Winthrop Harbor is a village in

Lake County, Illinois Lake County is situated in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Illinois, along the shores of Lake Michigan. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 714,342, making it the third-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. 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 colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

. 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 agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

'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 the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that ...

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

marina A marina (from Spanish language, Spanish , Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a Dock (maritime), dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina dif ...

on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

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

History

Winthrop Harbor was named after

Winthrop, Massachusetts Winthrop is a town in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,316 at the 2020 census. Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban community in Greater Boston situated at the north entrance to Boston Harbor, close to Logan Int ...

. In 1918, the Saturday Evening Post had an article about the truck manufacturing plant in Winthrop Harbor. At the time, the Winther plant had been in operation for one year.

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

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2010 Census

As of the 2010 United States Census,http://censusviewer.com/city/IL/Winthrop%20Harbor there were 6,742 people living in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 90.94%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 1.44%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

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

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 Ocea ...

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

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino (of any race). 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 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 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, 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 total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

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 in Chicago, Illinois, north to the Illinois-Wisconsin border and beyond to Racine. Throughout most of its run, it is the easternmost north-south through street, closes ...

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

Rail

Winthrop Harbor is served by

Metra Metra is the 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 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...

Union Pacific / North Line The Union Pacific North Line (UP-N) is a Metra line in the Chicago metropolitan area. It runs between Ogilvie Transportation Center and Kenosha, Wisconsin; however, most trains terminate in Waukegan, Illinois. Although Metra owns the rolling stoc ...

, at Winthrop Harbor Metra 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 Edward Mohn.

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.

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 Illinois Villages in Lake County, Illinois