Dixon, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois
, United States
. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 at the 2000 census. Named for its founder, John Dixon (Dixon's Ferry
), it is the county seat
of Lee County. Located on the Rock River
, Dixon was the boyhood home of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan
.
Dixon is also the site of the Lincoln Monument State Memorial
, marking the spot where Abraham Lincoln
joined the Illinois militia at Fort Dixon
in 1832 during the Black Hawk War
. The memorial is located on the west side of Dixon's main north-south street, Galena Avenue, (U.S. Highway 52 also U.S. 26), just north of the Rock River.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.6 km²), of which 6.3 square miles (16.3 km²) are land and 0.4 square miles (1 km²) (6.22%) is water.
as well.
Located on the Rock River
, Dixon was the boyhood home of the 40th president
of the USA
, Ronald Reagan
. In his teen years, Reagan lifeguarded along the banks of the Rock River. His family house is preserved at 816 South Hennepin Avenue, and authorized by Congress to become Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site
. (Reagan was born in nearby Tampico, Illinois
and moved to Dixon when he was 9 years old.)
The Petunia Festival was conceived after Dutch Elm Disease and highway expansion wiped out the trees along the major roads in the late 1950s. In response to the dramatic change the streetscape underwent, the Dixon Mens Garden Club first planting petunias along Galena Avenue to regain some sort of streetscape identity once again in the early 1960s. Before the festival, volunteers plant thousands of pink petunias all along the main streets. The flowers are watered and maintained by the combined efforts of city workers and volunteers.
The city has an arch along Galena Ave., just south of the Rock River, that has the word "Dixon" in neon glasswork. Though commonly referred to as the Dixon Arch, the proper name for the structure is the War Memorial Arch.
of 2000, there were 15,941 people, 5,681 households, and 3,488 families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,519.8 people per square mile (972.3/km²). There were 6,138 housing units at an average density of 970.3 per square mile (374.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.33% White, 10.48% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.10% from other races
, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.30% of the population.
There were 5,681 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples
living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 110.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,720, and the median income for a family was $45,088. Males had a median income of $32,511 versus $21,777 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $16,630. About 5.7% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 at the 2000 census. Named for its founder, John Dixon (Dixon's Ferry
Dixon's Ferry
Dixon's Ferry was the former name for Dixon, Illinois, United States. It was located on the bank of the Rock River near present day Illinois Route 26, John Dixon operated a rope ferry service to transport mail from Peoria to Galena. He also established the first post office. The surrounding...
), it is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Lee County. Located on the Rock River
Rock River (Illinois)
The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois. It rises in southeast Wisconsin, in the Theresa Marsh near Theresa, Wisconsin in northeast Dodge County, Wisconsin approximately south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin...
, Dixon was the boyhood home of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
.
Dixon is also the site of the Lincoln Monument State Memorial
Lincoln Monument
The Lincoln Monument is a bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln that commemorates his 1832 service in the Black Hawk War. Located in President's Park in Dixon, Illinois, the bronze statue was sculpted by Leonard Crunelle and was dedicated on September 24, 1930...
, marking the spot where Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
joined the Illinois militia at Fort Dixon
Fort Dixon
Fort Dixon, located along the banks of the Rock River in present day Dixon, Illinois, served as a military base during the Black Hawk War.-History:...
in 1832 during the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
. The memorial is located on the west side of Dixon's main north-south street, Galena Avenue, (U.S. Highway 52 also U.S. 26), just north of the Rock River.
Geography
Dixon is located at 41°50′46"N 89°29′6"W (41.846130, -89.485115).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.6 km²), of which 6.3 square miles (16.3 km²) are land and 0.4 square miles (1 km²) (6.22%) is water.
History
Around 1828, Joseph Ogee, a man of mixed French and Native American descent, established a ferry and a cabin along the banks of the Rock River. In 1829, an employee of Ogee was named postmaster at the newly constructed post office. John Dixon, the eponymous founder, bought Ogee's Ferry in the spring of 1830. Father Dixon brought his family to his new establishment on April 11 of the same year. Shortly after, the name of the post office was changed to Dixon's FerryDixon's Ferry
Dixon's Ferry was the former name for Dixon, Illinois, United States. It was located on the bank of the Rock River near present day Illinois Route 26, John Dixon operated a rope ferry service to transport mail from Peoria to Galena. He also established the first post office. The surrounding...
as well.
Located on the Rock River
Rock River (Illinois)
The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois. It rises in southeast Wisconsin, in the Theresa Marsh near Theresa, Wisconsin in northeast Dodge County, Wisconsin approximately south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin...
, Dixon was the boyhood home of the 40th president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. In his teen years, Reagan lifeguarded along the banks of the Rock River. His family house is preserved at 816 South Hennepin Avenue, and authorized by Congress to become Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site
Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site
The Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home is the house located at 816 South Hennepin Street, Dixon, Illinois, in which the late former President of the United States Ronald Reagan lived as a youth beginning in 1920...
. (Reagan was born in nearby Tampico, Illinois
Tampico, Illinois
Tampico is a village located in Tampico Township, Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census the village had a total population of 790, up from 772 at the 2000 census. U.S. President Ronald Reagan was born there and lived there for two brief periods of his...
and moved to Dixon when he was 9 years old.)
Tourism
Every summer Dixon holds the annual Petunia Festival, featuring a parade, carnival (Farrow shows), country concert, fireworks show, and a 5k (approximately 3.1 miles) race—the Reagan Run. The parade features a multitude of floats from surrounding businesses, politicians, and other area groups. A carnival is also held in Dixon during this time, and the festival ends with the Fourth of July fireworks.The Petunia Festival was conceived after Dutch Elm Disease and highway expansion wiped out the trees along the major roads in the late 1950s. In response to the dramatic change the streetscape underwent, the Dixon Mens Garden Club first planting petunias along Galena Avenue to regain some sort of streetscape identity once again in the early 1960s. Before the festival, volunteers plant thousands of pink petunias all along the main streets. The flowers are watered and maintained by the combined efforts of city workers and volunteers.
The city has an arch along Galena Ave., just south of the Rock River, that has the word "Dixon" in neon glasswork. Though commonly referred to as the Dixon Arch, the proper name for the structure is the War Memorial Arch.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 15,941 people, 5,681 households, and 3,488 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,519.8 people per square mile (972.3/km²). There were 6,138 housing units at an average density of 970.3 per square mile (374.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.33% White, 10.48% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.10% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.30% of the population.
There were 5,681 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 110.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,720, and the median income for a family was $45,088. Males had a median income of $32,511 versus $21,777 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $16,630. About 5.7% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.
See also
- Dixon High SchoolDixon High School (Illinois)Dixon High School is a high school located on Lincoln Statue Drive and Peoria Avenue on the northern side of Dixon, Illinois. In 1918 the north and south districts were consolidated into one district and it was decided that a new, larger high school was needed...
- Illinois Central Stone Arch Railroad BridgesIllinois Central Stone Arch Railroad BridgesThe Illinois Central Stone Arch Railroad Bridges are a trio of limestone railroad bridges in the city of Dixon, Illinois, United States. The bridges were constructed between 1852 and 1855 as the Illinois Central Railroad laid its first rail lines across the state of Illinois. They were designed by...
- Nachusa HouseNachusa HouseThe Nachusa House is a former hotel building in Dixon, Illinois, United States along Galena Avenue . The building was constructed in 1853 and operated continuously as a hotel until 1988. It underwent many alterations during the time it operated as a hotel...
- Ronald Reagan TrailRonald Reagan TrailThe Ronald Reagan Trail is a collection of highways in central Illinois that connect villages and cities that were of importance to former United States President Ronald Reagan...
- William H. Van Epps HouseWilliam H. Van Epps HouseThe William H. Van Epps House is a historic house in Dixon, Illinois. It is an example of Italianate architecture. and was constructed around 1855. The Van Epps House was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1982.-History:...