Clear Lake is an unincorporated community and former incorporated village in

Sangamon County Sangamon County is a county located near the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 196,343. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital. Sangamon County is includ ...

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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 267 at the 2000 census. It is part of the

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Clear Lake is located at (39.814177, -89.566965). Clear Lake is located northeast of Springfield, southwest of Riverton, and immediately west of the

Sangamon River The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in central Illinois in the United Sta ...

History

Camp Butler National Cemetery Camp Butler National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located a few miles northeast of Springfield and a few miles southwest of Riverton, a small town nearby to Springfield, in Sangamon County, Illinois. It was named for the Il ...

is located just to the north of Clear Lake. There is also a body of water located in the village called Clear Lake.

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

-era

Camp Butler Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler (or simply Butler Marine Base) is a United States Marine Corps base located in the Japanese Prefecture#Japanese sense of prefecture, prefecture of Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa. It was named after Marine Co ...

’s training and mustering grounds were on the banks of and close to Clear Lake. As an isolated, sand-bottom lake, it provided relatively clean water for the troops and horses. After the Civil War this was a popular recreation area for many in the Springfield area. Clear Lake declined in importance after the larger Lake Springfield was built in the 1930s. The lake was bought by the City of Springfield in the 2000s as a backup water source.

George Donner The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in the ...

, of the infamous

Donner Party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California interim government, 1846-1850, California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent ...

, lived in the Clear Lake area with his family and is buried at Oak Hill cemetery in Clear Lake. The village of Clear Lake was incorporated by referendum in 1955. The first slate of officers were all members of a new political party known as the Clear Lake Independents, and ran unopposed. The village was dissolved by referendum in 2022 (by which time it was officially known as "Clearlake"). Government services were taken over by Clear Lake Township and Sangamon County. The dissolution referendum passed by an overwhelming margin, with only 2 out of 38 votes opposed. It followed an earlier referendum in 2015 that failed by two votes, 19 to 17.

Education

Residents of Clear Lake are in the Riverton Community Unit School District.

Transportation

Clear Lake is located just to the northeast of the

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...

Interstate 72 Interstate 72 (I-72) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. Its western terminus is in Hannibal, Missouri, at an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61); its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champa ...

interchange near Springfield. Old US Route 36 runs directly through the village.

Illinois Route 54 Illinois Route 54 (IL 54) is a east–west highway in east-central Illinois. It passes through the cities of Clinton, Gibson City, and Onarga. Its western terminus is at Interstate 55 (I-55) in Springfield. Its eastern terminus is at U.S. R ...

is located a few miles north of the village.

Notable Places

The Oaks Golf Course (formerly Oak Crest Country Club) Gravel Pits (backup water supply for Springfield) Devil's hole fishing area Old Sangamon River Bridge Roselawn and Oak Hill Cemetery Sugar Creek

Clear Lake

Demographics

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 267 people, 104 households, and 79 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 111 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.25%

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 ...

, 1.12%

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 ...

, 1.12% Asian, 0.75% from other races, and 0.75% 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 1.87% of the population. There were 104 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% 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, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.90. In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males. The median income for a household in the village was $37,708, and the median income for a family was $40,536. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $30,278 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 $15,284. About 18.4% of families and 14.1% 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 24.6% of those under the age of eighteen and 22.9% of those 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Sangamon County, Illinois Former municipalities in Illinois Populated places disestablished in 2022 Springfield metropolitan area, Illinois Bodies of water of Sangamon County, Illinois Unincorporated communities in Illinois