Yorkville (officially the United City of Yorkville) is a city and
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Kendall County,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
,
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 territorie ...
. The population was 21,533 at th
2020 census
History
In 1836, the city of Yorkville was settled by early
pioneers. Originally, the city's main thoroughfare of Bridge Street was designed for horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians. As time passed, Hydraulic Street, which runs parallel to the
Fox River, boasted a trolley that ran from
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 ...
to
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
. This part is now operated by the
Illinois Railway
The Illinois Railway , formerly Illinois Railnet, is a shortline railroad operating in Northern Illinois owned by OmniTRAX. It operates of former BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of s ...
.
At the time, Yorkville's central business district was on the south side of the Fox River and the public square was north of the river, a layout unique to the region. The public gathering place was near the river's edge. The
Kendall County Courthouse
The Kendall County Courthouse is a former courthouse in Yorkville, Illinois, Yorkville, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall County, Illinois, United States. The original building was completed in 1864 but was later destroyed by fire. A replica of th ...
was next to the downtown commercial district. Many of the city's remaining historic single-family homes are within walking distance of Bridge Street, the courthouse and Union Hall. Earl Adams was the first to settle what would become Yorkville when he built his cabin on Courthouse Hill on the south side of town in 1833. One year later, Lyman and Burr Bristol set up residency in neighboring Bristol, north of the river.
When the county of Kendall was formed in 1841, Yorkville was chosen as the county seat. After a 13-year period in which
Oswego claimed that honor, voters chose to relocate the county government in 1859 to Yorkville, a more central location. The new courthouse was completed in 1864. Replaced in 1997 with a
courthouse
A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
on the city's north side, the 1864 building is used by the Kendall County Forest Preserve and other organizations. Yorkville was no exception to the railroad boom. Development began and businesses sprang up in 1870 along the tracks and included Squire Dingee's pickle factory, the Yorkville Ice Cream Company and the Rehbehn Brothers button factory. A few of those buildings still remain.
The present city of Yorkville was originally two towns, Bristol to the north and the Yorkville south of the Fox River, with separate governments for more than 100 years. In 1957, Bristol and Yorkville merged, becoming the United City of Yorkville. Ellsworth Windett became the combined city's first mayor. As a part of the consolidation, the residents of both towns agreed to a uniform school district. It was in that same year high school classes began in the downtown area at the northeast corner of Van Emmon and Bridge Streets. In 1888, a two-story brick school building on West Center Street was constructed. After the construction of Circle Center School in 1968, the two-story building was closed and the space was rented by the Yorkville School District to neighboring
Waubonsee Community College
Waubonsee Community College is a public community college with three campuses in Illinois: Sugar Grove, Aurora, and Plano. Founded in 1966, Waubonsee Community College serves twelve public school districts in Aurora, Batavia, Big Rock, Brist ...
. Due to rising enrollment in the early 1970s, the school was reopened and renamed as Parkview Christian Academy.
Geography
Yorkville is in northern Kendall County at (41.6657190, -88.4419490).
It is bordered to the northeast by
Montgomery, to the east by
Oswego, and to the west by
Plano. It is southwest of
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
and southwest of
downtown Chicago
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...
.
According to the 2010 census, Yorkville has an area of , of which (or 99.56%) is land and (or 0.44%) is water.
The
Fox River flows through downtown Yorkville. The city is in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
Kendall, and
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
townships.
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 incl ...
of 2000, there were 6,189 people, 2,220 households, and 1,665 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 2,291 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.99%
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 on ...
, 0.42%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.19%
Native American, 0.39%
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 ...
, 0.05%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, 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 the original p ...
, 0.73% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.23% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...
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 2.94% of the population.
There were 2,220 households, out of which 42.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% 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, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone, who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.0% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $60,391, and the median income for a family was $67,521. Males had a median income of $49,120 versus $30,977 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 $24,514. About 0.4% of families and 1.4% 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 t ...
, including 0.9% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The
William Wrigley Company has a large manufacturing facility in Yorkville. Wrigley plans to start making Skittles in Yorkville. It plans to invest about $50 million to expand its Yorkville factory by 145,000 square feet by 2016.
Parks and recreation
Raging Waves waterpark, the self-proclaimed largest waterpark in Illinois, is in Yorkville. It opened in 2008 and owns about of property.
The Marge Cline Whitewater Park (on the Fox River) opened in 2010. It is the only whitewater park of its kind in Illinois, similar to
East Race in South Bend, Indiana.It offers opportunities for
freestyle kayaking
Canoe freestyle (also known as playboating) is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where people perform various technical moves in one place (a playspot), as opposed to downriver whitewater canoeing or kayaking where the objective ...
, slalom kayaking and river
tubing. It is named after Marge Cline, former president of
American Whitewater
American Whitewater is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 membership organization with the declared mission "to conserve and restore America's whitewater resources and to enhance opportunities to enjoy them safely". The organization can broadly be classi ...
(1982-1988), National Board of Directors of
American Canoe Association
The American Canoe Association (ACA) is the oldest and largest paddle sports organization in the United States, promoting canoeing, kayaking, and rafting. The ACA sponsors more than seven hundred events each year, along with safety education, in ...
, President of Midwest Division of ACA, and member of the Chicago Whitewater association.
Education
The area is served by
Yorkville Community Unit School District 115
Yorkville Community Unit School District 115 is a school district headquartered in Yorkville, Illinois, and serving portions of Kane County and Kendall County in the suburbs of Chicago. In addition to Yorkville, its service area includes Bristol, ...
. Schools include
Yorkville Middle School and
Yorkville High School
Yorkville High School, or YHS, is a public high school located in Yorkville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, in the United States. It serves grades 9-12 for the Yorkville Community Unit School District 115.
The school serves Yorkville, Bris ...
. Additionally, a small portion of Yorkville attends
Oswego Community Unit School District 308
Community Unit School District 308 is a public school district located in Oswego, Kendall County, Illinois. The Superintendent of Schools is John Sparlin. The district headquarters is in Oswego, Illinois
Oswego is a village in Kendall and Wi ...
.
* Autumn Creek Elementary
* Bristol Bay Elementary
* Bristol Grade School
* Circle Center Grade School
* Grande Reserve Elementary
* Yorkville Grade School
* Yorkville Intermediate School
* Yorkville Middle School
* Yorkville Freshman Academy
* Yorkville High School
Notable people
*
Jon Blackman, college and NFL football player
*
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis Hastert (; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician and convicted felon who represented from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. The longest-se ...
, former
Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
*
Mike Radja
Mike Radja (born March 7, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey forward who is currently a free agent. Radja previously played for Anyang Halla of the Asia League Ice Hockey. In Europe, he played for HC TPS in the Liiga, Augsburger Pant ...
, ice hockey player, born in Yorkville
*
Andy Richter
Paul Andrew Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on each of O'Brien's talk shows: '' Late Night'' and ''The Tonight Show'' on NBC an ...
, actor and comedian
*
The Giving Tree Band
The Giving Tree Band is a rock & roll band from Yorkville, Illinois. The band is known for their live shows, which cover a vast array of genres. The current lineup consists of brothers Eric "E" (Guitars/Lead Vocals) and Todd Fink (Banjos/Guitars/L ...
, American indie folk rock group
In popular culture
In August 2011, the movie ''
Man of Steel'' was filmed at a house built specifically for the set in Yorkville. It appeared in the movie as the Kent family farm. In the fall of 2014, that house was rebuilt for use on the set of ''
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. In 2017, the same house was used in ''
Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' for one small scene, then later demolished.
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
Cities in Illinois
Cities in Kendall County, Illinois
County seats in Illinois
Populated places established in 1836
1836 establishments in Illinois