Freeport is the largest city in

Stephenson County, Illinois Stephenson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 44,630. Its county seat is Freeport. Stephenson County is included in the Freeport, IL Micropolitan Sta ...

, United States, and its

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 ...

. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is known for hosting the second Lincoln–Douglas debate of 1858, and as "Pretzel City, USA", due to a popular local German bakery that became well known for its prolific pretzel production after it opened in 1869. Freeport High School's mascot is the Pretzel to honor its heritage.

History

The community was originally called Winneshiek. When it was incorporated, the new municipality took its name from the generosity of Tutty Baker, who was credited with running a "free port" on the Pecatonica River. The name "Winneshiek" was later adopted, and is preserved to this day, by the Freeport Community Theatre Group. In 1837, Stephenson County was formed and Freeport became its seat of government in 1838. Linked by a stagecoach with

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 ...

, the community grew rapidly. In 1840, a frame courthouse was erected and the first school was founded. Within two years, Freeport had two newspapers and in 1853, the two were joined by a third which published in German. By then, the community had a population of 2,000. On August 27, 1858, the second debate between

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 ...

and

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...

took place in Freeport and gave the nation direction in the following years. Although Stephen Douglas won the election and retained his

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

seat, his reply to a question on slavery alienated the South, which called it the " Freeport Heresy", and split the Democratic Party. This enabled Abraham Lincoln to win the Presidency in 1860. A monument to the debate was dedicated in 1903 by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

and stands at this site. A life size statue recreating the event was dedicated in 1992. Another renowned statue, ''Lincoln the Debator'' by

Leonard Crunelle Leonard Crunelle (8 July 1872 in Lens, Pas-de-Calais – 10 September 1944 in Chicago) was a French-born American sculptor especially known for his sculptures of children. Crunelle immigrated with his family to the United States and worked as a ...

, is a focal point in the city's Taylor Park. In many years there is also a reenactment of the debate, which has been shown on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

. Freeport is known as the "Pretzel City", and its public high school's team is named the Pretzels. The nickname is a reminder of Freeport's ethnic heritage: in the late 1850s, many

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, both from Pennsylvania and from their European homeland, resettled in Stephenson County bringing with them their love of pretzel snacks. In 1869, a German immigrant named John Billerbeck established the Billerbeck Bakery, which distributed so many pretzels to residents that the local newspaper later dubbed Freeport the "Pretzel City". The city later capitalized on this nickname in 2003 by starting Freeport's first Pretzel Festival. Before February 1893, a large square of land was purchased from the former Keller-Wittbecker farm in East Freeport. Some of this land had been subdivided and platted as the "Arcade Addition", as Arcade Manufacturing used some of that square of land in 1893 to rebuild its factory after a fire in its original location had destroyed everything. The Arcade Manufacturing Company had been in operation since 1885 when the previous Novelty Iron Works had gone out of business at the corner of Chicago and Jackson streets. That earlier company began as early as 1868. After the 1892 fire, the Arcade Manufacturing Company built an entirely new factory in the Arcade Addition of East Freeport, where they produced coffee mills and other metal products. Freeport is home to the oldest Carnegie Library in Illinois and one of the first Carnegie Libraries designed by the

architectural firm of Patton and Miller. It was renovated into Freeport's city hall and city offices were moved to Carnegie City Hall in February 2017. The City of Freeport transitioned to the

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

form of government in May 2017.

Geography

Freeport is located approximately south of the Wisconsin state line, and at the center of a large agricultural area, located about northwest of

, and west of Rockford. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. U.S. Route 20 is a four-lane divided highway that skirts the community's northern edge. At Rockford, it links with Interstates 90 and 39, giving Freeport residents access to the entire Interstate system. From Freeport, U.S. 20 continues west to

Galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...

, and the metropolitan area of

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. The

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

for Freeport is 815 with an overlay area code of 779 .

Climate and flooding

The Pecatonica River has flooded Freeport seven times since May 2017. The necessary flood cleanup has cost the city more than $1.5 million. The frequency of severe weather events appears to be increasing. According to the State Climatologist, "the number of days Freeport has experienced heavy rainfall has steadily increased every decade since 1949." The city is seeking funding to buy out homes in flood-prone neighborhoods. One study estimates that for "every $1 communities like Freeport spend to relocate their residents they will save $6 in future clean ups."

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 23,973. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 11,888 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 68.9%

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 ...

, 17.9%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 1.0% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 2.9% from other races, and 8.8% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 7.1%

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.

2000 census

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 26,443 people, 11,222 households, and 6,845 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 12,471 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.77%

, 13.81%

, 0.19% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 1.00% from other races, and 2.22% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.12% of the population. There were 11,222 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% 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, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.5% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,399, and the median income for a family was $43,787. Males had a median income of $35,870 versus $25,095 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 city was $18,680. About 9.9% of families and 13.1% 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 18.6% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Tourism

Tourist sites in the area include the Don Opel Arboretum, a botanical garden with over 3,000 different species of ground coverings, trees and shrubs. The Stephenson County Historical Society Museum includes Oscar Taylor House, a one-room schoolhouse, the Industrial/Arcade Toy Museum, an Irish homestead log cabin, and an arboretum. The Freeport Art Museum is located on N. Harlem Avenue.

Parks and recreation

* Krape Park was awarded "Outstanding Multi-use Facility" award by the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association. Heavily wooded Krape Park features a waterfall that tumbles down from a high limestone bluff. Visitors can ride paddle boats, play mini golf, disc golf, or play on one of the three playground areas. Krape Park is a

palindrome A palindrome (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpæl.ɪn.droʊm/) is a word, palindromic number, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as ''madam'' or ''racecar'', the date "Twosday, 02/02/2020" and th ...

. * Read Park features the Read Park Family Aquatic Center and a skate park. One of the larger parks in Freeport, it also features a large pavilion, basketball courts, children's playground, shuffleboard courts, tennis courts, and softball fields. It is also home to Little Cubs Field, a replica of Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. * Oakdale Nature Preserve has over of forests, streams and restored prairies including more than four miles (6 km) of trails as well as a 1/3-mile hard-packed accessible trail. A historic tabernacle sits on the property, doubling as an auditorium. It is currently being restored. * Taylor Park, a park acquired in 1911, features three lighted softball fields, concession stand, basketball courts, picnic shelter and Abraham Lincoln statue. This statue, located in the southwest section of the park, was sculpted in 1928–29 by Leonard Crunelle. Its dedication on August 27, 1929, was attended by many notable guests, and was covered by newspapers across the country. * Bidwell Park a park presented by the heirs of Orlando B. Bidwell, features a small shelter with restrooms, a softball field, and a playground. * Knowlton Park, a park presented by the descendants of Dexter A. Knowlton to mark the 100th anniversary of his arrival to Freeport, features a bronze tablet and tall black maple trees to shade benches and play equipment. * Wilbur Park, a park donated by local industrialist W. T. Rawleigh and named after his son (who died during World War I), was deeded over to Freeport Park District on July 13, 1948. The park features landscaped terrain and playground equipment.

Education

Public schools

* Freeport High School * Carl Sandburg Middle School * Freeport Middle School * Jones-Farrar Magnet School * Blackhawk Elementary School * Center Elementary School * Empire Elementary School * Lincoln-Douglas Elementary School * Taylor Park Elementary School

Private schools

* Immanuel Lutheran * Aquin Catholic Schools * Tri-County Christian Schools * Open Bible Learning Center

Colleges

* Highland Community College offers 68 degree and certificate programs. * Columbia College-Freeport, located on the Highland Community College campus.

Media

Local Freeport media includes WFRL (1570 AM), WFPS Radio (92.1 FM) and '' The Journal Standard'' daily newspaper.

Transportation

Transit

Freeport and surrounding Stephenson County is serviced by Pretzel City Area Transit (PCAT) This is a private company in a partnership with the Senior Resource Center, the city of Freeport provides small bus and/or van transportation throughout all of Stephenson County. With a fleet of 14 small buses / vans, PCAT provides over 83,000 rides per year.

Freeways

US-20 Runs along the north side of Freeport.

Airports

Albertus Airport is a civil public-use airport located southeast of the city. The airport is owned by the city.

Intercity rail and bus

Freeport has a rail line running east and west on the north side of city. Amtrak "Black Hawk" serviced the city until 2014. Freeport station is a historic station.

Notable people

* Joseph M. Bailey, jurist and legislator * Dan Balz, award-winning political reporter for the Washington Post * Ken Behring, owned the NFL's

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

* Harry Boeke, Illinois state senator and businessman * Carl Cain, 1956 Olympic basketball gold medalist, University of Iowa basketball player * John Callahan,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player * Janet H. Clark, Minnesota state legislator * Alfred A. Cohn, author, journalist and newspaper editor, Police Commissioner, and screenwriter of the 1920s and 1930s * A.D. Condo, cartoonist * Richard Wayne Dirksen, organist and choirmaster * William Eckert, Air Force general, Major League Baseball commissioner *

Calista Flockhart Calista Kay Flockhart (born November 11, 1964) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying the title character on the Fox television series '' Ally McBeal'' (1997–2002), for which she received a Golden Globe Award in 1998 and w ...

, actress * James B. Goetz, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor * Tuffy Gosewisch, Major League Baseball player *

Charles Guiteau Charles Julius Guiteau ( ; September 8, 1841June 30, 1882) was an American man who assassinated James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, in 1881. A mentally ill failed lawyer, Guiteau delusionally believed that he had playe ...

, assassin of US President James A. Garfield * Corky Hale, jazz musician * Clare Winger Harris, science fiction author * Oscar E. Heard, Illinois jurist * Edmund Heller (1875–1939) zoologist * Homer Hillebrand, Major League Baseball player * Donna Jogerst, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player * Robert L. Johnson, founder of

Black Entertainment Television Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

(BET) * Francis Lamb, Wisconsin State Assemblyman * Edward E. Laughlin, Illinois State Senator and lawyer * Gerald McClellan, middleweight boxing champion * John Meyer, Illinois State Representative, lawyer * Ravi Patel, film and TV actor *

Jason Pearson Jason Trent Pearson (August 29, 1970 – December 19, 2022) was an American comic book creator, known for his series '' Body Bags'' and for his dynamic illustration work on books featuring characters such as the Legion of Super-Heroes, Spider-Man ...

, Major League Baseball player * Preston Pearson,

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 * Trisha Paytas, YouTube personality * William Buckley Peck, physician, surgeon, and founder of the Inter-State Postgraduate Medical Association of North America * Julia Phillips, physicist and science policy leader * William Thomas Rawleigh, industrialist, Illinois State Representative * Harlan Rigney, Illinois State Representative * Stephen A. Rigney, Illinois state representative llinois Blue Book 1909-1910, Biographical Sketch of Stephen Rigney, pg. 206-207 * William Avery Rockefeller, father of John D. Rockefeller * Adolph Rupp, head basketball coach Freeport HS 1926-30 and Univ. of Kentucky 1930–72, for whom Rupp Arena is named. * Manuel Seal - Grammy Award-winning producer * Ted Snyder, songwriter * Charles J. Stine, silent film actor * Tiffany Thayer, author, actor, '' Thirteen Women'' * Alice Bradford Wiles, Chicago clubwoman, lived in Freeport * Steve Luecke, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, 1997-2012

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Illinois Micropolitan areas of Illinois Cities in Stephenson County, Illinois County seats in Illinois Populated places established in 1838 Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois 1838 establishments in Illinois