Rochelle is a city in Ogle and Lee counties,

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 population was 9,446 at the 2020 census. Rochelle is approximately west of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and south of Rockford.

History

Originally named "Lane", the town sits at the intersection of two rail lines, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Union Pacific. Having a number of granaries holding corn, wheat and other crops for shipping eastward, the town was an important rail link for farmers. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Rochelle grew, becoming a center for Swift Meat Packing and Del Monte canned vegetables such as asparagus, corn, green beans, and peas. The community is home to the popular Rochelle Railroad Park where visitors from across the country come to watch passing trains at the intersection of the BNSF and Union Pacific Railroads. On April 9, 2015, parts of the city suffered damage when an EF4

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

struck near the outskirts of the town.

Geography

Rochelle is located along the Kyte River (commonly, if inaccurately, known to most locals as "Kyte Creek"). It is also located near the junction of Interstates 39 and 88. According to the 2010 census, Rochelle has a total area of , of which (or 99.85%) is land and (or 0.15%) is water. Located primarily in Ogle County, a portion extends into neighboring Lee County.

Demographics

2020 census

2000 Census

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 9,424 people, 3,688 households, and 2,415 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 3,895 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 86.81%

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 ...

, 1.14%

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 ...

, 0.49% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 8.69% from other races, and 1.93% 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 19.16% of the population. There were 3,688 households, out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% 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, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. Of all households 29.3% were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.13. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $37,984, and the median income for a family was $46,563. Males had a median income of $35,890 versus $25,058 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 $18,139. About 7.6% of families and 10.4% 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 11.1% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Whitcomb Locomotive Works, founded by George Dexter Whitcomb, manufactured industrial locomotives as well as the Partin Palmer automobile, in Rochelle. Union Pacific's Global III Intermodal Facility, completed in 2003, was Union Pacific's largest intermodal facility upon completion. It closed in 2019. The Illinois River Energy ethanol plant is located in Rochelle.

Arts and culture

Notable buildings include: * William H. Holcomb House * City and Town Hall * Flagg Township Public Library * The Hub Theater Rochelle Railroad Park is located here.

Education

Rochelle Community Consolidated District 231 serves Rochelle and limited areas just outside town. Schools include: * Abraham Lincoln Elementary * Central Elementary * Floyd J. Tilton Elementary * Phillip May Elementary * Rochelle Middle School Rochelle Township High School District 212 operates Rochelle Township High School. St. Paul Lutheran School enrolls children from age three, up through the eighth grade.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Rochelle owns and operates Rochelle Municipal Airport.

Hub

Rochelle is known as the "Hub City" because of its location at the intersection of several major transportation routes. The first transcontinental highway in the United States, the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

, passed through Rochelle, as did US-51, one of the first highways to go the full north–south length of the United States. Both these roads have diminished in importance (and are now state highways 38 and

251 __NOTOC__ Year 251 (Roman numerals, CCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, in the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Etruscus (or, less frequently, year 1004 ''A ...

, respectively), but Rochelle continues to be crossed by major highways, especially Interstates 88 and 39. Besides roadways, Rochelle is also crossed by two major rail lines; the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

and

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

mainlines cross inside of the city limits. The effect, as seen on a map, was one of the spokes of an old wagon wheel meeting at the " hub", and thus the nickname was born. Several businesses carry the moniker "Hub City", including furniture stores, shopping centers, realty firms, dry cleaners, and many others. Additionally, he local high school's teams are known as the " Hubs". Rochelle was once a stop for passenger trains operated by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and its successor, the Burlington Northern, such as '' North Coast Limited''. The town saw its last passenger train in 1971, and in 2007, the depot, which had been built in 1921, was demolished.

Notable people

* Joan Allen, actress * Joanna Baker, professor of ancient languages * Delos W. Baxter, Illinois state senator, lawyer, and mayor of Rochelle * Stan Campbell, pro football player * Mabel Craft Deering, journalist, born in RochelleCalifornia State Library, 1906
/ref>"The High School," ''Oakland Daily Evening Tribune,'' June 2, 1888, image 3
/ref>"Popular Member of Junior League to Wed Mr. Howe," ''The San Francisco Examiner,'' August 22, 1931, image 6
/ref> * William Gehring, Professor of Cognitive Psychology and one of the discoverers of Error Related Negativity *

Lloyd Ingraham Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director. Biography Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...

, actor * Paul R. Lawrence, Harvard professor and pioneer of contingency theory * William W. May, American athlete, competed in the 1908 London Olympics, Rochelle Township High School graduate and 1905 State Champion in the 50 yard dash * Abram B. Steele, lawyer and politician * Daniel Van Kirk, comedian * Kris Wexell National award winning radio host & radio programmer WYOT WRHL * Judith C. Toth, member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

(1975–1990)

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Illinois Cities in Lee County, Illinois Cities in Ogle County, Illinois