Forsyth is a village in 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 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 ...

. Its population was 3,734 at the 2020 census, up from 3,490 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. It is included in the

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The settlement of Forsyth dates to around 1854, when the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

came through Macon County. The village is named after Col. Robert Forsyth, the first general freight agent of the Illinois Central Railroad.

Geography

Forsyth is located in north-central Macon County at (39.9258, -88.9593). It is bordered to the south by the city of Decatur, 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 ...

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 ...

is the main highway through the village, leading south to the center of Decatur and north to Clinton.

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 ...

runs along the southern border of Forsyth, with access from Exit 141 (US 51). I-72 leads northeast to Champaign and west to Springfield, the state capital. 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 ...

, Forsyth has an area of , all land.

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 2,434 people, 903 households, and 728 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 941 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.96%

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 ...

, 1.27%

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 ...

, 0.21% Native American, 1.31% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.21% 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 people of any race were 0.49% of the population. There were 903 households, out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.4% 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, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.3% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.05. In the village, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $69,000, and the median income for a family was $81,211. Males had a median income of $61,053 versus $33,125 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 $34,010. About 1.4% of families and 1.9% 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 2.1% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

K–12 public education in the Forsyth area is provided by the Maroa-Forsyth CUSD 2. * Maroa-Forsyth Grade School * Maroa-Forsyth Middle School * Maroa-Forsyth High School

Village logo

At the start of 2019, the Village Board of Trustees voted to approve a new village logo. The previous logo had not been updated since the 1980s. The new logo puts an emphasis on the village's slogan, "Pride and Progress", while still maintaining the iconic green color that is so familiar to the community.

Economy

The Hickory Point Mall is located in Forsyth. Therefore, the village of Forsyth's retail base is made up of several big box and many smaller retail stores.

Transportation

Decatur Public Transit System provides bus service on Route 61 connecting Forsyth to downtown Decatur and other destinations.

Notable people

* Kevin Koslofski, outfielder 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 ...

(1992–1994) and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

(1996); graduate of Maroa-Forsyth High School

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Macon County, Illinois Villages in Illinois