Elkhart, Illinois
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Elkhart 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 ...
in
Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States: * Logan County, Arkansas * Logan County, Colorado * Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895) * Logan County, Illinois * Logan County, Kansas * Logan 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 ...
, United States. The population was 405 at the 2010 census.


Geography

Elkhart is located in southwestern Logan County is in Elkhart and Hurlbut townships, with the geographic center of the village slightly east of the township border, in Elkhart Township.
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 ...
passes through the northwest part of the village, with access from Exit 115. I-55 leads northeast to
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...
, the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
, and southwest to Springfield, the state capital. According to the 2010 census, Elkhart has a total area of , of which (or 99.38%) is land and (or 0.62%) is water. Elkhart Hill, with a summit elevation of , is in the southeast part of the village, rising above the village center and the surrounding flatlands.


Demographics

Per the 2010 United States Census, Elkhart had 405 people. Among non-Hispanics this includes 387
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 ...
(95.6%), 2 Asian (0.5%), 2
Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...
& 1 from two or more races. The
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 population included 13 people (3.2%). There were 176 households, out of which 19.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 2.8% had a female householder with children & no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 34.1% had someone who was 65 years of age or older. The age distribution of the population shows 80.0% over the age of 18 and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.5 years. The gender ratio was 46.2% male & 53.8% female. Among 176 occupied households, 84.7% were owner-occupied & 15.3% were renter-occupie

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 443 people, 183 households, and 116 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 194 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.32%
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 ...
, 0.45%
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 ...
and 0.23% Asian. There were 183 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.14. In the village, the age distribution of the population shows 28.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $41,838, and the median income for a family was $55,417. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $24,750 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 $19,958. About 4.3% of families and 4.2% 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 6.6% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.


History

Elkhart takes its name from Elkhart (or "Elk Heart") Grove, which along with Buffalo Hart was an area of woodland along the Edwards Trace. The grove's name has been attributed to its shape, resembling the heart of an
elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...
. Prior to the
forced expulsion Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration that is often imposed by a state policy or international authority. Such mass migrations are most frequently spurred on the basis of ethnicity or religion, but they also occur d ...
of indigenous peoples from Illinois, a
Kickapoo The Kickapoo people (; Kickapoo: Kiikaapoa or Kiikaapoi; ) are an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe and Indigenous people in Mexico, originating in the region south of the Great Lakes. There are three federally recognized Kickapoo trib ...
village was located at the grove. The history of non-indigenous settlement at Elkhart dates from the arrival of James Latham and his family at Elkhart Grove in the spring of 1819. James Latham's house, and later his son Richard Latham's place on the brow of the hill further south, were stops on the early stage routes from Springfield to Bloomington. Around 1822, James and Richard Latham built a
horse mill A horse mill is a mill, sometimes used in conjunction with a watermill or windmill, that uses a horse engine as the power source. Any milling process can be powered in this way, but the most frequent use of animal power in horse mills was for gri ...
at the foot of Elkhart Hill. Before this, the early settlers had been compelled to go to Edwardsville to mill. During the mill's existence, settlers came a great distance to get their grinding done and frequently camped overnight waiting their turn. In later days,
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 ...
, David Davis, John T. Stuart and others frequently spent the night at Elkhart Grove when traveling the 8th Judicial Circuit. A town site at Elkhart Grove had been laid out by early settler Aquilla Davis in the 1820s. However, nothing definite was done in that direction until the Alton & Sangamon (now the
Chicago & Alton 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 ...
) railroad came through in 1853. Once the tracks were laid, an old horse mill, owned by Seneca Woods, was brought from Springfield by William Mozee and converted into a warehouse. This was the first building in the town of Elkhart. In 1855, John Shockey, of
Franklin County, Pennsylvania Franklin County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 155,932. Its county seat is Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Cha ...
, laid out the town, and County Surveyor Conaway Pence surveyed it on April 11 of that year. The town was given the name of Elkhart City to distinguish it from the nearby locations of Elkhart Hill and Elkhart Grove. Also in 1855, John Shockey erected a large frame hotel. J. R. Saunders also built a brick store and offered the first general stock of goods for sale in the town. A few goods had been for sale in the old warehouse, but no regular stock had been kept. Quite a number of houses were built that same summer, and the town experienced quite a growth spurt during the later 1850s. The Elkhart City post office was established in 1856. J. R. Saunders served as the first postmaster and railroad agent, and William Rankin was his assistant. In 1858, John Gibbs erected a warehouse. Shockey's addition was added to the original town in January 1858. Rigney's addition was laid out in 1863, and Thompson's addition was added in 1865. A small district school house was moved into the town in 1856, which gave way to a larger structure in 1865. For many years Elkhart was one of the largest shipping points on the Chicago & Alton Railroad. This was due in part to the large stock farms of John D. Gillett. The town was incorporated February 22, 1861, by special legislative charter. The first officers were James Rigney, president; W. M. Helm, clerk; T. H. Cantrall, treasurer; L. D. Dana, justice; Martin Buzzard, constable; and A. H. Bogardus, street commissioner. A
Methodist church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
was built in the village in 1863, a
Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in 1864, and a Christian church in 1867. The name of the post office was changed from Elkhart City to Elkhart in 1883. A new rail depot was built at Elkhart in 1888. Like many frontier towns, Elkhart had its share of fires. The nearby residence of the rancher John D. Gillett was destroyed by fire on February 14, 1871, although he rebuilt on the same site. On May 24, 1889, lightning struck the Crang Building, which was occupied by the Hughes & Mendenhall General Store. The fire spread to adjacent buildings and destroyed most of Elkhart's commercial buildings, wiping out ten businesses and one home.On March 2, 1891, Governor Richard J. Oglesby's residence was consumed by fire. A new residence was erected by Gov. Oglesby but on a site further to the south and east, now known as Oglehurst. Gov. Oglesby died in this home on April 24, 1899. In 1885, the town was incorporated as a village under the general laws of the state, relinquishing the special legislative charter. The first board under the new incorporation consisted of Henry Stahl, C. P. Bridges, A. H. Bogardus, C. B. Taylor, David Lippott and Luther Wood. A new library building was erected in 1904, the gift of the Gillett family. Elkhart was a station on the Illinois Traction System, an
interurban railroad 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 ...
providing passenger service between Peoria and St. Louis that was built through the village in 1904. It continued in service until the 1950s.


Notable people

*
Adam Bogardus Captain Adam Henry Bogardus (1834–1913) was a world champion and United States champion trap shooter, as well as the inventor of the first practical glass ball trap. He was born in Berne, New York. There, in 1854, he married Cordelia Dearstyne ...
, 19th-century world champion trap shooter; lived in Elkhart * Richard J. Oglesby, 19th-century governor of Illinois; lived and died in Elkhart *
Jake Stahl Garland "Jake" Stahl (April 13, 1879 – September 18, 1922) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball with the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, and New York Highlanders. Biography A graduate of the University of ...
, first baseman and manager for the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
, Washington Senators, and
New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...
; born in Elkhart *
Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 19th United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005 in the Presidency of George W. Bush, cabinet of President of the United State ...
, outfielder for the
Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...
,
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
, and
St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...
; born in Elkhart


References


Works cited

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External links


www.elkhartillinois.com
{{authority control Villages in Logan County, Illinois Populated places established in 1855 1855 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois