Winthrop Harbor is a village in

Lake County, Illinois Lake County is a County (United States), county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Illinois, along the shores of Lake Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it has a population of 714,342, making it th ...

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 ...

. Winthrop Harbor is considered the corner stone of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 6,705. It is located along the northern border of Illinois and is part of the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

. Winthrop Harbor is known for its North Point Marina, and is a warning demarcation point for the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

's marine warnings for

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

. With moorage over 1,500 boats, it is the largest

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. Nearly one million visitors take advantage of the marina, its associated beaches and other recreational facilities every summer.

History

J. H. Van Vlissingen originally intended on developing the area in 1883, however nothing came of it. In 1899 the Winthrop Harbor and Dock Company purchased over 2,000 acres just south of the state line of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. In 1871 a post office was built on Sheridan Road named Spring Bluff. Not only did this spur an increase in population in the area, but it would inspire the name of the Spring Bluff Forest Preserve. Of which the state began purchasing land for in 1963. Winthrop Harbor was incorporated as a village in 1901. Despite the intention of the settlement to be an industrial district, the village remained mainly residential until 1989 when the North Point Marina was constructed. Until the modern day the marina is considered the pride and soul of village.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Winthrop Harbor has a total area of , of which (or 98.09%) is land and (or 1.91%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 Census

As of the 2010

United States Census The United States census (plural censuses or census) is a census that is legally mandated by the Constitution of the United States. It takes place every ten years. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 United States ce ...

, there were 6,742 people living in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 90.94%

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 ...

, 1.44%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 2.31% Asian, 0.39% Native American, 0.01%

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 ...

, 2.03% of some other race and 2.88% of two or more races. 7.64% were

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). 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 6,670 people, 2,370 households, and 1,884 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 2,435 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 93.79%

, 0.57%

, 0.49% Native American, 1.90% Asian, 0.01%

, 1.51% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 4.54% of the population. There were 2,370 households, out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.8% 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, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.5% were non-families. 17.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.17. In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males. The median income for a household in the village was $72,795, and the median income for a family was $79,442. Males had a median income of $44,795 versus $32,392 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 $24,256. About 1.9% of families and 3.1% 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 3.1% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Major streets

Sheridan Road Sheridan Road is a major north-south street that leads from Diversey Parkway (Chicago), Diversey Parkway in Chicago, Illinois, north to the Illinois-Wisconsin border and beyond to Racine, Wisconsin, Racine. Throughout most of its run, it is the ...

* 9th Street * Lewis Avenue * Russell Road * Kenosha Road * 7th Street

Rail

Winthrop Harbor is served by

Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...

's Union Pacific North Line, at Winthrop Harbor station.

Public services

The village of Winthrop Harbor has a full-time police department and a part-time fire department.

Police department

The Winthrop Harbor Police Department's full-time officers are supplemented by part-time officers in both Patrol and Specialist positions. The department offers the following bureaus: Patrol, Detectives, Sex Crimes, Communications, CyberCrime, Records, and Evidence/Property. The current Chief is Anthony Velardi.

Fire department

The Winthrop Harbor Fire Department, founded in 1949, has grown from a small volunteer force to a 24-hour-a-day operation. Currently, part-time employees work overlapping shifts providing a crew 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. These 'on-duty' crews are supplemented with off-duty personnel who respond from home. They work with two engines, a 75-foot ladder truck, two advanced life support ambulances, one brush unit, a rescue boat and a staff and command car. Through automatic aid agreements with the surrounding area, the Village receives optimal emergency service. The current Fire Chief is Rocco Campanella.

Education

Most of Winthrop Harbor is in Winthrop Harbor School District 1 while a portion is in Beach Park Community Consolidated School District 3. All of Winthrop Harbor is in the Zion-Benton Township High School District 126.
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Pollution concerns

* In a study released on July 30, 2009, by Forbes.com, Winthrop Harbor's North Point Marina was reported as the seventh most polluted beach in the United States based on samples taken in 2008. North Point Marina has been on this list since 2005, exceeding acceptable contamination levels in 61 percent of tests. *In 2006, a test taken at the local beach stated that this is one of the most polluted beaches on the Great Lakes. It has 89% unhealthy water. (89/100 tests)

References

External links

Village of Winthrop HarborWinthrop Harbor Chamber of Commerce
*Winthrop Harbor Tourism http://www.explorewinthropharbor.com {{authority control Villages in Lake County, Illinois Villages in Illinois 1901 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1901