Gilman, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Gilman is a city in Douglas Township
, Iroquois County
, Illinois
, United States
. The population was 1,793 at the 2000 census, and 1,677 in 2009.
, U.S. Route 24
, and U.S. Route 45
. As a result it has been named "The City of the Crossroads". Amtrak
, the national passenger rail service, provides service at the Gilman Amtrak station
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 2.13 square miles (5.5 km²), of which 0.02 square mile (0.0517997622 km²) (or 0.94%) is water.
, the son of a lawyer. Chamberlain had served in the New York Legislature and had moved to Iroquois County in 1853. He was elected judge, was active in county politics, and lived in Watseka, Illinois. Chamberlain took as a partner Joseph Thomas ( ? -1858) from nearby Onarga
. The town of Gilman was founded at the point where the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad would soon cross the Illinois Central Railroad
. The Peoria and Oquawka became the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway
. In return for establishing a station at Gilman Octave Chanute
, the Chief Engineer of the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad, asked for and was given one half of all the lots in the original town of Gilman. This was standard practice for the railroad and was done at El Paso
, Fairbury
and probably other new towns established along the route of the railroad. Town founders were aware that the lots were not personally for Chanute, but for the railroad company; Today Octave Chanute
is best known for his publications on aviation and for his assistance to the Wright brothers
. Chanute was involved in the foundation of many towns along the railroad, usually in association with local individuals. Railroad companies in Illinois were forbidden to found towns themselves. Iroquois Democrats had wanted to name the town Douglas, after the Illinois senator, but Cruger Secor and Company had been given the right to name the town and they decided to honor Samuel Gilman, a director of that company.
, Fairbury
, Gridley
and Watseka
(platted as South Middleport). The Gilman plat was exceptionally large with 73 blocks, most having sixteen lots. Unlike most towns of the era, Gilman never developed a single commercial focus. This was evident early in its history when Beckwith remarked, "The town is the most diffusely settled, probably, of any of like population in the state. It would be very difficult to tell which is the center of the town."
through Iroquois County, initially known as the Egyptian Train, evolved into Interstate 57 in the 1970s. In the last decade, a second water tower was built along interstate 57 on the western side of Gilman.
of 2000, there were 1,793 people, 739 households, and 472 families residing in the city. The population density
was 848.0 people per square mile (328.1/km²). There were 816 housing units at an average density of 385.9 per square mile (149.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.08% White, 0.22% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 5.30% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.04% of the population.
There were 739 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples
living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,450, and the median income for a family was $46,016. Males had a median income of $32,188 versus $18,875 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $17,396. 9.9% of the population and 7.3% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 12.7% are under the age of 18 and 8.5% are 65 or older.
Douglas Township, Iroquois County, Illinois
Douglas Township is one of twenty-six townships in Iroquois County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,098. Douglas Township was formed from a portion of Onarga Township in May 1858.-Geography:...
, Iroquois County
Iroquois County, Illinois
Iroquois County is a county located in the northeast part of the U.S. state of Illinois along the border with Indiana. It is the third largest county in the state in terms of area, covering over . According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 29,718, which is a decrease of 5.2% from 31,334...
, Illinois
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 1,793 at the 2000 census, and 1,677 in 2009.
Geography
Gilman is located in the western part of the county at the intersection of three major highways: Interstate 57Interstate 57
Interstate 57 is an Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central rail line for much of its route. It goes from Miner, Missouri, at Interstate 55 to Chicago, Illinois, at Interstate 94. I-57 essentially serves as a shortcut route for travelers headed between...
, U.S. Route 24
U.S. Route 24
U.S. Route 24 is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is west of Clarkston, Michigan, at an intersection with I-75 and its western terminus is near...
, and U.S. Route 45
U.S. Route 45
U.S. Route 45 is a north–south United States highway. US 45 is a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as ....
. As a result it has been named "The City of the Crossroads". Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, the national passenger rail service, provides service at the Gilman Amtrak station
Gilman (Amtrak station)
The Gilman Amtrak station is a train station in Gilman, Illinois served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. The stop is on their Chicago to Carbondale, Illinois route....
.
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 2.13 square miles (5.5 km²), of which 0.02 square mile (0.0517997622 km²) (or 0.94%) is water.
Founding of Gilman
Gilman Illinois was laid out in the fall of 1857 on land belonging to E.D. Hundley, Judge John Chamberlain (24 October 1803 – 16 December 1866), and three Methodist ministers: Walter C. Palmer, Joseph Hartwell, and John Dempster. Hundley, who was from Virginia, left Illinois for the South at the outbreak of the Civil War. The three ministers, who had been given their land by Mr. Cassady of Danville, played no further role in the development of the town. Judge Chamberlain was the man most responsible for the early growth of Gilman. He was born in Charleston, New HampshireNew Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, the son of a lawyer. Chamberlain had served in the New York Legislature and had moved to Iroquois County in 1853. He was elected judge, was active in county politics, and lived in Watseka, Illinois. Chamberlain took as a partner Joseph Thomas ( ? -1858) from nearby Onarga
Onarga, Illinois
Onarga is a village in Onarga Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,438 at the 2000 census, and 1,350 in 2009.-Geography:...
. The town of Gilman was founded at the point where the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad would soon cross the Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
. The Peoria and Oquawka became the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway
Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway
The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway is a short-line railroad that operates of track from Mapleton, Illinois, through Peoria across Illinois to Logansport, Indiana, and includes a branch line between Logansport to Winamac, Indiana...
. In return for establishing a station at Gilman Octave Chanute
Octave Chanute
Octave Chanute was a French-born American railway engineer and aviation pioneer. He provided the Wright brothers with help and advice, and helped to publicize their flying experiments. At his death he was hailed as the father of aviation and the heavier-than-air flying machine...
, the Chief Engineer of the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad, asked for and was given one half of all the lots in the original town of Gilman. This was standard practice for the railroad and was done at El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
, Fairbury
Fairbury, Illinois
Fairbury is a city in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,968 at the 2000 census.-We Hear You America:In November 2010, the fundraising committee for Dominy Memorial Library began encouraging Fairbury citizens to visit the Reader's Digest web site and "Cheer" for the...
and probably other new towns established along the route of the railroad. Town founders were aware that the lots were not personally for Chanute, but for the railroad company; Today Octave Chanute
Octave Chanute
Octave Chanute was a French-born American railway engineer and aviation pioneer. He provided the Wright brothers with help and advice, and helped to publicize their flying experiments. At his death he was hailed as the father of aviation and the heavier-than-air flying machine...
is best known for his publications on aviation and for his assistance to the Wright brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
. Chanute was involved in the foundation of many towns along the railroad, usually in association with local individuals. Railroad companies in Illinois were forbidden to found towns themselves. Iroquois Democrats had wanted to name the town Douglas, after the Illinois senator, but Cruger Secor and Company had been given the right to name the town and they decided to honor Samuel Gilman, a director of that company.
Original Design of Gilman
The design of Gilman in general followed the standard plan used by the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad. This was based on a Depot Ground, a wider area of railroad owned land where the tracks pass through a town. In the original town of Gilman, east-west streets were given numbers, 6th to 2nd with Front Street where 1st Street would have been expected. The east-west streets, often given standard tree names in other Peoria and Oquawka towns, were here assigned distinctive local names including Chamberlain, Thomas and Douglas. Except for a slight bend in Central and Chamberlain Streets, the plan is generally similar to that of ChatsworthChatsworth, Illinois
Chatsworth is an incorporated town in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,265 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Chatsworth is located at ....
, Fairbury
Fairbury, Illinois
Fairbury is a city in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,968 at the 2000 census.-We Hear You America:In November 2010, the fundraising committee for Dominy Memorial Library began encouraging Fairbury citizens to visit the Reader's Digest web site and "Cheer" for the...
, Gridley
Gridley, Illinois
Gridley is a village in McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,432 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area....
and Watseka
Watseka
Watseka or Watchekee was a Potawatomi Native American woman, born in Illinois, and named for the heroine of a Potawatomi legend. Her uncle was Tamin, the chief of the Kankakee Potawatomi Indians....
(platted as South Middleport). The Gilman plat was exceptionally large with 73 blocks, most having sixteen lots. Unlike most towns of the era, Gilman never developed a single commercial focus. This was evident early in its history when Beckwith remarked, "The town is the most diffusely settled, probably, of any of like population in the state. It would be very difficult to tell which is the center of the town."
Early Gilman
The first new inhabitant of the area was W. P. Gardner from Pennsylvania, who at first lived in a shanty maintained by the railroad for its workers. When the survey of Gilman was done in September 1857, Gardner built the first house in Gilman. That same fall James Wright built a house in Gilman. This was soon followed by a much more expensive structure, a three story hotel costing $4,000 with a third-floor assembly area. The first recorded event in Gilman's history was a ball held on 22 February 1858 at the hotel to celebrate George Washington’s birthday. Some of the less respectable young men of the neighborhood objected to the ladies being inside the hotel while they were left out on the frigid street. They began calling for the ladies to come outside and join them. One of those invited guests was the builder of the hotel, a man named Lawrence. Wise in the ways of frontier towns, Lawrence had taken the precaution of bringing a stout stick to the dance. Rushing downstairs he burst out the door swinging his shillelagh and quickly dispersing the rowdies. The ball went on. D. Harwood was the first merchant to open a store in Gilman which maintained a full stock of goods. The first train through Gilman arrived on 21 September 1857 and was to take local people to the State Fair in Peoria. It was three hours late, but its arrival did signal the start of a period of rapid growth for the new town. The Illinois Central did not begin to run trains until 1858. In 1860 the first school was built; by 1865 the town had thirty-one buildings. Gilman was officially organized as a town in 1867.Continued Growth
By the late 1860s Gilman had two railroads. The eastern branch of the Illinois Central linked St. Louis and Chicago, while the Toledo Peoria and Western, ran east and west across the state, from the Mississippi River to Indiana. Gilman prospered as the place where people and goods were transferred from one railroad to the other. In 1870 newspaper, the Gilman Star, began publication. The 1870 Federal Census found Gilman had 761 people. In September 1871, a third railroad, originally called the Gilman Springfield and Clinton, opened for business. It was largely funded by local bonds and never enjoyed the success of the earlier railroads. On 5 July 1883 a severe fire damaged much of the town. An electric power plant was built in 1898. Unlike many local towns, Gilman continued to grow in the twentieth century. In 1920 there were 1,443 people. In 1923 and 1924 the state of Illinois began building a new "hard road" paralleling the Toledo Peoria and Western Railroad, which was at first called the Corn Belt Trail, but soon became U.S. Route 24. A second new road, paralleling the Illinois Central RailroadIllinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
through Iroquois County, initially known as the Egyptian Train, evolved into Interstate 57 in the 1970s. In the last decade, a second water tower was built along interstate 57 on the western side of Gilman.
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 1,793 people, 739 households, and 472 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 848.0 people per square mile (328.1/km²). There were 816 housing units at an average density of 385.9 per square mile (149.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.08% White, 0.22% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 5.30% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.04% of the population.
There were 739 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% 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, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,450, and the median income for a family was $46,016. Males had a median income of $32,188 versus $18,875 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 $17,396. 9.9% of the population and 7.3% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 12.7% are under the age of 18 and 8.5% are 65 or older.