Tonica is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in LaSalle 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 749 at the 2020 census, down from 768 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

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 Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

. 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 The Tunica people are a group of linguistically and culturally related Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes in the Mississippi River Valley, which include the Tunica (also spelled Tonica, Tonnica, and Thonnica); the Yazoo ...

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 and Illinois Route 251 passes through the center of the village, leading north to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and south to Wenona.

Interstate 39 Interstate 39 (I-39) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Illinois and Wisconsin that runs from an interchange at I-55 in Normal, Illinois, to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) approximately south of Wausau, Wisconsin. In to ...

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 San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

in LaSalle and south to

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...

at Normal. According to the 2020 census, Tonica 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 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 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 ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.53% Asian,4.94% from other races, and 0.61% 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 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 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, 10.4% 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 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 village was $27,672. About 9.7% of families and 14.4% 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 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 college 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, a ...

, former

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

football player and head coach

References

External links

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