| Plainfield, Illinois |
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Plainfield is the oldest community in Will County. Located within the Village are neo-Gothic churches, upright wing cottages, a school built in 1847, and a number of late-19th-century homes. According to a list prepared by the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, there are homes in Plainfield that rank sixth on a list of the 10 most endangered areas in the state of Illinois. The Village is the fastest growing in the county. The Plainfield Tornado , an F5 tornado, devastated the Village on August 28 , 1990 killing 29 people. The first Ice Cream sundae is reported to have been created in Plainfield. It is claimed that a Plainfield druggist created it and named it the sonntag after his surname--Sonntag, which means Sunday in German . There is a building in downtown Plainfield where the name Sonntag is carved into stone. Plainfield is the headquarters city of Dale Coyne Racing , a team in the Champ Car World Series . HISTORY The area was called ''Walker's Grove'' until its incorporation as ''Plainfield'' in 1834 . It was originally settled by a large community of Potawatomi , and the land was later ceded to the United States as part of the Treaty With The Ottawa, Etc. Indian Boundary Road aligns with the western border of the tract of land originally ceded. The earliest Europeans in the area were French fur traders. The first European settler in the area was James Walker, who traveled with his father, Methodist Reverend Jessie Walker as early as 1826. Reverend Walker evangelized the Potawatomi during his trips. In 1828, James Walker, in the company of several men, erected a sawmill around which the settlement of Walker's Grove developed. Walker's Grove flourished because of the DuPage River and established routes to Fort Dearborn in Chicago , as well as to Ottawa . Reuben Flagg hauled lumber from Walker's mill to Chicago in order to erect the first two frame structures in the city. Chicago also depended upon the settlement for mail and supplies. These are some of the reasons why Plainfield is known as "The Mother of Chicago." A population explosion started to take form in the 2000s with the removal of farms/rural communities. Before the population boom, the town was mostly an agricultural town, major ones being Rousonelos Farms, The Kings, etc. GEOGRAPHY Plainfield is located at 41°37'2" North, 88°12'10" West (41.617280, -88.202837). According to the United States Census Bureau , the village has a total area of 32.2 Km&2 (12.4 Mi&2 ). 30.1 km&2 (11.6 mi&2) of it is land and 2.1 km&2 (0.8 mi&2) of it is water. The total area is 6.67% water. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census of 2000, there were 13,038 people, 4,315 households, and 3,521 families residing in the village. According to a 2003 special census, the village has a population of 20,673. The Population Density was 433.6/km&2 (1,122.8/mi&2). There were 4,609 housing units at an average density of 153.3/km&2 (396.9/mi&2). The racial makeup of the village was 95.85% White , 0.84% African American , 0.08% Native American , 1.25% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 1.01% from Other Races , and 0.96% from two or more races. 3.87% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,315 households out of which 47.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.6% were Married Couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% were non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.37. In the village the population was spread out with 31.9% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $80,799, and the median income for a family was $86,417. Males had a median income of $59,328 versus $35,861 for females. The Per Capita Income for the village was $28,242. 1.8% of the population and 1.0% of families were below the Poverty Line . 2.2% of those under the age of 18 and 2.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. EDUCATION Plainfield School District EXTERNAL LINKS |
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