Westfield, Illinois

Template:Geobox Westfield is a village in Westfield Township, Clark County, Illinois, United States. The population was 601 at the 2010 census, an 11.4 percent loss compared to 678 in 2000. Reflecting the city's economic decline, much of the downtown area consists of boarded-up and abandoned buildings.

History

The village of Westfield was laid out in 1839, and a post office opened there on June 18, 1840. The community did not incorporate until August 31, 1875. Westfield College operated here from 1865 until 1914. The school was founded by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ in 1861 as a seminary, then was incorporated as a coeducational college in 1865. The peak enrollment was 160, in 1909. However, enrollment declined sharply thereafter, and financial problems forced the school to close in 1914. The building was used as the Westfield Township high school from 1914 until being destroyed by fire in 1917.

Geography

Westfield is located at 39°27′20″N 87°59′49″W (39.455583, -87.996935).

According to the 2010 census, Westfield has a total area of 1 square mile (2.59 km²), all land.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	647		—
1890	510		−21.2%
1900	820		60.8%
1910	927		13.0%
1920	933		0.6%
1930	646		−30.8%
1940	678		5.0%
1950	661		−2.5%
1960	636		−3.8%
1970	678		6.6%
1980	733		8.1%
1990	676		−7.8%
2000	678		0.3%
2010	601		−11.4%
2015 (est.)	580		−3.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 678 people, 277 households, and 195 families residing in the village. The population density was 675.3 people per square mile (261.8/km²). There were 313 housing units at an average density of 311.7 per square mile (120.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.94% White, 0.44% African American, 0.88% Native American, 0.29% Asian, and 0.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.29% of the population.

There were 277 households out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% 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 2.98.

In the village the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $31,953, and the median income for a family was $37,941. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $24,375 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,103. About 6.2% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Westfield is part of the Casey-Westfield School District. The district has two buildings all in the city of Casey, IL. Monroe Elementary (K-6) and Casey-Westfield Jr-Sr High School (7-12).

Churches

Westfield is served by two churches. The Westfield United Methodist Church is the result of the merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) Church in 1968. The new church uses the building built by the EUB church in 1918 at the corner of Madison and Elm Streets. The Westfield Baptist Church has moved into the former Methodist Church building at the corner of State and Fulton Streets. The original wood frame Baptist Church building has been converted to a private home.

External links

• Westfield History at Genealogy Trails.