Olympia Fields
Village
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
Coordinates	41°31′6″N 87°41′34″W / 41.51833, -87.69278
Area	2.8 sq mi (7 km²)
- land	2.8 sq mi (7 km²)
Population	4,732 (2000)
Density	1,665.3 /sq mi (643 /km²)
Founded	1927
Government	village
Village president	Linzey D. Jones
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	60461
Area code	708
Location of Olympia Fields within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Olympia Fields, Illinois
Website: http://www.olympia-fields.com/

Olympia Fields is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,732 at the 2000 census. It is the location of the prestigious Olympia Fields Country Club, and is also noteworthy as one of the wealthiest majority black communities in the United States.

History

Investors in the 1910's sought land in what is now Olympia Fields for a golf course catering to Chicago's elite. Among these investors was Charles Beach, who envisioned a residential community to surround the golf course. The golf course and club was established in 1915. Its name, Olympia Fields Country Club, was selected by University of Chicago coach Alonzo Stagg.[1]

In 1927, the Olympia Fields residential community formally completed the process of incorporation as a village. Charles Beach was the village's first president.

Geography

Olympia Fields is located at 41°31′6″N, 87°41′34″W (41.518290, -87.692744)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.4 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 4,732 people, 1,696 households, and 1,380 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,665.3 people per square mile (643.3/km²). There were 1,915 housing units at an average density of 673.9/sq mi (260.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 42.65% White, 52.11% African American, 0.04% Native American, 3.38% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.57% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.82% of the population.

There were 1,696 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.8% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.6% were non-families. 15.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the village the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 19.5% from 25 to 44, 32.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $94,827, and the median income for a family was $100,121. Males had a median income of $62,170 versus $46,435 for females. The per capita income for the village was $46,698. About 3.1% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Olympia Fields is in Illinois' 2nd congressional district.

Misc

There is a Metra rail station in the village which offers commuters frequent scheduled round-trip transportation to Chicago on the Metra Electric Main Line.

On March 26, 2003, Olympia Fields and neighboring Park Forest were hit by a large meteorite shower, "the first time that a meteorite shower has hit such a populated area," according to Field Museum curator Meenakshi Wadhwa.^[3] The museum spent about $30,000 to acquire about six pounds of meteorites that fell, and other meteorites were also recovered.

References

External links

• Olympia Fields, Illinois is at coordinates 41°31′06″N 87°41′34″W / 41.51829, -87.692744 (Olympia Fields, Illinois)Coordinates: 41°31′06″N 87°41′34″W / 41.51829, -87.692744 (Olympia Fields, Illinois)

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