Washington, Illinois

Washington is a city in

History

Washington was founded in 1825^[4] by William Holland Sr.,^[5][6][7] who came from North Carolina and was hired by the U.S. government to provide blacksmith services to the local Native Americans. During his long and eventful life, he was married three times, and was the father of twenty-one children: fourteen by his first wife and seven by his second wife. He had eighty-two grandchildren and fifty great grandchildren. He died in Washington on November 27, 1871, at the age of ninety-one. The post office (and later the city) was originally named Holland's Grove in 1833^[4] before being renamed in honor of the first U.S. president, George Washington, in 1837.^[4]

In the 1920s, a man named George Heyl put Washington on the map as the home of the famous Heyl Pony Farm.

Another local site of interest is the "old canning factory", which is now occupied by American Allied Railway Equipment Company Inc. In 1943, the

A new community center, named Five Points Washington, opened in October 2007. The facility houses the Washington Public Library, a performing arts center, swimming pools, fitness center, and banquet center.[11]

2013 tornado

An EF4 tornado, part of the tornado outbreak of November 17, 2013, entered Washington from the southwest in East Peoria. Three people were killed, one during the storm and two others later from injuries, including a United States Army veteran.^[12][13] The tornado then destroyed the Georgetown Common apartment complex, including ripping second floors off most of the 17 apartment buildings. Hundreds of homes were destroyed as the tornado moved through town before finally exiting on the north side.^[14]

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Washington has a total area of 8.182 sq mi (21.19 km²), of which 8.17 sq mi (21.16 km²) (or 99.85%) is land and 0.012 sq mi (0.03 km²) (or 0.15%) is water.^[15]

Climate

Washington has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with cold, snowy winters, and hot, humid summers. Monthly daily mean temperatures range from 22.5 °F (−5.3 °C) to 75.2 °F (24.0 °C). Snowfall is common in the winter, averaging 26.3 inches (67 cm), but this figure varies considerably for different years. Precipitation, averaging at 36 inches (914 mm), peaks in the spring and summer, and is the least in winter. Extremes have ranged from −27 °F (−33 °C) in January 1884 to 113 °F (45 °C) in July 1936.^{[citation needed]}

Transportation

CityLink provides bus service on Route 8 connecting Washington to downtown Peoria, East Peoria and other destinations.^[16]

U.S. Route 24 runs east–west outside of Washington. Business U.S. 24 runs through the downtown square of Washington.

Government

Washington uses a council–manager form of government with an appointed city administrator, acting as the chief administrative officer and managing day-to-day operations, and an elected mayor. As of April 2024, the current city administrator is Jim Snider and the current mayor is Gary W. Manier.^[17][18][19]

Demographics

As of the

There were 4,189 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.8% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $71,702,

Employment

As of 2000^[update], 66.8% of people aged 16 and over were employed in the civilian labor force, 2.8% were "unemployed" in the civilian work force, 0.1% were in the

District 308 is Washington Community High School and has 1359 students in attendance as of August 2017.^[26] District 308 contains three elementary public school districts: District 50 (John L. Hensey and Beverly Manor), 51 (Central), and 52 (which consists of Lincoln Grade and Washington Middle school), as well as St. Patrick's School, which is private and Catholic.

• Beverly Manor Middle School (District 50)
• Central Primary School (District 51)
• Central Intermediate School (District 51)
• John L. Hensey Elementary School (District 50)
• Lincoln Grade School (District 52)
• Washington Middle School (District 52)
• Washington Community High School District 308
• St. Patrick School (Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria)

Tazewell County has a joint special education service, the Tazewell-Mason Counties Special Education Association (TMCSEA).^[27]

Annual events

• 9-11 Memorial Walk
• Good Neighbor Days, previously called the Cherry Festival^[28]
• Memorial Day Parade
• Take Pride in Washington Day
• Veterans Day Parade
• Washington Fine Arts Festival^[29]

Notable people

• Mark Dennis, offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals and the Carolina Panthers; alumnus of Washington High School; member of the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame^[30]
• New Jersey Nets, and Sacramento Kings; grew up in Washington; member of the IBCA and Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame^[31]
• Alec Peters, basketball player, second-round selection in 2017 NBA draft; born in Washington
• Fred Taral, Hall of Fame jockey and trainer, raised in Washington until he was 14.
• Colton Underwood, former NFL player and star of ABC's The Bachelor, attended Washington Community High School^[32]

See also

• Ronald Reagan Trail

References