Stillman Valley is a village in Marion Township, Ogle 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 ...

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. It lies east of

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

, south of Rockford and west of Davis Junction. The population was 1,120 at the 2010 census, up from 1,048 in 2000. Stillman Valley Currently has a population of around 3,018. The village is located on the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad, on the old

Chicago Great Western Railway The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesot ...

before it merged and was pulled up. Also, Illinois Route 72 runs through the village. It is near the site of the first battle of the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

of 1832. The war memorial for the

Battle of Stillman's Run The Battle of Stillman's Run, also known as the Battle of Sycamore Creek or the Battle of Old Man's Creek, occurred in Illinois on May 14, 1832. The battle was named for the panicked retreat by Major Isaiah Stillman and his detachment of 275 Mil ...

is located in this village.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Stillman Valley has a total area of , all land.

History

Stillman Valley was founded by European-American settlers in north central

in 1876. A creek running through the community was named after Major Stillman of the Illinois Militia who on May 14, 1832, led troops in what became the first named battle of the

. The battle and the creek were called " Stillman's Run" after Stillman and his men fled the battlefield in the belief that they had been attacked by a superior force of Chief Black Hawk's warriors.Matile, Roger.
Maj. Stillman’s run: advancing to the rear"
''Ledger-Sentinel'' (

Oswego, Illinois Oswego ( ) is a village in Kendall and Will counties, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 34,485. Oswego is the largest municipality in Kendall County. Part of the Chicago metropolitan area, it is an exurb of Chica ...

), 24 May 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007. The day after the battle,

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 ...

was with the militia who buried the dead soldiers from the battle.Stillman's Run Memorial
" ''Abraham Lincoln Online''. Retrieved on March 11, 2007 The village was named after Stillman Creek; the valley serves as the watershed for the creek, hence the name Stillman Valley. The Stillman's Run Battle Site and burial ground are in present-day Stillman Valley. A large memorial to this battle was erected in 1901. It reads, in part: "Here, on May 14, 1832, the first engagement of the Black Hawk War took place. When 275 Illinois militiamen under Maj. Isaiah Stillman were put to flight by Black Hawk and his warriors."

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 1,048 people, 395 households, and 295 families residing in the village. 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 735.7 /sq mi (284.1 /km). There were 417 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.23%

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 ...

, 0.29%

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 ...

, 0.67% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 0.95% 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 1.43% of the population. There were 395 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% 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, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.14. In the village, the population was spread out, with 30.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males. The median income for a household in the village was $46,845, and the median income for a family was $54,792. Males had a median income of $36,635 versus $28,250 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 $21,036. About 4.6% of families and 4.6% 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 4.5% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over. They are state champions in high school football 1999, 2000, 2003, 2009, and 2013.

Political representation

Stillman Valley has a board of trustees who serve alternating four-year terms. The Village President (by statute this is synonymous with the term "Mayor") serves a four-year term as well. The Village President (as of May 2013) is the Honorable Becky Waltrip; her first term ends in 2017. Becky Waltrip is the first woman elected as Village President
Ogle County Election Results
* 16th Congressional District represented by Adam Kinzinger.
Adam Kinzinger Official Website
* Illinois Senate District 45 represented by Tim Bivins. * Illinois Representative District 90 represented by Tom Demmer.
Illinois Election Information

Previous village presidents

* Jim Mays served from 2005 - 2013 (2 terms) * James Leather served from 1984 - 2004 (20 years service) * Stillman Valley elected Mike Blomgren, an 18-year-old high school senior, as its mayor in 1976.

Schools

Stillman Valley is in the Meridian Unified School District (District #223) The school district has four schools and covers approximately . The schools are Highland Grade School, Monroe Center School, Meridian Junior High School and Stillman Valley High School. The high school is well known in Illinois for excellent academic and sports programs. A November 28, 2009, headline from the Rockford Register Star proclaims it, "Valley of The Champions" in reference to the boys football program with state championships in 1999, 2000, 2003, 2009, and 2013.

Notable people

* John A. Atwood, businessman and Illinois state legislator * George Bird, center fielder with the Rockford Forest Citys * Dan Godfread, center with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

and

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

* Frank White, the eighth

Governor of North Dakota The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's North Dakota National Guard, military forces. The Constitution of North Dakota specifies that "the executive power is ves ...

* Joshua White, businessman and Illinois state legislator * Dawn Gile, a member of the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

for District 33

References

External links

Stillman Valley official website
*

{{authority control Villages in Ogle County, Illinois Populated places established in 1875 1875 establishments in Illinois 1876 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois