Wyoming is a city in Stark County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

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 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The population was 1,429 at the 2010 census, up from 1,424 in 2000. It is the headquarters of the Rock Island Trail State Park. Wyoming is part of the Peoria, Illinois

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. The former CB&Q Railroad depot in town is the Rock Island Trail State Park's headquarters.

History

The city of Wyoming was founded on May 3, 1836, by ''General Samuel Thomas'', a veteran of the War of 1812. General Thomas was born in 1787 and died in 1879. He is buried in the Wyoming City Cemetery where a plaque below his stone denotes that he was the founder and benefactor of the town of Wyoming. The main city park in Wyoming is Thomas Park; there is also a Thomas Street in honor of General Thomas. Samuel Thomas as well as many of the other early settlers came from the state of Pennsylvania. It is for the

Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal-mines. As a metropolitan ...

in Pennsylvania that the city is named. Stark County is rural, consisting mostly of farm land. The county was established on March 2, 1839, and named for

John Stark Major-General John Stark (August 28, 1728 – May 8, 1822) was an American military officer who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. He became known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Batt ...

, a soldier of the French and Indian wars and a Major General of the Continental Army during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, serving with great distinction at Bunker Hill, Trenton,

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

, and Bennington. Wyoming is the largest community in Stark County, with 1,429 people as of the 2010 census. The other principal villages are

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, Bradford, Lafayette, Castleton, Camp Grove, West Jersey, Duncan, Stark, Speer, Milo, Elmira, Osceola, and Modena. Toulon is the county seat, and an historic courthouse is sited there.

Geography

Wyoming is located at (41.063576, -89.774041). According to the 2010 census, Wyoming has a total area of , all land. Just west of Wyoming is

Spoon River The Spoon River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Illinois River in west-central Illinois in the United States. The river drains largely ...

Demographics

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 1,424 people, 629 households, and 408 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 669 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.09%

White White is the 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 reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.21% Asian, and 0.70% from two or more races.

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 forme ...

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 0.07% of the population. There were 629 households, out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.84. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,463, and the median income for a family was $41,797. Males had a median income of $30,074 versus $22,115 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 city was $16,574. About 9.1% of families and 10.6% 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 t ...

, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Stark County Elementary School and Stark County C.U.S.D. #100 offices are located in Wyoming.

Notable people

J. Frank Duryea James Frank Duryea (October 8, 1869 – February 15, 1967) and his brother Charles (1861–1938) invented the first gasoline-powered automobile in America. Biography The brothers were born in Illinois, Charles in Canton, Illinois, in 1861 and Fr ...

, shares credit with brother Charles for designing the first gasoline-powered automobile built in the United States. Attended high school in Wyoming. *Otho Cromwell Duryea (1880–1941), born in Wyoming, brother of Charles and J. Frank Duryea. President of the O. C. Duryea Corporation and pioneer developer of gasoline-powered automobiles *

Kirke La Shelle Kirke La Shelle (September 23, 1862 – May 16, 1905) was an American journalist, playwright and theatrical producer. He was known for his association with such successful productions as ''The Wizard of the Nile'', ''The Princess Chic'', ''Besid ...

, Wyoming born journalist, playwright and theatrical producer. *Arthur Melvin Otman, probate judge of

Peoria County Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States Census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Peoria County was ...

originally from Wyoming. * Harry Everett Townsend, Wyoming native who served as a war artist with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.mU-2qLIb9oASx9oKoBQ&ved=0CGcQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22wyoming%2C%20illinois%22%20born&f=false Shearer Benjamin F., 2007, p. 811''Home Front Heroes: A Biographical Dictionary of Americans During Wartime,'' Volume 3
Retrieved June 21, 2014

History

Geography

Demographics

Schools

Notable people

References

Further reading