is a
Village located approximately 19 mi (30 km) north of downtown
Chicago in
Cook County ,
Illinois . It has a population of 12,419.
New Trier High School , a nationally renowned public school, is located in Winnetka.
It is the childhood home of
Donald Rumsfeld , the current US
Secretary Of Defense . It is also the place of birth of actor
Rock Hudson . Winnetka was also the setting for the television drama ''
Sisters ''. Parts of the feature films ''
Uncle Buck '', ''
The Breakfast Club '', ''
Sixteen Candles '', ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off '', ''
Home Alone '', ''
Home Alone 2 '' and "
Ocean's 12 " were also filmed in Winnetka.
Winnetka is located at 42°6'22" North, 87°44'16" West (42.106227, -87.73801).
According to the
United States Census Bureau , the village has a total area of 10.2
Km&2 (3.9
Mi&2 ). 9.9 km&
2 (3.8 mi&
2) of it is land and 0.2 km&
2 (0.1 mi&
2) of it is water. The total area is 2.30% water.
The Winnetka Public Schools system (District 36) consists of three elementary schools and two middle schools. Hubbard Woods
Crow Island[http://www.winnetka36.org/ci/ , and Samuel Sewall Greeley
Elementary Schools serve grades kindergarten through four. Students in fifth and sixth grades attend The Skokie School[http://www.winnetka36.org/sk/ . Seventh and eighth graders attend Washburne School[http://www.winnetka36.org/cw/], named after educator
Carleton Washburne .
Winnetka's schools were modeled after Washburne's educational philosophy in an experiment called the
Winnetka Plan . The town's schools continue to reflect his educational philosophy.
Winnetka is in
New Trier Township . Public school students who reside in Winnetka attend
New Trier High School for grades 9 through 12.
Three private schools exist within Winnetka's borders.
North Shore Country Day School is a private K-12 academy. Sacred Heart School and Faith Hope & Charity School are Catholic schools.
As of the
Census of 2000, there were 12,419 people, 4,162 households, and 3,433 families residing in the village. The
Population Density was 1,252.0/km&
2 (3,242.7/mi&
2). There were 4,310 housing units at an average density of 434.5/km&
2 (1,125.4/mi&
2). The racial makeup of the village was 96.29%
White , 0.25%
(U.S. Census) or
Latino of any race.
There were 4,162 households out of which 47.2% had children under the age of 18, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.35.
In the village the population was spread out with 34.6% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $167,458, and the median income for a family was $200,000+. Males had a median income of $100,000+ versus $61,513 for females.
The first houses were built in
1836 , the first school in
1856 , and the village was incorporated in
1869 with a population of 450. The oldest house in Winnetka is the Schmidt-Burham House. It's now resting in the Crow Island Woods. For more information, see the timeline of Winnetka History
on the web site of the Winnetka Historical Society[http://www.winnetkahistory.org/
