Polo is a city in Ogle County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 2,291 at the 2020 census, down from 2,355 in 2010 and 2,477 in 2000.

History

The community was named after

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

. Polo was incorporated on February 16, 1857.

Geography

Polo is located at (41.986852, -89.577100). According to the 2010 census, Polo has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,477 people, 1,007 households, and 654 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,081 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.39%

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 ...

, 0.04%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 0.65% from other races, and 0.36% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.57% of the population. There were 1,007 households, out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.00. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $38,833, and the median income for a family was $46,250. Males had a median income of $37,857 versus $24,135 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 city was $18,604. About 7.2% of families and 9.2% 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 11.2% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Polo has its own school district, Polo School District 222, which includes Polo Community High School, Aplington Middle School which grades are through 6th to 8th, and Centennial Elementary School which is Preschool to 5th. Christ Lutheran School, located in nearby Sterling, serves students of various religious backgrounds from Polo to

Walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

and from

Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...

to Dixon. As part of the largest network of Protestant schools in the US, CLS provides an education for students from age 3 through 8th grade that is focused on all of the core academic subjects while remaining true to the Bible.

Library

The Polo Public Library at 302 West Mason Street in Polo is operated by the Polo Public Library District. The building is one of several Carnegie libraries on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The library was established in 1871 as an association which charged a membership fee and was transferred to the town under the new name Buffalo Township Free Public Library in 1891.

Notable people

* George Perkins Clinton (1867–1937), botanist and mycologist * George Peek, economist * Kathleen Weaver, writer and editor

References

External links

Polo official websitePolo Community Unit School District 222Polo Public Library District
{{authority control Cities in Ogle County, Illinois Cities in Illinois Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois 1856 establishments in Illinois