Amboy, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Amboy is a city in Lee County, 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,...

, along the Green River
Green River (Illinois)
The Green River is an tributary of the Rock River in northwestern Illinois in the United States. Via the Rock, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed. Much of the Green's course has been straightened and channelized.-Course:...

. The population was 2,561 at the 2000 census. The chain of Carson Pirie Scott & Co. began in Amboy when Samuel Carson opened his first dry goods store there in 1854. The Christian denomination Community of Christ
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...

, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, had a general conference in Amboy on April 6, 1860, at which time Joseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and Emma Hale Smith...

 reorganized the church founded by his father Joseph Smith, Jr.

Geography

Amboy is located at 41°42′52"N 89°19′58"W (41.714411, -89.332671).

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 city has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
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 were 2,561 people, 963 households, and 651 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 2,035.5 people per square mile (784.8/km²). There were 1,048 housing units at an average density of 832.9 per square mile (321.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.97% White, 0.78% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.23% 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 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.15% of the population.

There were 963 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $42,027. Males had a median income of $35,250 versus $26,105 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $18,183. About 4.4% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

  • Augustus Newnham Dickens, brother of Charles Dickens
    Charles Dickens
    Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...

    .
  • John P. Hermes, brother of George Swanson.

See also

  • Amboy Illinois Central Depot
    Amboy Illinois Central Depot
    The Amboy Illinois Central Depot is a former rail station in the city of Amboy, Lee County, Illinois, United States. The building was constructed as a headquarters building for the Illinois Central Railroad as well as a public train station for the fledgling city of Amboy in 1876...

  • http://amboy.net/ School district #272
  • http://www.cityofamboy.org/ (apparently not updated since 2008)
  • http://www.countyoflee.org/county_clerk/muni.html website of Lee County, Illinois
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