Poplar Grove, Illinois

Poplar Grove, Illinois
Village
Motto:  A great place to call home
Location of Poplar Grove in Boone County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 42°20′45″N88°50′22″W / 42.34583°N 88.83944°W / 42.34583; -88.83944
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Boone
Townships	Poplar Grove, Belvidere
Government
• Village President	Don Sattler [1] [2]
Area [3]
• Total	7.67 sq mi (19.87 km2)
• Land	7.66 sq mi (19.85 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)
Elevation	876 ft (267 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,049
• Density	658.88/sq mi (254.40/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)	61065
Area codes	815, 779
FIPS code	17-61145
Wikimedia Commons	Poplar Grove, Illinois
Website	Village of Poplar Grove
[4]

Poplar Grove (founded in 1859) is a village located in Poplar Grove and Belvidere Townships, Boone County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, and of the gated community Candlewick Lake. The population was 5,049 at the 2020 census.

History

Poplar Grove was named in 1845 for a grove of poplar trees near the original town site. ^[5] A post office called Poplar Grove has been in operation since 1848. ^[6]

January 2008 tornado

Main article: January 2008 tornado outbreak sequence

On January 7, 2008, on an unusually warm day which saw temperatures reach the mid 60s °F , a tornado struck northern Illinois, including Poplar Grove and Candlewick Lake. The tornado severely damaged a favorite local attraction, Edward's Apple Orchard. There was one serious injury reported and the damage was widespread. The tornado was later rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. A weather event this big had not occurred in the area since 1967. The tornado was one of the only eight rated EF3 during the time span of the warm weather, which lasted from January 7 to 10. Although there were no losses, it was still a very severe storm. The following month the cast of the TV show "Storm Chasers" visited Caledonia Elementary School to talk about tornadoes and the effects they have on communities. The students and the "Storm Chasers" were featured on a Rockford's "23 WIFR News" story on the January 2008 tornado.

April 2015 tornadoes

On April 9, 2015 the northern Illinois region was hit with another wave of tornadoes, with four in the surrounding areas of Rockford, Rochelle, and Belvidere. These tornadoes all broke the record for the last tornado to touch down in the area and destroyed the Summerfield Zoo in Belvidere, as well as killing some of the animals. The rest were all rescued by 200 volunteers the following day.^{[ citation needed ]}

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Poplar Grove has a total area of 7.67 square miles (19.87 km²), of which 7.66 square miles (19.84 km²) (or 99.88%) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km²) (or 0.12%) is water. ^[7]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	163		—
1890	232		42.3%
1900	323		39.2%
1910	297		−8.0%
1920	316		6.4%
1930	349		10.4%
1940	353		1.1%
1950	417		18.1%
1960	460		10.3%
1970	607		32.0%
1980	818		34.8%
1990	743		−9.2%
2000	1,368		84.1%
2010	5,023		267.2%
2020	5,049		0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census [8]

As of the 2020 census ^[9] there were 5,049 people, 1,501 households, and 1,310 families residing in the village. The population density was 658.11 inhabitants per square mile (254.10/km²). There were 1,787 housing units at an average density of 232.92 per square mile (89.93/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 80.23% White, 2.16% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 5.88% from other races, and 10.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.31% of the population.

There were 1,501 households, out of which 58.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 81.55% were married couples living together, 3.26% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.72% were non-families. 11.73% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.07% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.26 and the average family size was 3.00.

The village's age distribution consisted of 32.4% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $74,896, and the median income for a family was $79,115. Males had a median income of $65,208 versus $33,750 for females. The per capita income for the village was $38,756. About 5.3% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 0.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Rob Sherman (c. 1953 – December 9, 2016), atheist activist, perennial candidate, and businessman who lived in Poplar Grove for a few months before his death.

See also

• Illinois portal

• Poplar Grove Airport

References

1. Bliss, Julie A. (2021). Boone county Illinois year book two thousand twenty one (PDF). Belvidere, Illinois.
2. "Village Board of Trustees".
3. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
4. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Village of Poplar Grove, Illinois
5. Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 114.
6. "Boone County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
7. Bureau, US Census. "Gazetteer Files". Census.gov. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
9. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved June 28, 2022.

External links

• Official website