Port Barrington (also referred to as Fox River Valley Gardens or FRG) is a village in

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and McHenry counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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

. It was formerly known as Fox River Valley Gardens, but the name was changed in 2002 to Port Barrington. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,584.

History

The village of Port Barrington was incorporated in 1969 under the name Fox River Valley Gardens. At the time, the village had the longest name out of all other incorporated places in Illinois, and was one of the longest town names in the country. Port Barrington still shares a ZIP code (60010) with the village of Barrington, to the south. In 2002, the village established its own post office. Homeowners in the new Riverwalk subdivision claimed that their home values fell significantly and immediately when their addresses were changed to "Fox River Valley Gardens". Some people trying to sell their homes at the time found themselves "underwater" (selling at a loss). This prompted residents in the Riverwalk section of the village to express their objection to what appeared to be a "bait and switch" in the change of mailing address. There were several tense village meetings where legal action was being considered by the new residents. In September 2002, the village board voted 4–3 to re-incorporate and change the community's name to "Port Barrington". However, several addresses in the older section of the village are still listed under the name Fox River Valley Gardens. In addition, many road signs and maps continue to use the community's original name, as do the local police and fire departments. As of 2019, the post office is no longer in service, and mail delivery is provided by the postal service in

Island Lake, Illinois Island Lake is a village in Lake and McHenry counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 8,051. The village surrounds Island Lake, a lake which contains a small island. History The village was incorporated on ...

Geography

Port Barrington is located at (42.243667, -88.198000). According to the 2010 census, Port Barrington has a total area of , of which (or 89.42%) is land and (or 10.58%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

2000 Census

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 788 people, 295 households, and 233 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 320 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.59%

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, 0.51%

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 ...

, 1.02% Asian, 0.13%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.25% 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 0.51% from two or more races.

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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 2.79% of the population. There were 295 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.2% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.0% were non-families. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 2.99. In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 43.3% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $114,750. The median property value in the village was $283,300.

Community

The village is a very active community. Winter has people snowmobiling, cross country skiing, ice fishing and ice skating on village trails and lakes. In the summer, cyclists, runners, fishermen and boaters come from all over the area to this town. Halloween tradition is to have children trick or treat on the Sunday before Halloween during the mid-day (11am to 3pm). At Christmas, a Santa Claus arrives in a parade through town with an escort of fire engines, McHenry County Sheriff and car loads of people throwing candy to kids waving from their homes and yards.

References

External links

* {{authority control Chicago metropolitan area Villages in Lake County, Illinois Villages in McHenry County, Illinois Villages in Illinois Populated places established in 2002 2002 establishments in Illinois