Poplar Grove (founded in 1859) is a village located in

Boone County, Illinois Boone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,448. Its county seat is Belvidere. Boone County is included in the Rockford, Illinois metropolitan area. History Unlike most of Ill ...

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 ...

. It is part of the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, and of the gated community Candlewick Lake. The population was 5,049 at the 2020 census.

History

Poplar Grove was named in 1845 for a grove of poplar trees near the original town site. A post office called Poplar Grove has been in operation since 1848.

January 2008 tornado

On January 7, 2008, on an unusually warm day which saw temperatures reach the mid , a tornado struck northern Illinois, including Poplar Grove and Candlewick Lake. The tornado severely damaged a favorite local attraction, Edward's Apple Orchard. There was one serious injury reported and the damage was widespread. The tornado was later rated EF3 on the

Enhanced Fujita Scale The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated EF-Scale) is a scale that rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage a tornado causes. It is used in the United States and France, among other countries. The EF scale is also unofficially ...

. A weather event this big had not occurred in the area since 1967. The tornado was one of the only eight rated EF3 during the time span of the warm weather, which lasted from January 7 to 10. Although there were no losses, it was still a very severe storm. The following month the cast of the TV show "Storm Chasers" visited Caledonia Elementary School to talk about tornadoes and the effects they have on communities. The students and the "Storm Chasers" were featured on a Rockford's "23 WIFR News" story on the January 2008 tornado.

April 2015 tornadoes

On April 9, 2015 the northern Illinois region was hit with another wave of tornadoes, with four in the surrounding areas of Rockford, Rochelle, and Belvidere. These tornadoes all broke the record for the last tornado to touch down in the area and destroyed the Summerfield Zoo in Belvidere, as well as killing some of the animals. The rest were all rescued by 200 volunteers the following day.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Poplar Grove has a total area of , of which (or 99.88%) is land and (or 0.12%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 5,049 people, 1,501 households, and 1,310 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,787 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 80.23%

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 ...

, 2.16%

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 ...

, 0.38% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 5.88% from other races, and 10.52% 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 15.31% of the population. There were 1,501 households, out of which 58.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 81.55% were married couples living together, 3.26% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.72% were non-families. 11.73% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.07% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.26 and the average family size was 3.00. The village's age distribution consisted of 32.4% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $74,896, and the median income for a family was $79,115. Males had a median income of $65,208 versus $33,750 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 $38,756. About 5.3% of families and 5.5% 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 10.0% of those under age 18 and 0.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Rob Sherman (c. 1953 – December 9, 2016), atheist activist, perennial candidate, and businessman who lived in Poplar Grove for a few months before his death.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Boone County, Illinois Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois 1845 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois