Dwight, Illinois
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Dwight is a
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
located mainly in
Livingston County, Illinois Livingston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 35,815. Its county seat is Pontiac. Livingston County comprises the Pontiac, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...
, with a small portion in Grundy County. The population was 4,032 at the 2020 census. Dwight contains an original stretch of
U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...
, and from 1892 until 2016 continuously used a
railroad station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such ...
designed in 1891 by
Henry Ives Cobb Henry Ives Cobb (August 19, 1859 – March 27, 1931) was an architect from the United States. Based in Chicago in the last decades of the 19th century, he was known for his designs in the Richardsonian Romanesque and Gothic revival, Victori ...
.
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 ...
bypasses the village to the north and west.


Geography

Dwight is located in northeastern Livingston County. It extends north into southern Grundy County to include the commercial area near the northern exit with
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 ...
. I-55 leads northeast to
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 ...
and southwest to Bloomington.
Illinois Route 17 Illinois Route 17 (IL 17) is a rural, arterial east–west state highway that runs east from a former ferry crossing in New Boston, Illinois, New Boston along the banks of the Mississippi RiverIllinois Highway EndsIllinois 17. Retrieved Apri ...
passes through the center of Dwight as Mazon Avenue, leading east to Kankakee and west to Wenona.
Illinois Route 47 Illinois Route 47 (IL 47) is a largely rural north–south state highway that runs from the Wisconsin state border at Highway 120 (Wisconsin), Highway 120 near Hebron, Illinois, Hebron, to Illinois Route 10, IL 10, just south of I ...
(Union Street) passes through the east side of Dwight, leading north to
Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia * St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Man ...
and south to
Gibson City Gibson City is a city in Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,475 at the 2020 census. History The site of Gibson City was purchased and platted by Jonathan B. Lott in 1869. In 1870, Lott built a home and a post office there ...
. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Dwight has a total area of , of which (or 99.70%) is land and (or 0.30%) is water.


Climate


History


Founding

Dwight was laid out on January 30, 1854, by Richard Price Morgan Jr. (1828–1910), James C. Spencer (1828 – after 1890), and John Lathrop (1809 – 1870). Each of these three men took a quarter of the land. All were working as engineers for the Chicago and Mississippi Railroad. The final quarter was jointly owned by two Bloomington brothers, Jesse W. Fell (1808 – 1878) and Kersey H. Fell (1815 – 1893). All five men had links to the railroad which was to open from Bloomington to Joliet in 1854. Spencer was born in the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
valley south of Albany; his ancestors included a
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
Chief Justice and two governors of New York State; he was later to have an important career in
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 ...
railroads. Lathrop was a
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...
with a long history of working with canals and railroads in New York; he would soon return to
Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...
. Morgan was the son of a noted civil engineer, and he later became nationally known for his work on electric railroads in New York. The Fell brothers were Bloomington land developers who had been active in helping found many central Illinois towns including
Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...
,
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,
Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...
, and Towanda. They were employed by the railroad as
land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the nobility or landed gentry, supervising the farming ...
s; the Fells had a role in persuading
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
to write his autobiography. The plan of the founders was to purchase a block of land along the route of the railroad, and to divide it into four equal parts. Morgan would then take charge of the operation. He would draw up a plan of the new town, sell the lots, and divide the proceeds among the others. The station was to be placed at the point where the four quarters met. Any unsold lots would be divided among the partners. The other men seemed to believe that Morgan was acting in the interest of the railroad. The town was named for Henry Dwight, who had funded most of the construction of this part of the railroad. The Chicago and Mississippi soon became the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Attempts in 1858 to rename the settlement "Jersey", "Beckman", or "Dogtown" failed.


Early Dwight

When the surveyors, working for the railroad's chief engineer, Oliver H. Lee, reached the proposed location of the town in 1853, the speculators found that the tracks would pass slightly east of the planned central point and would go through lands in Morgan's area. This would have made Morgan's lots more valuable than the others. The men revised the plan so that everyone would convey their lots to Morgan, who would then sell the lots and split the total profits. This was done. In 1855 the partnership was dissolved and all unsold lots were divided among the five men. To announce to the public that a town would be located here, a tin pan was placed on top of a telegraph pole. Railroad workers flooded into the townsite. Morgan was afraid that they would cover lots with “Irish shanties” and make the lots unsellable. Therefore, he had John Campbell erect a
boarding house A boarding house is a house (frequently a family home) in which lodging, lodgers renting, rent one or more rooms on a nightly basis and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months, or years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and ...
.''Morgan v. Railroad'', 1877, p.716. This was the first building in Dwight. The first house in town was built by Augustus West in June 1854. The first passenger train reached Dwight on July 4, 1854, and regular traffic on the railroad began in August of that year. The first store was a two-story building put up by David McWilliams in 1855 and painted white to attract customers. The first item sold was a pattern for a "lawn dress" that one of the workmen purchased for the wife of the station master. In 1857 John Spencer began buying grain and erected a grain warehouse. A grain elevator soon followed, and a large stone mill was built in 1859.


Original design of Dwight

Like most new towns founded in Illinois in the 1850s, Dwight was designed without a town square. It was centered instead on a depot ground. This was a widened area of railroad property, about long and wide, where the tracks passed through the town. Such depot grounds were common in towns of the 1850s and may still be found at Gridley, Chatsworth, Odell, Towanda, McLean and many other central Illinois places. By the 1870s depot grounds had begun to fall out of favor. Morgan had deeded the central band to the Chicago and Mississippi, but he never turned over the remainder of the depot grounds to the railroad. This led to a lawsuit which was settled by the United States Supreme Court. The suit provides information on the early history of Dwight. Dwight's original town was quite large, consisting of 24 blocks, each of which contained 28 lots. Unlike Odell, where the entire original town was aligned with the railroad, only the small central part of the original town of Dwight paralleled the tracks, with West Street running diagonally on the northwest side of the railroad and East Street on the south side. In the remainder of the original town, streets ran true north–south or east–west. This created two odd triangles of land where these streets met the diagonal streets at the center of town. The southeastern triangle became the site of Dwight's waterworks. The early depot was on the northwest side of the tracks.


Prince Albert's visit

In 1860
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
's son
Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...
, the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, came to stay several days in the town, which at the time was known as Dwight's Station. The prince was traveling as Lord Renfrew, using one of his lesser titles, but this fooled no one. The visit was important enough that local people recorded the exact time the prince arrived: twenty-seven minutes after six in the afternoon on Saturday, September 22, 1860. He was to stay with James C. Spencer, one of Dwight's founders, at Spencer's farm south of town. Local couches and chairs were deemed insufficient for him, so Spencer's furniture was stored, and the prince's own furniture, which had been shipped ahead, was placed in the house. Soon after the Crown Prince arrived he began hunting and over several days the royal party killed over 200
prairie chicken ''Tympanuchus'' is a small genus of birds in the grouse family. They are commonly referred to as prairie-chickens. Taxonomy The genus ''Tympanuchus'' was introduced in 1841 by the German zoologist Constantin Wilhelm Lambert Gloger for the gre ...
s and
quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...
. Prince Albert attended Sunday services at the local
Presbyterian church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...
. On Wednesday, September 26, he left, having planted an
elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...
on Spencer's farm. In 1878 the grounds of the house where the prince stayed were improved by the American landscape architect
Ossian Cole Simonds Ossian Cole Simonds (November 11, 1855 – November 20, 1931), often known as O. C. Simonds, was an American landscape designer. He preferred the term 'landscape gardener' to that of 'landscape architect'. A number of Simonds' works are listed o ...
and in the 21st century were given to the town and have become Renfrew Park.


Growth of Dwight

In 1869 the prospects of Dwight were improved when a second railroad line was constructed linking Dwight with
Streator Streator is a city in LaSalle and Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River approximately southwest of Chicago in the prairie and farm land of north-central Illinois. As of the 2020 cens ...
by the St Louis, Jacksonville and Chicago Railroad. In the same year the
Chicago and Alton Railroad The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 an ...
, successor to the Chicago and Mississippi Railroad, was double-tracked from Odell to
Gardner Gardner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gardner (given name) *Gardner (surname) Places United States * Gardner, Colorado *Gardner, Illinois *Gardner, Kansas *Gardner, Massachusetts * Gardner, North Dakota * Gardner, Tennessee * Ga ...
. The first brick house in Dwight was built in 1872. In 1879 Dwight physician, Dr. Leslie Keeley, working with Richard Oughton, announced that he had found a cure for
alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
based on gold chloride. The
Keeley Institute The Keeley Institute, known for its Keeley Cure or Gold Cure, was a commercial medical operation that offered treatment to alcoholics from 1879 to 1965. Though at one time there were more than 200 branches in the United States and Europe, the or ...
soon became world-famous treating hundreds of thousands of patients including
Elliott Roosevelt Elliott Roosevelt may refer to: * Elliott Roosevelt (socialite) (1860–1894), American socialite, father-in-law of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, father of Eleanor Roosevelt, younger brother of President Theodore Roosevelt, and grandfather of G ...
, the brother of President Theodore Roosevelt. Profits paid for the John R. Oughton House, on the south side of Dwight, which was constructed in 1891 and added to 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 ...
in 1980. in 1881, the Illinois, Indiana and Iowa Railroad was built east to west through the town from
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
, to Streator, giving it a second railroad station. This line later became part of the
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...
. By 1891 it became clear that the growing town needed a new main-line railroad station, and the C&A Railroad hired Henry Ives Cobb to design the building. The result was a splendid
Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...
edifice, which in 1982 was added to 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 ...
as the Dwight Railroad Station. Another new downtown building now on the National Register was the Frank L. Smith Bank, opened in 1906, which was designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
. In 1906, the Bloomington, Pontiac and Joliet Electric Railway opened to the town from
Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...
. This was intended as part of a fast electric passenger
interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...
service from Chicago to
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, but no further construction was done. In 1921 paving was finished on the Chicago to Springfield road, which in 1926 was designated as
Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...
. The improvement of the road doomed the interurban railway, which shut down in 1925. In 1964 the first phase of Interstate 55 was completed, and Dwight became increasingly a highway-oriented town. In 1930 the state of Illinois established the Oakdale Reformatory for Women, which later became the
Dwight Correctional Center Dwight Correctional Center (DCC), also known as Oakdale Reformatory for Women, and Illinois Penitentiary for Women at Dwight, was a women's prison in Livingston County, Illinois, United States, outside the village of Dwight, Illinois. It operat ...
, west of the village.


June 2010 tornado

On June 5, 2010, an EF-3 tornado ripped through Streator and later Dwight. As described by one reporter who covered the disaster, the tornado "literally rearranged these towns of Dwight and Streator, with the worst damage in mobile home parks and downtown Streator. The residents of Dwight are thankful for the fact that the tornado largely spared their town."


Monuments

Dwight is home to the First National Bank of Dwight, one of only three banks designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
. A historic
U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...
Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Independ ...
gas station,
Ambler's Texaco Gas Station Ambler's Texaco Gas Station, also known as Becker's Marathon Gas Station, is a historic filling station located at the intersection of Old U.S. Route 66 and Illinois Route 17 in the village of Dwight, Illinois, United States. The station has b ...
, and a 1891 railway station are both listed on 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 ...
. The 1857 Dwight
Pioneer Gothic Church The Pioneer Gothic Church is located in the village of Dwight, Illinois, United States. The building is a rare example of an extant wood framed Carpenter Gothic church in the state of Illinois. The building was added to the U.S. National Regist ...
is a rare example of a wooden
Carpenter Gothic Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massin ...
church building. John R. Oughton House is also located in Dwight.


Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 4,032 people, 1,544 households, and 1,017 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,863 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.15%
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 ...
, 0.87%
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 ...
, 0.02% Native American, 0.69% 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 ...
, 1.49% from other races, and 5.78% 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 4.49% of the population. There were 1,544 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.53% were married couples living together, 19.62% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.13% were non-families. 31.35% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.41% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 2.33. The village's age distribution consisted of 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males. The median income for a household in the village was $56,543, and the median income for a family was $72,072. Males had a median income of $41,458 versus $31,290 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 $30,753. About 12.0% of families and 15.4% 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 ...
, including 23.1% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.


Government and infrastructure

The
Illinois Department of Corrections The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the adult state prison system. The IDOC is led by a director appointed by the Governor of Illinois, and its headquarters are in ...
Dwight Correctional Center Dwight Correctional Center (DCC), also known as Oakdale Reformatory for Women, and Illinois Penitentiary for Women at Dwight, was a women's prison in Livingston County, Illinois, United States, outside the village of Dwight, Illinois. It operat ...
, which closed in 2013, was in Nevada Township in an
unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in Livingston County, near Dwight. The correctional center housed the State of Illinois female death row.


Other sites

Dwight is also home of the first
Keeley Institute The Keeley Institute, known for its Keeley Cure or Gold Cure, was a commercial medical operation that offered treatment to alcoholics from 1879 to 1965. Though at one time there were more than 200 branches in the United States and Europe, the or ...
and the Frank L. Smith Bank. Dwight station, a train station designed in 1891 by
Henry Ives Cobb Henry Ives Cobb (August 19, 1859 – March 27, 1931) was an architect from the United States. Based in Chicago in the last decades of the 19th century, he was known for his designs in the Richardsonian Romanesque and Gothic revival, Victori ...
, operated continuously from the spring of 1892 until October 2016 when a new station opened several blocks away. The original station is now the home of the Dwight Historical Society Museum and the Dwight Chamber of Commerce. The Dwight Veterans' Administration Hospital occupied the triangular-shaped block between Main Street, Mazon Avenue, and Prairie Avenue. Part of the facility was built in 1891 for the Keeley Institute. In 1930 it became the Dwight V.A. Hospital, and an addition opened on May 11, 1947, with a modern surgical suite, wards, clinic, and physical therapy facilities. The buildings survive and are partially occupied by the Fox Developmental Center. Sadie planned a trip to Dwight in the "Sadie's Trip to Dwight" episode of the radio serial ''
Vic and Sade ''Vic and Sade'' was an American radio program created and written by Paul Rhymer. It was regularly broadcast on radio from 1932 to 1944, then intermittently until 1946, and was briefly adapted to television in 1949 and again in 1957. During i ...
'', originally aired on June 4, 1937. The series, set in a vaguely fictionalized
Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the List of municipalities in Illinois, 13th-most populous ci ...
, often used towns near Bloomington in its scripts.


Notable people

* Hannah Tracy Cutler, abolitionist * Tim Lee Hall,
congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...
from Illinois; taught in Dwight *
Clay Harbor Clayton Lee Harbor (born July 2, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft. He played ...
,
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
player and Reality TV star; raised in Dwight * Art Mathisen, college basketball star at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
; born in Dwight *
Diana Oughton Diana Oughton (January 26, 1942 – March 6, 1970) was an American member of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Michigan Chapter and later, a member of the 1960s radical group Weather Underground. Oughton received her B.A. from Bryn ...
, student activist and member of the
Weather Underground The Weather Underground was a far-left Marxist militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, or simply Weatherman, the group was organized as a f ...
; born in Dwight; died in the
Greenwich Village townhouse explosion The Greenwich Village townhouse explosion occurred on March 6, 1970, in New York City, United States. Members of the Weather Underground (Weathermen), an American leftist militant group, were making bombs in the basement of 18 West 11th Street ...
in 1970 * Frank L. Smith, congressman from Illinois * James G. Strong, congressman from Kansas; born in Dwight * Mabel Trunnelle, early film actress; born in Dwight * Jerry Weller, congressman from Illinois


References


External links


Village of Dwight official website
{{authority control Villages in Livingston County, Illinois Villages in Grundy County, Illinois Populated places established in 1854 1854 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois