Elwin is an

unincorporated community 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 ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in South Wheatland Township, Macon 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. It was first listed as a CDP in 2020, with a population of 119.

History

Elwin was formed in 1859 on land owned by William Martin and Daniel H. Elwood. It was laid out after completion of the railroad. The name "Elwin" is an amalgamation of the surnames of founders Elwood and Martin.

Geography

Elwin is located in central Macon County at (39.851636, -88.944228). Centrally located within South Wheatland Township, it was once known as South Wheatland. It is south of the center of Decatur, the Macon

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 ...

U.S. Route 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south–north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Hi ...

bypasses Elwin on its east side, with its old alignment passing through the center of the community as U.S. Route 51 Business. The two routes join south of Elwin and lead south to Pana. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the Elwin CDP has an area of , all land. The community is in the Spring Creek watershed, which flows north to 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 ...

in Decatur.

Demographics

Elwin first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2020 U.S. Census.

References

Census-designated places in Illinois Census-designated places in Macon County, Illinois Unincorporated communities in Illinois Unincorporated communities in Macon County, Illinois {{MaconCountyIL-geo-stub