridge, also called the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Bridge or more simply the Clinton Bridge, is a bridge that carries double tracked rail lines across the Mississippi River between Clinton, Iowa, and Fulton ( Albany), ...

connects Fulton and Clinton, Iowa.

References

External links

City Web site
"De Immigrant" history and photos. {{authority control Cities in Illinois Illinois populated places on the Mississippi River Cities in Whiteside County, Illinois Driftless Area