Beecher, Illinois

Village of Beecher
Village
Beecher, looking east.
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Will
Coordinates	41°20′27″N 87°37′17″W
Area	2.1 sq mi (5.44 km2)
- land	2.1 sq mi (5 km2)
- water	0 sq mi (0 km2), 0%
Population	2,033 (2010)
Density	964.4 / sq mi (372.4 / km2)
Incorporated	1884
Mayor	Paul Lohmann
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	60401
Area code	708
Location of Beecher within Illinois
Location of Illinois in the United States
Website: http://www.villageofbeecher.org/

Beecher is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the old Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad and the Dixie Highway. Situated in the center of Washington Township, it was originally named Washington Center. The population was 4,359 at the 2010 census. Named for Henry Ward Beecher, Beecher was founded in 1870 and incorporated as a village in 1884. Originally governed by a village president and board of trustees, in 1988 a village administrator was hired to handle daily tasks. The city clerk is an appointed position.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), all of it land. The majority of the village is in Section 16 of Washington Township.

A branch of Trim Creek runs through it but this carries very little water most of the year.

Beecher is located in the center of a primarily agricultural township. Beecher Consolidated School District provides educational services for Washington Township and 12 square miles (31 km²) of the neighboring, entirely rural, Will Township.

The soil around Beecher is well suited for growing crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay. Generally, as you go southwest of the village the soil gets more fertile and as you go northeast it becomes less ideal for agricultural purposes.

The nearest towns are Crete, Illinois, 7 miles (11 km) north; Grant Park, Illinois, 7 miles (11 km) south; Peotone, Illinois, 9 miles (14 km) west and Cedar Lake, Indiana, 10 miles (16 km) east.

Beecher

Crete (7 miles)

Grant Park (7 miles)

Monee (8 miles)

Park Forest (10 miles)

Peotone (9 miles)

South Chicago Heights (9 miles)

Steger (9 miles)

University Park (7 miles)

Cedar Lake (10 miles)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,033 people, 830 households, and 590 families residing in the village. The population density was 964.4 people per square mile (372.0/km²). There were 876 housing units at an average density of 415.6 per square mile (160.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.03% White, 0.15% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.77% of the population and 0.00% African American.

There were 830 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the village the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $51,250, and the median income for a family was $60,625. Males had a median income of $43,563 versus $26,786 for females. The per capita income for the village was $23,454. About 3.0% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

External links

• Beecher official website