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Galesburg is home to Knox College , a private four-year liberal arts college, and Carl Sandburg College , a two-year community college. GEOGRAPHY Galesburg is located at 40°57'8" North, 90°22'7" West (40.952292, -90.368545). According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 44.2 Km&2 (17.1 Mi&2 ). 43.8 km&2 (16.9 mi&2) of it is land and 0.5 km&2 (0.2 mi&2) of it is water. The total area is 1.05% water. HISTORY Galesburg was founded by George Washington Gale , a minister of the gospel from New York state who dreamed of establishing a manual labor College which became Knox College . A committee from New York purchased 17 Acres (69,000 m&2) in Knox County in 1835 , and the first 25 settlers arrived in 1836 . They built cabins in Log City near current Lake Storey , just north of Galesburg. The city was home to the first anti-slavery society in state of Illinois founded in 1837 , and was a stop on the Underground Railroad . Galesburg was site of the fifth Lincoln-Douglas Debate , at Old Main on the campus of Knox College , on October 7 , 1858 . Galesburg was the home of Mary Ann Bickerdyke who provided hospital care for Union Soldiers during the American Civil War . Galesburg was the birthplace of poet and historian Carl Sandburg , poet and artist Dorothea Tanning , as well as former Major League Baseball star Jim Sundberg . Throughout much of its history, Galesburg has been inextricably tied to the railroads. Local businessmen were major backers of the first railroad to connect Illinois' (then) two biggest cities--- Chicago and Quincy ---as well as a third leg initially terminating across the river from Burlington, Iowa , eventually connecting to it via bridge and thence onward to the frontiers. The CB&Q sited major rail sorting yards here, including the first to use Hump Sorting . In the late 19th century, when the Atchison, Topeka And Santa Fe Railway connected its service through to Chicago, it also laid track through Galesburg, making this city one of relatively few to be served by multiple railroads and even fewer to have multiple railroad depots. (Indeed, it was not until the 1990s that Amtrak finally closed the old Santa Fe depot and consolidated all passenger operations into the site of the former Burlington Northern depot.) A series of mergers eventually united both tracks under the ownership of BNSF Railway , carrying an average of seven trains per hour between them. As of the closing of the Maytag plant in fall of 2004, BNSF is once again one of the largest private employers in Galesburg. Recently, layoffs at Maytag and elsewhere have caused Galesburg to enter a period of high unemployment. The city is having some difficulty adjusting its economy to new post-industrial needs, although a popular "Get it in Galesburg" campaign has been somewhat successful at mitigating the worst effects by keeping dollars circulating locally as long as possible. The ultimate outcome of the adjustment remains to be seen, although the opening of several new small businesses is somewhat encouraging. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census of 2000, there were 33,706 people, 13,237 households, and 7,902 families residing in the city. The Population Density was 770.1/km&2 (1,994.9/mi&2). There were 14,133 housing units at an average density of 322.9/km&2 (836.5/mi&2). The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White , 10.20% African American , 0.22% Native American , 1.03% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 2.46% from Other Races , and 1.84% from two or more races. 5.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 13,237 households out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were Married Couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city the population was spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,987, and the median income for a family was $41,796. Males had a median income of $31,698 versus $21,388 for females. The Per Capita Income for the city was $17,214. 14.7% of the population and 10.7% of families were below the Poverty Line . 23.4% of those under the age of 18 and 6.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. This has changed drastically as several major employers in Galesburg have all moved operations from Galesburg to Mexico . This was such a huge blow to the region that Barack Obama mentioned it at the last democratic party national convention. Galesburg will also be home to the National Railroad Hall of Fame. NOTABLE NATIVES
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