Pawnee is a village in Sangamon County,

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. Its population was 2,739 at the 2010 census, and 2,651 at a 2018 estimate. It is part of the

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, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The community is named after the Pawnee Tribe. On October 13, 1902, the Victor Mine exploded killing six workers. Press reports indicate an explosive charge ignited coal dust in the shaft. On August 6, 2023, a large and long-tracked EF2

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

hit north of Pawnee, Illinois destroying houses and businesses.

Geography

Pawnee is located at (39.592050, -89.582012). According to the 2010 census, Pawnee has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 2,647 people, 1,028 households, and 747 families in the village. The population density was . There were 1,086 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.83% White, 0.15% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.30%. Of the 1,028 households 40.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 23.4% of households were one person and 12.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.06. The age distribution was 28.1% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males. The median household income was $50,787 and the median family income was $54,736. Males had a median income of $37,171 versus $26,304 for females. The per capita income for the village was $21,599. About 5.9% of families and 6.3% 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 7.6% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

In popular culture

Pawnee is loosely represented in the video game '' Watch Dogs'', though the geographic position is quite different. Due to contiguous map size constraints in the open-world game, Pawnee is shown to be relatively close to

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 ...

; however, it is located near the center of

, far from Chicago. Pawnee's most notable citizen is Lisa Marie Hesse, the winner of the 1970 National Spelling Bee.

References

{{authority control Villages in Sangamon County, Illinois Springfield metropolitan area, Illinois Populated places established in 1854 1854 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois