Minooka, Illinois

Minooka, Illinois
Village
CO&P rail station (1986)
Motto:  "A nice place to call home"
Location of Minooka in Will County, Illinois
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 41°27′02″N88°16′45″W / 41.45056°N 88.27917°W / 41.45056; -88.27917 [1]
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Counties	Grundy, Kendall, Will
Townships	Aux Sable, Seward, Channahon
Founded	1869
Government
• Mayor	Ric Offerman
Area [2]
• Total	9.48 sq mi (24.55 km2)
• Land	9.40 sq mi (24.36 km2)
• Water	0.07 sq mi (0.19 km2)
Elevation [1]	597 ft (182 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,758
• Density	1,356.51/sq mi (523.75/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	60447
Area codes	815 & 779
FIPS code	17-49607
GNIS feature ID	2399376 [1]
Wikimedia Commons	Minooka, Illinois
Website	www.minooka.com

Minooka is a village in Grundy, Kendall, and Will counties, Illinois, United States. ^[3] The population was 12,758 at the 2020 census, ^[4] up from 10,924 at the 2010 census. The village is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.

History

Minooka was established as a place in 1852 when the railroad was built through this area. It was incorporated as a village in 1869. ^[5] The name "Minooka" is derived from a Native American word meaning "maple forest" or "good earth". ^[6]

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad served the town at Minooka Station.

Geography

Open fields near Minooka, Illinois

The center of the village is in the northeast corner of Grundy County. The village limits extend north into the southeast corner of Kendall County and east into Will County. The village is bordered to the east and south by the village of Channahon.

Interstate 80 passes through the north side of the village, with access from Exit 122. I-80 leads northeast 11 miles (18 km) to Joliet and west 45 miles (72 km) to LaSalle. Downtown Chicago is 48 miles (77 km) northeast of Minooka via Interstates 80 and 55. U.S. Route 6 runs along part of the southern border of Minooka; the highway leads east into the center of Channahon and southwest 9 miles (14 km) to Morris.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Minooka has a total area of 9.48 square miles (24.55 km²), of which 9.41 square miles (24.37 km²) (or 99.22%) is land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km²) (or 0.78%) is water. ^[7] The DuPage River, a south-flowing tributary of the Des Plaines River, forms part of the eastern boundary of the village.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	416		—
1890	360		−13.5%
1900	424		17.8%
1910	361		−14.9%
1920	314		−13.0%
1930	346		10.2%
1940	317		−8.4%
1950	369		16.4%
1960	539		46.1%
1970	768		42.5%
1980	1,565		103.8%
1990	2,561		63.6%
2000	3,971		55.1%
2010	10,924		175.1%
2020	12,758		16.8%
U.S. Decennial Census [8]

As of the 2020 census ^[4] there were 12,758 people, 3,685 households, and 2,913 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,345.92 inhabitants per square mile (519.66/km²). There were 4,110 housing units at an average density of 433.59 per square mile (167.41/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 80.64% White, 3.26% African American, 0.57% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.13% from other races, and 10.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.65% of the population.

There were 3,685 households, out of which 50.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.02% were married couples living together, 9.66% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.95% were non-families. 16.47% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.45% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.38 and the average family size was 3.00.

The village's age distribution consisted of 28.9% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 26% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $97,097, and the median income for a family was $100,097. Males had a median income of $62,403 versus $31,581 for females. The per capita income for the village was $34,655. About 5.2% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201 (elementary district) has a total of seven schools and serves nearly 4,000 students. ^[9] Minooka Community High School District 111 has a campus for juniors and seniors and a newer campus for freshmen and sophomores.

Notable people

• Carlos Avery, Minnesota newspaper publisher, politician, and conservationist
• Dale Coyne, Indy Car team owner
• Sal Fasano, former Major League Baseball player
• Mike Foltynewicz, Major League Baseball player
• Nick Offerman, actor (Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation )

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Minooka, Illinois
2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
3. "Minooka, Illinois". TIGERweb. Geography Division, U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
4. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
5. Genweb page on Grundy County history
6. Gannett, Henry (1905). "The origin of certain place names in the United States". Washington, Govt. Print. Off.
7. "Gazetteer Files". Census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
9. "Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201". Minooka CCSD 201. Retrieved May 11, 2014.

External links

• Official website
• Minooka School District