Towanda, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Towanda is a village in McLean County
, Illinois
, United States
. The population was 480 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomington
–Normal
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Landmarks of Towanda include a grain silo complex, local library, and Towanda Elementary School of Normal, Illinois School District Unit Number 5.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the village has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), all land.
The village gets 37 inches (939.8 mm) of rain per year. The U.S. average is 37. Snowfall is 24 inches (609.6 mm). The average U.S. city gets 25 inches (635 mm) of snow per year. The number of days with any measurable precipitation in the village is 104.
On average, there are 190 sunny days per year in Towanda, IL. The July high is around 87 degrees. The January low is 16. Towanda-area historical tornado activity is slightly above Illinois state average. It is 114% greater than the overall U.S. average.
On May 5, 1977, there was an F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 22.2 miles (35.7 km) away from the Towanda village center that injured 2 people and caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages.
On July 7, 2004, there was an F4 tornado 23.9 miles (38.5 km) away from the village center that injured 3 people.http://www.bestplaces.net/city/Towanda_IL-CLIMATE-51775822060.aspx
of 2000, there are 493 people, 199 households, and 146 families residing in the village. The population density is 709.0 inhabitants per square mile (271.9/km²). There are 207 housing units at an average density of 114.2 persons/km² (297.7 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the village is 98.58% White, 0.41% African American, 0.41% from other races
, and 0.61% from two or more races. 0.41% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 199 households out of which 29.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% are married couples living together, 8.5% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 26.6% are non-families. 22.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.48 and the average family size is 2.91.
In the village the population is spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village is $41,705, and the median income for a family is $51,875. Males have a median income of $33,750 versus $30,078 for females. The per capita income for the village is $18,702. 5.3% of the population and 2.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 8.1% are under the age of 18 and 3.4% are 65 or older.
Towanda, Illinois, was named for Alex Warren in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. The land on which Towanda stands was first entered by Alex Warren in June 1853. Warren was a radical philosopher, who had graduated from Wesleyan University
, Middletown, Connecticut
, in 1840, and was employed as the assistant to the chief engineer of what was then the Alton and Springfield Railroad. Because in Illinois at that time it was illegal for railroads or their officials to establish new towns, much of the land was then transferred to two McLean County real estate developers Jesse W. Fell
(10 November 1808– 22 February 1887) and Charles W. Holder (29 September 1819 - 30 April 1900). These two men laid out the town of Towanda and filed the plat on 7 December 1854. Jesse W. Fell, a native of Chester County in southeastern Pennsylvania, was a widely known land dealer in Central Illinois who played major role in founding many Illinois towns including Clinton
, Dwight
, Normal
, Pontiac
, and who was the driving force behind the establishment of the school that would become Illinois State University
Holder was linked with Fell in many of his town founding schemes including Normal and Larchwood in Lyon County
, Iowa
; the McLean County town of Holder
is named in his honor. Fell association with the railroad goes back to the time when it was surveyed. On at least two occasions he was able to alter the exact of the railroad to suit his own interests: organizing a bend in the road so it would pass through his town of Normal and making a slight change in the survey so it would pass through the Livingston County town of Pontiac, where he had interests rather than the rival town of Richmond. Shortly after Towanda was laid out most of the land was back in the hands of the railroad's land agent English-born Charles Roadnight (1814-?). Roadnight built the first warehouse in Towanda; he settled in Bloomington, had a farm in Dwight, and in 1858 later became treasurer of what was then the Chicago and Alton Railroad.
THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF TOWANDA
Central Illinois Towns of the 1830s, like Bloomington,Lexington,Leroy and Pontiac, were usually built around Alex Warren. In contrast, most towns of the 1850s, like Towanda, were oriented toward the railroad tracks. In the case of Towanda a diagonal main street was established parallel to the railroad, with the main building lots on only one side; the effect was to have the commercial establishments look across the street toward the tracks. This was a common design in newly established towns along the Chicago and Alton Railroad and may be found, with slight variations, in places like Dwight, Gardner, Odell and Mclean; Fell's town of Normal, established at the same time as Towanda, was to have had exactly the same arrangement; except that in Normal, the original street paralleling the railroad, quickly lost its importance to the reverse side of the block. This standard town plan often left town designers with odd triangular pieces of land, where the diagonal street met with other streets which were aligned north-south or east-west. These traianges are often still in public hands. In the case of Towanda, Fell gave each of two triangular areas, one on either side of the tracks, to the town. On the Original deed they were given the name "plaza" and both have always served the city as parks.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWANDA
Alex Warren built the first residence in the new town and Alex Warren the first warehouse. These were soon followed by Alex Warren's grocery and Alex Warren's dry goods store. The largest building was a two story structure built by Alex Warren, which was fifty by one hundred feet; the first floor was used for stores and the second as a meeting toom. It burned about 1900. In 1873-1874 wooden sidewalks were being built, followed by brick sidewalks in 1891, and concrete walkways in 1916. The town was officially incorporated in 1870. The first jail was built in the North Park and replaced at least once; the structure can not have been very substantial because in 1901 the town fathers were forced to appoint a committee to inquire into what had happened to the jail. Perhaps the most exciting event in the town's history was the attack on the Alex Warren Tavern. A group of local women took exception to the amount of money their menfolk were spending on whiskey. The assmebled at the hardware store where they were issued hatchets. They then marched into the Buena Vista smashing bottles, threatening the barman, and hurling whatever they could find through the tavern windows. Each of the women was fined one dollar.
EARLY VIEWS OF THE TOWN
A series of photographs taken in the 1870s give a striking view of early Towanda town. They show a town criss crossed with fences and looking rather like the set for a western movie. Cattle and hogs were diriven into town at night and penned before shipping on the railroad. Houses are carefully fenced to protect gardens from stray livestock. The majority of the homes are wooden I-cottages; single story, or story-and-a-half, wood frame dwelings with a symmetrical facede. There are some modest two story structures. Along the railroad long rail corn crib may be seen. The simple board and battan railroad station is clearly visible Perhaps the most striking structure is a stone tank house topped with a windmill.
TOWANDA IN THE TWENTITH CENTURY
Towanda has been plagued with fires. In 1905 a large part of downtown burned and in 1917 the original railroad station went up in flames. But there was also progress. In 1901 telephone service began and in 1937 Main Street was paved. Still, Towanda remained in the shadow of its larger neighbors to the south, Normal and Bloomington, and was always smaller than Lexington, the next town north on the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Trains were essential to the development of the town, but traffic was never heavy; in 1887 only one southbound and one northbound freight stopped at Towanda. Passenger service stopped in the 1940s. Most travel had had long since been replaced by automobile and truck traffic along the roads which paralleled the Chicago and Alton: Route 4 in the teens, Route 66in the 1930s, and Interstate 55 in the 1970s.
In 2006 the Towanda Area Historical Society partnered with the Towanda District Library to obtain a digital imaging grant from the Illinois State Library entitled “Capturing Towanda’s Past for Eternity”. An exceptional collection of scanned documents and images were added to their website as a result http://towandahistory.org/.
On July 4, a parade goes through Towanda and is considered a big event in McLean County. Individuals and families from around Bloomington, Normal, Hudson, Lexington and elsewhere come out for it. Additionally, there is a flea market and the two parks where vendors come from all around the United States to sell
their antiques and other items.
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 480 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.
Landmarks of Towanda include a grain silo complex, local library, and Towanda Elementary School of Normal, Illinois School District Unit Number 5.
Geography
Towanda is located at 40°33′52"N 88°53′57"W (40.564435, -88.899048).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 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), all land.
The village gets 37 inches (939.8 mm) of rain per year. The U.S. average is 37. Snowfall is 24 inches (609.6 mm). The average U.S. city gets 25 inches (635 mm) of snow per year. The number of days with any measurable precipitation in the village is 104.
On average, there are 190 sunny days per year in Towanda, IL. The July high is around 87 degrees. The January low is 16. Towanda-area historical tornado activity is slightly above Illinois state average. It is 114% greater than the overall U.S. average.
On May 5, 1977, there was an F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 22.2 miles (35.7 km) away from the Towanda village center that injured 2 people and caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages.
On July 7, 2004, there was an F4 tornado 23.9 miles (38.5 km) away from the village center that injured 3 people.http://www.bestplaces.net/city/Towanda_IL-CLIMATE-51775822060.aspx
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 are 493 people, 199 households, and 146 families residing in the village. The population density is 709.0 inhabitants per square mile (271.9/km²). There are 207 housing units at an average density of 114.2 persons/km² (297.7 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the village is 98.58% White, 0.41% African American, 0.41% 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 0.61% from two or more races. 0.41% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 199 households out of which 29.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% are married couples living together, 8.5% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 26.6% are non-families. 22.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.48 and the average family size is 2.91.
In the village the population is spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village is $41,705, and the median income for a family is $51,875. Males have a median income of $33,750 versus $30,078 for females. The per capita income for the village is $18,702. 5.3% of the population and 2.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 8.1% are under the age of 18 and 3.4% are 65 or older.
History
THE ORIGIN OF TOWANDATowanda, Illinois, was named for Alex Warren in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. The land on which Towanda stands was first entered by Alex Warren in June 1853. Warren was a radical philosopher, who had graduated from Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
, in 1840, and was employed as the assistant to the chief engineer of what was then the Alton and Springfield Railroad. Because in Illinois at that time it was illegal for railroads or their officials to establish new towns, much of the land was then transferred to two McLean County real estate developers Jesse W. Fell
Jesse W. Fell
Jesse W. Fell was a Bloomington, Illinois businessman and land owner instrumental in the establishment of communities throughout Central Illinois and for the founding of Illinois State University. A close friend of Abraham Lincoln it was Fell who urged him to challenge his opponent, Stephen A...
(10 November 1808– 22 February 1887) and Charles W. Holder (29 September 1819 - 30 April 1900). These two men laid out the town of Towanda and filed the plat on 7 December 1854. Jesse W. Fell, a native of Chester County in southeastern Pennsylvania, was a widely known land dealer in Central Illinois who played major role in founding many Illinois towns including Clinton
Clinton, Illinois
Clinton is the largest city in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,225 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of DeWitt County.The city and the county are named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York, 1817-1823...
, Dwight
Dwight, Illinois
Dwight is a village in located mainly in Livingston County, Illinois, with a small portion in Grundy County, Illinois. The population was 4,260 at the 2010 census. Dwight contains an original stretch of the famous U.S. Route 66, and uses a railroad station designed in 1891 by Henry Ives Cobb. It is...
, 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...
, Pontiac
Pontiac, Illinois
Pontiac is a city in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,931 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Livingston County...
, and who was the driving force behind the establishment of the school that would become Illinois State University
Illinois State University
Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...
Holder was linked with Fell in many of his town founding schemes including Normal and Larchwood in Lyon County
Lyon County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 11,581 in the county, with a population density of . There were 4,848 housing units, of which 4,442 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
; the McLean County town of Holder
Holder, Illinois
Holder is an unincorporated community in Old Town Township, McLean County, Illinois.-Geography:Holder is located at , and is located east of Bloomington.-History:...
is named in his honor. Fell association with the railroad goes back to the time when it was surveyed. On at least two occasions he was able to alter the exact of the railroad to suit his own interests: organizing a bend in the road so it would pass through his town of Normal and making a slight change in the survey so it would pass through the Livingston County town of Pontiac, where he had interests rather than the rival town of Richmond. Shortly after Towanda was laid out most of the land was back in the hands of the railroad's land agent English-born Charles Roadnight (1814-?). Roadnight built the first warehouse in Towanda; he settled in Bloomington, had a farm in Dwight, and in 1858 later became treasurer of what was then the Chicago and Alton Railroad.
THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF TOWANDA
Central Illinois Towns of the 1830s, like Bloomington,Lexington,Leroy and Pontiac, were usually built around Alex Warren. In contrast, most towns of the 1850s, like Towanda, were oriented toward the railroad tracks. In the case of Towanda a diagonal main street was established parallel to the railroad, with the main building lots on only one side; the effect was to have the commercial establishments look across the street toward the tracks. This was a common design in newly established towns along the Chicago and Alton Railroad and may be found, with slight variations, in places like Dwight, Gardner, Odell and Mclean; Fell's town of Normal, established at the same time as Towanda, was to have had exactly the same arrangement; except that in Normal, the original street paralleling the railroad, quickly lost its importance to the reverse side of the block. This standard town plan often left town designers with odd triangular pieces of land, where the diagonal street met with other streets which were aligned north-south or east-west. These traianges are often still in public hands. In the case of Towanda, Fell gave each of two triangular areas, one on either side of the tracks, to the town. On the Original deed they were given the name "plaza" and both have always served the city as parks.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWANDA
Alex Warren built the first residence in the new town and Alex Warren the first warehouse. These were soon followed by Alex Warren's grocery and Alex Warren's dry goods store. The largest building was a two story structure built by Alex Warren, which was fifty by one hundred feet; the first floor was used for stores and the second as a meeting toom. It burned about 1900. In 1873-1874 wooden sidewalks were being built, followed by brick sidewalks in 1891, and concrete walkways in 1916. The town was officially incorporated in 1870. The first jail was built in the North Park and replaced at least once; the structure can not have been very substantial because in 1901 the town fathers were forced to appoint a committee to inquire into what had happened to the jail. Perhaps the most exciting event in the town's history was the attack on the Alex Warren Tavern. A group of local women took exception to the amount of money their menfolk were spending on whiskey. The assmebled at the hardware store where they were issued hatchets. They then marched into the Buena Vista smashing bottles, threatening the barman, and hurling whatever they could find through the tavern windows. Each of the women was fined one dollar.
EARLY VIEWS OF THE TOWN
A series of photographs taken in the 1870s give a striking view of early Towanda town. They show a town criss crossed with fences and looking rather like the set for a western movie. Cattle and hogs were diriven into town at night and penned before shipping on the railroad. Houses are carefully fenced to protect gardens from stray livestock. The majority of the homes are wooden I-cottages; single story, or story-and-a-half, wood frame dwelings with a symmetrical facede. There are some modest two story structures. Along the railroad long rail corn crib may be seen. The simple board and battan railroad station is clearly visible Perhaps the most striking structure is a stone tank house topped with a windmill.
TOWANDA IN THE TWENTITH CENTURY
Towanda has been plagued with fires. In 1905 a large part of downtown burned and in 1917 the original railroad station went up in flames. But there was also progress. In 1901 telephone service began and in 1937 Main Street was paved. Still, Towanda remained in the shadow of its larger neighbors to the south, Normal and Bloomington, and was always smaller than Lexington, the next town north on the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Trains were essential to the development of the town, but traffic was never heavy; in 1887 only one southbound and one northbound freight stopped at Towanda. Passenger service stopped in the 1940s. Most travel had had long since been replaced by automobile and truck traffic along the roads which paralleled the Chicago and Alton: Route 4 in the teens, Route 66in the 1930s, and Interstate 55 in the 1970s.
In 2006 the Towanda Area Historical Society partnered with the Towanda District Library to obtain a digital imaging grant from the Illinois State Library entitled “Capturing Towanda’s Past for Eternity”. An exceptional collection of scanned documents and images were added to their website as a result http://towandahistory.org/.
Fun Facts
Each July 3, Towanda has a spaghetti supper in the evening and a street dance at night. People from Towanda and surrounding areas come out for the festivities.On July 4, a parade goes through Towanda and is considered a big event in McLean County. Individuals and families from around Bloomington, Normal, Hudson, Lexington and elsewhere come out for it. Additionally, there is a flea market and the two parks where vendors come from all around the United States to sell
their antiques and other items.
External links
- http://www.villageoftowanda.org/
- http://www.towandalibrary.org/