Andover is a village in Henry 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 ...

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. The population was 555 at the 2020 census, down from 578 in 2010 census.

History

Andover is the oldest community in Henry County. Andover was the first area to be settled as a town within the county and the first mill was built in 1836–37. Andover soon became a hub of wagon trails. Andover was founded in September 1835 by the Reveren
Ithamar Pillsbury
as an agent for the Andover Colony. Pillsbury, who had been a corporal in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

attached in the New Hampshire military, narrowly escaping death in the war which had convinced him to become a Presbyterian minister.

Lars Paul Esbjörn Lars Paul Esbjörn (October 16, 1808 – July 2, 1870) was a Swedish-American Lutheran clergyman, academic and church leader. Esbjörn was a founder of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church and of Augustana College. He served as the first pr ...

, a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister in the United States, and a group of Swedish immigrants arrived in Andover during 1849. Together they built Jenny Lind Chapel, which became the "mother church" of the Swedish Lutheran community. The church was built with funding provided mainly by the Swedish singer,

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria Lind (Madame Goldschmidt) (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in ...

, while she was at that time on a concert tour in the eastern United States. The cemetery adjacent to the chapel is the resting place of Jonas Swensson, the second president of the

Augustana Synod The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod and also Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America) was a Lutheran church ...

. After remodeling in 1948, Jenny Lind Chapel was dedicated as a shrine of the

Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod and also Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America) was a Lutheran church ...

. In 1975, Jenny Lind Chapel was declared to be a National Historic Site and was listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Geography

Andover is located at (41.295011, -90.290658). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Andover has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 555 people, 185 households, and 135 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 242 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.68%

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 ...

, 0.00%

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 ...

, 0.18% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00%

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 ...

, 0.90% from other races, and 3.24% 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 1.44% of the population. There were 185 households, out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.38% were married couples living together, 11.35% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.03% were non-families. 24.32% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.89% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 2.49. The village's age distribution consisted of 26.5% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 128.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $57,344, and the median income for a family was $75,288. Males had a median income of $53,542 versus $31,250 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 $26,524. No families and 1.1% 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 none of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

City of Andover Jenny Lind Chapel
{{authority control Villages in Henry County, Illinois Populated places established in 1835 Villages in Illinois