Tonica is a village in

LaSalle County LaSalle County is located within the Fox Valley and Illinois River Valley regions of the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 Census, it had a population of 109,658. Its county seat and largest city is Ottawa. LaSalle County is part of the O ...

, Illinois, United States. The population was 749 at the 2020 census, down from 768 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Tonica was originally a small hamlet called Point Republic. The village was founded by Andrew West, the local agent for the Illinois Central Railroad. The tracks arrived May 23, 1853. Tonica was first incorporated on April 3, 1859, then reincorporated on August 16, 1873. The incorporation was certified on October 16, 1901. Tonica derives its name from the Tunica people that West learned about while growing up in New York State. West likewise named many of the streets in the town after Native American tribes and people.

Geography

Tonica is located in western LaSalle County at (41.215902, -89.067981).

Illinois Route 251 Illinois Route 251 is a north–south state highway that runs on the former alignment of U.S. Route 51 before Interstate 39 was built in north central Illinois. It runs from U.S. 51 at the border with Wisconsin to I-39 and U.S. 51 south of Kap ...

passes through the center of the village, leading north to Peru and south to Wenona. Interstate 39 passes through the west side of the village, with access from Exit 48 (N 20th Road). I-39 leads north to

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 ...

in LaSalle and south to Interstate 55 at Normal. According to the 2020 census, Tonica has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, there were 749 people, 328 households, and 207 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 331 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 86.78% White, 0.13% Native American, 0.53%

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 ...

,4.94% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or

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 9.48% of the population. There were 328 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% 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, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% 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 2.93. In the village, the population was spread out, with 20.8% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.3 males. The median income for a household in the village was $52,206, and the median income for a family was $71,750. Males had a median income of $39,265 versus $32,500 for females. The per capita income for the village was $27,672. About 9.7% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.0% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The village has its own grade school, Tonica Grade School (K-8).City data.com
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Notable people

Arthur R. Hall Arthur Raymond Hall (June 4, 1869 – December 4, 1955) was an American football player and coach. He served as head football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1904—along with Justa Lindgren, Fred Lowenthal, and Cl ...

, former University of Illinois football player and head coach

References

External links

Village of Tonica official website
{{authority control Villages in Illinois Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area Villages in LaSalle County, Illinois