Minonk is a city in Minonk Township,

Woodford County, Illinois Woodford County is a county located in the state of Illinois. The 2020 United States census listed its population at 38,467. Its county seat is Eureka. Woodford County is part of the Peoria metropolitan area. Its name comes from General Will ...

. The population was 2,078 at the 2010 census, down from 2,168 in 2000. The city is part of the

Peoria, Illinois, metropolitan area The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of six counties in Central Illinois, anchored by the city of Peoria. As of the 2020 census, the area had a population of 402,391 or 3 ...

Geography

Minonk is located at (40.902357, -89.035992). As of the 2010 census, Minonk has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Demographics

At the 2000

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 ...

, there were 2,168 people, 841 households and 587 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 885 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.99%

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 ...

, 0.05%

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 ...

, 0.05% Asian, 0.28% from other races, and 0.65% 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 1.20% of the population. There were 841 households, of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% 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, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.02. 25.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $44,028 and the median family income was $50,379. Males had a median income of $35,859 compared with $22,500 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 $17,688. About 7.0% of families and 8.6% 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 12.9% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

History

The founding of Minonk corresponds with the construction of 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, ...

. The

main line was completed in 1854 and ran through Section Seven, eventually becoming the City of Minonk. The

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

of the town was first recorded on November 7, 1854.Schneider 1981, p. 1 David Neal, an agent with the

, is credited for naming the city. Local

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

provides varying accounts about the origins of the name “Minonk.” One version states that he originally named the area after a street in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, where he owned property. A second story suggests that he changed the name of the settlement, originally referred to as “Marquette” on old French maps, to the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

word “Minonk,” meaning “a good place.” Minonk is the only city in the world with that name. Early settlers were attracted to Minonk by a variety of livelihoods. Many came to work on the railroad. Others settled in the area to farm on the abundant, rich farmland. However,

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

was the leading industry in the early years of Minonk. The first coal mines were developed in the 1860s, and at one point employed over 300 men. Two mines operated in Minonk: the first mine was located on the north edge of the city, and the second was situated a half-mile north of town.Schneider 1981, pg. 87

Sports

Minonk is home to Fieldcrest High School and their football team the Fieldcrest Knights.

Notes

References

*Schneider, Alice Hayes. ''Tales from the Trees.'' Minonk, IL: Schneider, 1981. {{authority control Cities in Illinois Cities in Woodford County, Illinois Peoria metropolitan area, Illinois Populated places established in 1854 1854 establishments in Illinois