Wenona is a city in

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

and LaSalle counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. The population was 974 at the 2020 census. The Marshall County portion of Wenona is part of the Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the small portion that lies in LaSalle County is part of the

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Around 1852, the first buildings had been erected within the town, including living quarters for the rail-men, the freight depot, and passenger station. This same year, the house for Gr. W. Goodwell, Wenona's station agent and first

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

, was completed. Along with the post office, in June 1854, the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

was set up. During the winter months of 1854, W.M Brown arrived in Wenona with a large stock of goods; a building was constructed to accommodate his sales. Wenona was laid off by the Illinois Central Railroad Company on May 15, 1855. At the time, the town had around nine buildings and fifty permanent citizens. By 1858 it had grown rapidly, and was now a thrifty village of several hundred inhabitants, with two hotels, a number of stores, and other branches of business in proportion. A great amount of grain was annually shipped at this point, and a considerable amount of trade was carried on with the surrounding country. The largest single industry contributing to the growth and prosperity of Wenona was its coal mine, located in the northeast quarter of the town, east of the Illinois Central tracks. The mine was opened under the Hamilton-Hodge-Monser partnership and was incorporated November 9, 1882, as the Wenona Coal Company. The partnership was soon dissolved, and ownership passed on to E. L. Monser, with George S. Monser production manager and W. E. Monser sales manager. The vein of coal varied from to . Peak employment numbered 550 miners and the average payroll approximated $30,000 per month, paid to employees in gold coin for a number of years, later cash at the mine and finally by checks at the bank. The mine operated from 1882 to 1924, at which time it was closed never to reopen. A new union scale was said to have made it unprofitable for the company to continue mining such a thin vein. It was during the operation of the mine and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

that the population of Wenona reached an all-time high of 1892 inhabitants. It was said by old timers that on the day after pay-day at the mines, the Chicago & Alton depot was so crowded with people that the railroad could not accommodate its out-of-town passengers. At the height of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, the highest spot in town played a role in US defense. Beginning in April 1958, atop the slag pile from the old Wenona coal mine, a

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

station was developed which was equipped to detect incoming missiles and enemy airplanes potentially headed 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 ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. The radar station was staffed by approximately 20 troops from the 45th AAA Brigade and the 105th Signal Corps Detachment. It could detect aircraft as far up as in any direction, and as far away as . The Wenona station was one of ten stations set up in Illinois,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

within of Chicago in the Chicago Air Defense System. The radar station included two metal buildings and the radar antenna. The base of the slag pile was surrounded by a six-strand barbed-wire fence. Prior to constructing the buildings on top of the slag pile, were graded off the top and a circular roadway was built around the slag pile from bottom to top. At least three men who served at the Wenona Radar Station settled in Wenona after completion. The

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

left Wenona in 1959, but before leaving town, planted the seeds on the mound which gave way to the beautiful forestry seen today. The Wenona Coal Mine Historical Site was dedicated by members of the Wenona Historical Society on August 10, 2018, during the Wenona Days celebration.

Geography

Most of the city lies in Marshall County, although two small areas of about a block each extend east into southern LaSalle County. In the 2000 census, all of Wenona's 1,065 residents lived in Marshall County. As of 2022, Wenona has a total area of , all land.

Illinois Route 17 Illinois Route 17 (IL 17) is a rural, arterial east–west state highway that runs east from a former ferry crossing in New Boston, Illinois, New Boston along the banks of the Mississippi RiverIllinois Highway EndsIllinois 17. Retrieved Apri ...

passes through Wenona as Chestnut Street. The highway leads east to Dwight and west to Lacon, the Marshall

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 ...

. Illinois Route 251 joins Route 17 on Chestnut Street through the center of Wenona but leads north to Lostant and south to

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

. Interstate 39 passes just west of Wenona, with access from Exit 35 south of the city; I-39 leads north to La Salle and south to Normal. Wenona is drained to the north by tributaries of Sandy Creek, which flows west to the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

at Henry.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 974 people, 488 households, and 256 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 497 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.63%

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 ...

, 2.67%

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 ...

, 0.41% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.00%

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 ...

, 1.85% from other races, and 4.72% 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 5.85% of the population. There were 488 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.84% were married couples living together, 15.78% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.54% were non-families. 38.52% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.29% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 2.20. The city's age distribution consisted of 26.6% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,179, and the median income for a family was $55,833. Males had a median income of $42,917 versus $22,917 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 $24,417. About 18.4% of families and 19.6% 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 15.7% of those under age 18 and 18.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Marshall County, Illinois Cities in Illinois Peoria metropolitan area, Illinois Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area Cities in LaSalle County, Illinois