Antioch 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. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,622. The village is nestled into the Chain O'Lakes waterway system and borders the state 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 ...

. 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. ...

, Antioch is located approximately halfway between the major cities of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

(60 miles south) and

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

(50 miles north).

History

Native American history

The Pottawatomi Tribe historically inhabited in the area of present-day Antioch prior to European settlement.Village of Antioch - History
The tribe was pushed to the west by European/American encroachment in the 1830s although remnants can still be found today.

European settlement

The first permanent European settlements in the region were along the creek, named as "Sequoit" which means "winding". Darius and Thomas Gage brothers built the first cabin. After building a sawmill by Hiram Buttrick on Sequoit Creek, a tributary of the Fox River, the region became a center of commerce. In 1843, new settlers gave a biblical name "Antioch" to the region and started a school. The town grew as new settlers, primarily of English and German descent, established farms and businesses. In 1976, a replica of Buttrick's mill was built a few hundred feet downstream from where it once stood. Today, many local businesses and organizations as well as

Antioch Community High School Antioch Community High School, Antioch, or ACHS, is a public four-year high school in Antioch, Illinois, a far north suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Community High School District 117, including Lakes Community Hi ...

use the name "Sequoit". Partly due to being a regional center of the

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

movement, Antioch is noted as having sent a disproportionately high number of its young men to the Union Army. By the late 1800s, Antioch became a popular vacation spot for

ans and tourism grew quickly once the rail line to Chicago was laid in 1886. Fire destroyed much of downtown in 1891, 1903, and 1904. During

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...

owned a summer home on nearby Bluff Lake. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Antioch continued to see a steady population and economic increase, and an

industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

was created in the 1970s. Today, Antioch serves as a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

within the Chicago metropolitan and

Milwaukee metropolitan area The Milwaukee metropolitan area (also known as Metro Milwaukee or Greater Milwaukee) is a major metropolitan area located in Southeastern Wisconsin, consisting of the city of Milwaukee and some of the surrounding area. There are several defini ...

Geography

Antioch is approximately halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee at (42.479069, -88.090878). According to the 2010 census, Antioch has an area of , of which (or 95.52%) is land and (or 4.48%) water. The village lies in a gently rolling

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

landscape, dominated by lakes of glacial origin. Among these are the Antioch Lake, south of the village center, Lake Marie, west of the village center and the Redwing Slough Lake, east of the village center. There are several smaller lakes and ponds, and a complement of

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

Climate

Like Chicago, Antioch lies in a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

zone and experiences four distinct seasons. Antioch receives an average of of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

each year.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 Census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 14,430 people living in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 88.79%

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 ...

, 3.08%

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 ...

, 3.73% Asian, 0.17% Native American, 0.10%

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 ...

, 2.04% of some other race and 2.09% of two or more races. 8.53% 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 8,788 people, 3,235 households, and 2,351 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 3,346 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.19%

, 1.07%

, 0.35% Native American, 1.16% Asian, 0.01%

, 1.08% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 4.42% of the population. There were 3,235 households, out of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% 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, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.20. In the village, the population was spread out, with 29.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $56,481, and the median income for a family was $66,589. Males had a median income of $51,503 versus $31,389 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 $25,711. About 2.3% of families and 3.9% 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 3.9% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Since 1996,

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 ...

North Central Service The North Central Service (NCS) is a Metra commuter rail line running from Union Station (Chicago), Union Station in downtown Chicago through northwestern and far northern suburbs to Antioch, Illinois, Antioch, Illinois. In December 2022, the pub ...

has played an increasingly important role in Antioch's development. Weekday train service to and from Chicago has given rise to new commercial development near the

train depot A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one railwa ...

. The village continues to undergo commercial and residential growth, mostly along the Illinois Route 173 corridor. Antioch is home to the Pickard China factory which makes fine

china China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

for

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...

Camp David Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Maryland, Emmitsburg, a ...

, and others. Downtown Antioch is home to locally owned clothing boutiques, eateries, bars, gift and décor shops, and specialty shops. It also hosts concerts in a

bandshell In theatre, a shell (also known as an acoustical shell, choral shell or bandshell) is a curved, hard surface designed to reflect sound towards an audience. Often shells are designed to be removable, either rolling away on wheels or lifting into ...

, craft fairs, parades, festivals, art walks, and gardening tours.

Arts and culture

Antioch has been home to the Palette, Masque and Lyre, Inc. (PM&L)

Performing Arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

theatre since 1960. In addition, the Antioch Fine Arts Foundation (AFAF) has operated in the area since 2001.

Library

The Antioch Public Library contains 135,716 volumes and circulates 371,105 items per year. The Antioch Public Library began as an Antioch Women's Club project in 1921. Initially the Women's Club raised funds for the establishment of a village library and the residents donated books for the library. This first village library was located at 934 Main Street and was open only two days a week. In 1922 the library was moved to the Antioch Village Hall at 875 Main Street. In 1930 the library was moved again to the corner of Main Street and Depot Street. In 1941, the Library was moved again to 883 Main Street. In 1950 William Schroeder family donated the property located at 757 Main Street to the Village of Antioch for use as a library. The new library building was officially opened in 1970. In August 2001 construction began of an 18,000-square-foot addition to the Antioch Public Library facility. The construction was completed in January 2003.

Recreation

The Chain O'Lakes found along the Fox River, serves as an aquatic mecca for boating and summer leisure while skiing and snowmobiling abound during the winter months. Along with neighboring Fox Lake, Antioch has become host to numerous pro and amateur national fishing tournaments.

Kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have ...

flying is also a popular sporting event on Loon Lake during

Labor Day Weekend Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements in the United ...

. As of 2017, the Swiss Kiting Federation holds the record for the longest kite flight of 1 hour and 24 minutes. The village is bordered by four holdings of the Lake County Forest Preserve District.

Government

Elected officials

The village of Antioch is a non-

home rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

which functions under the council-manager form of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

with a village President and a six-member

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

, all of whom are elected to four-year terms. The Village President and three of the Trustees are elected every four years. The other group of three Trustees are also elected for four-year terms, but this election is staggered and takes place two years after the first group.

Schools

;Public schools *Note: this list comprises schools located in Antioch. Not all Antioch school students will attend the following schools. Elementary Schools * W.C. Petty Elementary School (K-5) * Hillcrest Elementary School (PK-5) * Antioch Elementary School (K-5) * Emmons Grade School (K-8) * Grass Lake Elementary School (PK-8) Middle Schools * Antioch Upper Grade School (6–8) High School (9–12) *

Private schools

Private middle schools: * Faith Evangelical Lutheran School (Grades PK-8) CLOSED * St. Peter Catholic School (Grades PK-8) CLOSED

Infrastructure

Transportation

service is provided from Antioch to

Chicago Union Station Chicago Union Station is an Inter-city rail, intercity and commuter rail terminal station, terminal located in the West Loop neighborhood of the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago. Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest, Uni ...

via the

. Bus service within Antioch and throughout Lake County is provided by

Pace Pace or paces may refer to: Business *Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US *Pace Airlines, an American charter airline * Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...

Western Kenosha County Transit Western Kenosha County Transit is a regional bus service operating route deviation and door-to-door service throughout Kenosha County, Wisconsin, mainly serving the rural areas west of Interstate 94. Western Kenosha County Transit runs a weekda ...

Route 2 serves parts of Antioch Monday-Saturday, connecting riders to several towns, villages and unincorporated municipalities throughout Kenosha County. Riders can also transfer to Route 1 and Route 3 to travel to

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 census. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Ke ...

and

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

, respectively. Antioch is located approximately 43 miles north of Chicago

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

and 40 miles south of

General Mitchell International Airport Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is a civil–military airport south of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States., effective April 17, 2025. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated ...

in Milwaukee.

Major streets

Several major highways and state routes cross over and travel around Antioch.

Public safety

The Antioch Police Department (APD) is responsible for law enforcement in Antioch. The Antioch Fire Department provides fire and emergency medical services with contract service, part time and paid on call firefighters and Paramedics. The fire department currently uses 3 fire stations to house its different equipment, and all 3 are staffed with personnel. Antioch Fire Department has an array of equipment to use including several engines, 2 water tenders, 2 boats including an air boat, and a six-wheeled vehicle to access hard to reach areas. Antioch Fire Dept. also owns several pieces of special equipment including new state of the art extrication equipment used to extricate injured people from wrecked cars. The Antioch First Fire Protection District was the first organized fire protection district in the state. The Fire Department also has an Explorer post for youths ages 15 to 20 interested in making the fire service a career. Until 2014, EMS was provided by the volunteer Antioch Rescue Squad. The Antioch Rescue Squad was the first licensed paramedic unit in the State of Illinois. The police department and the fire department are housed in separate buildings next to each other. The Antioch Village Board elected to close the communication center in 2012, electing to outsource all of its 911 emergency dispatch service (Police, Fire, and Rescue) to another center located in Round Lake Beach. In March 1993, the Antioch Police Department became a part of the Lake County Enhanced 911 system.

Notable people

Dale Barnstable Dale Barnstable (March 4, 1925 – January 26, 2019) was an American basketball player from Antioch, Illinois who was banned for life from the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1951 for point shaving during his college career at the Univer ...

(1925–2019), two time

NCAA Basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athletic bodies, including the National Collegiate Athletic ...

champion at

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, drafted by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

, but never played professionally due to a point shaving scandal * Tiffany Brooks (born 1979) winner of 2013

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. HGTV Dream Home is an ...

Design Star ''HGTV Star'', named ''HGTV Design Star'' for the first seven seasons, is an American reality competition show that premiered on July 23, 2006, on the cable television network HGTV. Clive Pearse served as host for Seasons 1-4, then judge Vern Yi ...

Paul DeJong Paul Sterling DeJong (; born August 2, 1993) is an American professional baseball shortstop and third baseman for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue ...

(born 1993),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

infielder for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. * Joe Gliniewicz (1963–2015),

Fox Lake, Illinois Fox Lake is a village in Lake County, Illinois and Burton Township, McHenry County, Illinois, United States. Fox Lake is a northwestern Chicago suburb. The population was 10,978 at the 2020 census. It is located 50 miles north of Chicago. H ...

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

who staged his own suicide is buried in Antioch * Fred Hawkins (1923–2014),

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

golfer *

Jim McMillen James Willard McMillen (October 23, 1902 – January 27, 1984) was an American professional football player who was a guard for five seasons with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Grayslake, Illinois. He a ...

(1902–1984), guard for

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

for seven seasons; also former mayor of Antioch *

Kyle Rittenhouse Kyle Howard Rittenhouse (born January 3, 2003) is an American man who gained national attention at age 17 for shooting three men in Kenosha, Wisconsin, two fatally, in August 2020, amid protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. He ...

(born 2003), Antioch native and political figure who was controversially involved in the 2020

Kenosha unrest In the aftermath of the August 2020 police shooting of Jacob Blake, protests, riots, and civil unrest occurred in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and around the United States as part of the larger United States racial unrest and Black Lives Matter movemen ...

John Thain John Alexander Thain (born May 26, 1955) is an American financial executive and investment banker. He was president and co-COO of Goldman Sachs, and then CEO of the New York Stock Exchange. Thain then became the last chairman and CEO of Merrill ...

(born 1955), chairman and former CEO of

CIT Group CIT Group (CIT), a subsidiary of First Citizens BancShares, is an American financial services company. It provides financing, including factoring, cash management, treasury management, mortgage loans, Small Business Administration loans, le ...

, former CEO of

Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investm ...

, former CEO of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

* Tom Wittum (1950–2010), football player for

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

References

External links

Village of Antioch

Antioch Chamber of Commerce and Industry
{{authority control Populated places established in 1839 Villages in Lake County, Illinois 1839 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois