Gridley, Illinois
Encyclopedia
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.
Gridley is located on U.S. Route 24
about 7 miles (11.3 km) east of El Paso
. It is also about that distance west of Chenoa
. Gridley is about halfway between Interstate 39
and Interstate 55
. The village of Gridley was founded in 1869 and named after General Asahel Gridley (or Ashael Gridley), a noted early Republican
, land investor, political backer and client of Abraham Lincoln
, and a descendant of a Colonel Gridley who served at the Battle of Lexington.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the village has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 1,411 people, 550 households, and 387 families residing in the village. The population density
was 1,215.6 people per square mile (469.6/km²). There were 569 housing units at an average density of 490.2 per square mile (189.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.73% White, 0.28% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races
, and 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.71% of the population.
There were 550 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% were married couples
living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the village the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $46,458, and the median income for a family was $51,908. Males had a median income of $36,818 versus $25,625 for females. The per capita income
for the village was $19,752. About 5.9% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.
, it was decided to name named the town for Bloomington
banker, lawyer, and land developer Asahel Gridley (1810–1881). Both Carlisle and Thomas were working for Gridley at the time the town was founded and two years after the town was laid out Gridley purchased all of Gridley. Along with many other towns in central Illinois, the town was established when Peoria and Oquawka Railroad crossed the state from west to east. The railroad soon became the Toledo Peoria and Western.
and hauled them to town where they were planted in public square. In 1884 Fred Donner established a tile factory. It was first incorporated as a town under a special charter. Gridley, Illinois: A sesquicentennial Celebration. By 1900 the town had a population of 735.
for help, but before it could arrive the blaze had subsided. Damage was estimated at $100,000, a severe blow for a small town. Rebuilding quickly began.
McLean County, Illinois
McLean County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. McLean County is included in the Bloomington–Normal, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 169,572, which is an increase of 12.7% from 150,433 in 2000. Its county seat is...
, 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 1,432 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomington
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
–Normal
Normal, Illinois
Normal is an incorporated town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. It had a population of 52,497 as of the 2010 census. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Gridley is located on 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...
about 7 miles (11.3 km) east of El Paso
El Paso, Illinois
El Paso is a city in Woodford and McLean Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 2,695 at the 2000 census, and 2,870 in 2009...
. It is also about that distance west of Chenoa
Chenoa, Illinois
Chenoa is a city in McLean County, Illinois, USA. The population was 1,785 at the 2010 census. Located at the intersections of Interstate 55, Historic Route 66, and U.S. Route 24.Founded in 1854 by Mathew T. Scott, Chenoa was created to provide a retail and trade center for his farm tenants as well...
. Gridley is about halfway between Interstate 39
Interstate 39
Interstate 39 is a highway in the midwestern United States. I-39 runs from Normal, Illinois at Interstate 55 to Highway 29 in Rothschild, Wisconsin, approximately six miles south of Wausau. I-39 was designed to replace US Highway 51, which in the early 1980s was one of the busiest two-lane...
and Interstate 55
Interstate 55
Interstate 55 is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Its odd number indicates that it is a north–south Interstate Highway. I-55 goes from LaPlace, Louisiana at Interstate 10 to Chicago at U.S. Route 41 , at McCormick Place. A common nickname for the highway is "double...
. The village of Gridley was founded in 1869 and named after General Asahel Gridley (or Ashael Gridley), a noted early Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, land investor, political backer and client of 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...
, and a descendant of a Colonel Gridley who served at the Battle of Lexington.
Geography
Gridley is located at 40°44′34"N 88°52′50"W (40.742748, -88.880428).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 village has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²), all of it land.
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 1,411 people, 550 households, and 387 families residing in the village. 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 1,215.6 people per square mile (469.6/km²). There were 569 housing units at an average density of 490.2 per square mile (189.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.73% White, 0.28% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.14% 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 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.71% of the population.
There were 550 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% 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, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the village the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $46,458, and the median income for a family was $51,908. Males had a median income of $36,818 versus $25,625 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 village was $19,752. About 5.9% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.
Founding
Gridley was laid out on 25 November 1856 by Thomas Carlyle (c. 1832 - ?) and George Washington Kent (1820–1901). After considering the names Kent, Carlyle, and Gardner, for the governor of MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, it was decided to name named the town for Bloomington
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
banker, lawyer, and land developer Asahel Gridley (1810–1881). Both Carlisle and Thomas were working for Gridley at the time the town was founded and two years after the town was laid out Gridley purchased all of Gridley. Along with many other towns in central Illinois, the town was established when Peoria and Oquawka Railroad crossed the state from west to east. The railroad soon became the Toledo Peoria and Western.
Original design and the "Depot Grounds"
At first glance the Original Town of Gridley looks like many towns laid out along new railroads built in central Illinois in the 1850s. In addition to the 100 feet (30.5 m) strip granted to the railroad, there were long narrow rectangles on both the north and south sides of the tracks. In most cases these areas, usually labeled “Depot Grounds,” have evolved into parks or been put to other public uses. At Gridley, half of the northern Depot Ground was dedicated as a long narrow “Public Square.” The remaining “Depot Grounds" would soon cause problems for the town. The remainder of the town was a fairly conventional grid of north-south and east-west streets. There were thirty-three blocks, most containing ten or sixteen lots. The town grew quite rapidly. Gridley then surprised everyone by announcing that he was re-platting the entire town and subdividing the land near the railroad. He argued that although the plat did say “depot grounds” he had never actually dedicated the land to the railroad or to public use. By that time the railroad and private individuals had built on the railroad grounds and the people of Gridley had used them as a location for the town jail. Gridley asked the courts to eject other people from of his land. The case known as Gridley v. Hopkins eventually worked its way up to the Illinois Supreme Court, which sustained Gridley but ultimately left the others with their buildings. It became an important legal precedent and left a long legacy of local bitterness toward Gridley.Early development
The early growth of Gridley was rapid. On 28 February 1857 the first train arrived in Gridley. A small depot building was erected on the north side of the tracks. J.M. Mitchell built the first store on the corner just north of the depot. A small house and blacksmith shop was built south of the railroad. Charles Cochrane George Washington Kent, the town’s co-founder moved to Gridley. There was a brief setback in 1858 when a tornado swept through the down damaging Cochrane’s and Kent’s house and twisting the newly laid rails, but growth quickly resumed. Kent built the first grain elevator. History of McLean 1879, pp 558–560. He then enlisted in the Union army serving first as sergeant and then lieutenant. Upon his return he guided the town through additional growth; among other things he dug up trees along the Mackinaw RiverMackinaw River
The Mackinaw River, also called Mackinac River, is a river in the U.S. state of Illinois. It flows through what was once the Grande Prairie region of central Illinois...
and hauled them to town where they were planted in public square. In 1884 Fred Donner established a tile factory. It was first incorporated as a town under a special charter. Gridley, Illinois: A sesquicentennial Celebration. By 1900 the town had a population of 735.
Fire of 1901
On Friday 3 May 1901 a fire destroyed most of downtown Gridley. The afternoon of Friday 3 July had been hot and windy. At 3:40 in the afternoon smoke was seen rising from the alley behind Cohn’s store. There had been a serious fire in July 1891, and the town seemed well prepared with several cisterns and a dedicated force of volunteer fire fighters. Soon stores along both sides of Center Street were engulfed in flame. Water was pumped from several cisterns and then hoses were run to the flooded pit of the tile factory. All of the able bodied people in town, and many from the surrounding countryside, joined in the fire fighting effort. The state bank and many other structures burned to the ground. Message was telegraphed to PeoriaPeoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
for help, but before it could arrive the blaze had subsided. Damage was estimated at $100,000, a severe blow for a small town. Rebuilding quickly began.
Later history
Until the third decade of the Twentieth Century Gridley had been a railroad town; in the early 1920s six passenger trains in both directions served the town. Then, in June 1924, the newly paved Route 8, today US-24, was opened. The hard road quickly destroyed rail passenger traffic. In 1925 it was announced that the depot would be closed on Sundays. In 1929 all passenger traffic ended. One of the more tragic episodes in Gridley’s history took place on 3 September 1946. Striking railway workers had attempted to shut down the Toledo Peoria and Western Railroad. In response the railroad loaded a train with fourteen workers and four armed guards who were tasked with keeping the tracks open. Striking workers followed the train in automobiles, driving along U.S. Route 24, which paralleled the tracks. Whenever the train slowed it was pelted with rocks. At Gridley the train stopped and a gun battle erupted, when it was over two workers were dead and three wounded. A jury later found the guards innocent because had been acting in self defense. However, for the most part Gridley was peaceful, with a flourishing civic life. The Fourth of July was celebrated with races. There were Saturday night band concerts in the park, which by the 1940s had given way to free movies. Many recreational improvements were made. For example, in 1937 the old clay pits from the tile factory were bought by the town for use as a skating rink. and in 2001 the telephone museum opened.External links
- Telephone Museum of Gridley — A museum in central Gridley dedicated to the early history of telecommunication in rural Illinois.