Potomac, Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Potomac | |
| Village | |
 Welcome signs in Potomac
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Illinois |
| County | Vermilion |
| Township | Middlefork |
| Elevation | 669 ft (204 m) |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 0.5 sq mi (1 km²) |
| Population | 681 (2000) |
| Density | 572.9 /sq mi (221 /km²) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 61865 |
| Area code | 217 |
  Location of Potomac within Illinois
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 Location of Illinois within the United States
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Potomac is a village in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the 'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 681 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] History
The town was originally named Marysville after the wives of the two founders, John Smith (a grocer) and Isaac Meneley (a blacksmith), who started businesses here in 1840. However, the Post Office found that mail was getting confused with mail for Myersville, ten miles to the east, and the name was changed to Potomac (although residents resented this and didn't accept the change for decades).
Potomac was known for its Artesian wells. One of these wells spouted an 8-inch stream of water 32 feet into the air until the 1930s. Another was on the west edge of town in an area where Fourth of July celebrations were held.[1] In a park on the southwest side of town, the water still flows from pipes set in the ground.
[edit] Geography
Potomac is located at (40.306351, -87.799987)[2], about 18 miles northwest of the county seat of Danville. U.S. Route 136 passes east-west through town. The Middle Fork of the Vermilion River passes just south of the town.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.2 km²), all of it land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 681 people, 252 households, and 191 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,408.5 people per square mile (547.8/km²). There were 277 housing units at an average density of 572.9/sq mi (222.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.21% White, 0.29% Native American, 0.29% Pacific Islander, 1.62% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.20% of the population.
There were 252 households out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.2% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the village the population was spread out with 28.8% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $40,221, and the median income for a family was $44,583. Males had a median income of $32,031 versus $21,417 for females. The per capita income for the village was $15,197. About 4.8% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 15.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] References
- ^ Stapp, Katherine; W. I. Bowman (1968). History Under Our Feet: The Story of Vermilion County, Illinois. Danville, Illinois: Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc., p. 40.
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
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