Gibson City
City
Nickname: The BIG LITTLE CITY of Ford County, Illinois.
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Ford
Coordinates	40°27′56″N 88°22′29″W / 40.46556, -88.37472
Area	2.1 sq mi (5 km²)
- land	2.1 sq mi (5 km²)
- water	0.04 sq mi (0 km²)
Population	3,373 (2000)
Density	1,604.0 /sq mi (619 /km²)
Mayor	Daniel E. Dickey
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	60936
Area code	217
Location of Gibson City within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Gibson City, Illinois
Website: http://gibsoncityillinois.com

Gibson City is a city in Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,373 at the 2000 census.

History

The site of Gibson City was purchased and platted by Jonathan B. Lott in 1869. In 1870, Lott built a home and a post office there, and several stores and an a grain elevator were constructed. Both the Gilman, Clinton, and Springfield Railroad and the Chicago and Paducah Railroad reached the town in 1871, allowing its population to grow. Gibson City was incorporated as a village in 1872. A third railroad, the Lafayette and Bloomington Railroad, was built through Gibson City in 1874. ^[1][2] In the same year, one of the railroads signed a contract that paid Augustana College, located in Paxton at the time, a commission of $1 per acre on all railroad land sold to Swedish settlers.

In 1883, a fire in the town caused $50,000 ($1,000,000 in 2007 dollars) in property damage.^[1]

Geography

Gibson City is located at 40°27′56″N, 88°22′29″W (40.465653, -88.374711)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²), of which, 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.94%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 3,373 people, 1,469 households, and 928 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,604.0 people per square mile (620.2/km²). There were 1,565 housing units at an average density of 744.2/sq mi (287.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.13% White, 0.59% African American, 0.53% Asian, 0.03% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.

There were 1,469 households out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,638, and the median income for a family was $41,047. Males had a median income of $33,938 versus $20,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,926. About 8.9% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.iltrails.org/ford/1945citydir.html 1947 Gibson City Directory.
2. ^ https://www.davidrumsey.com/maps3731.html Map of Ford County and Paxton, 1876.
3. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
4. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

External links

• Gibson City Website

• Gibson City, Illinois is at coordinates 40°27′56″N 88°22′29″W / 40.465653, -88.374711
• WGCY 106.3 FM, Gibson City's local radio station featuring easy listening music and local information

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