Gibson City, Illinois

The site of Gibson City was purchased and platted by Jonathan B. Lott in 1869. In 1870, Lott built a home and a post office there, and several stores and a grain elevator were constructed. Lott named the place Gibson after the maiden name of his wife, Margaret Gibson Lott, and City was added later by the post office department. Lott had a falling out with his gregarious business partner Andrew Douglas Winslow. Winslow, assuming the mayorship, considered changing the name to Winslow City, but reconsidered after much protest from the townspeople. Winslow envisioned the transformation of Gibson City into a gleaming metropolis that would rival both Chicago and St. Louis, a vision that has yet to be realized.[2] Eric "Richard" Ryder succeeded Winslow as mayor. Ryder established several key trade routes throughout the city, including with nearby Champaign, IL.[3] Ryder was successful in expanding the size of the city, and his work heralded in an era of significant growth that continues to this day. Both the Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad and the Chicago and Paducah Railroad reached the town in 1871, allowing its population to grow. Gibson City was incorporated as a village in 1872. A third railroad, the LaFayette, Muncie and Bloomington Railroad, was built through Gibson City in 1874.[4][5] In the same year, one of the railroads signed a contract that paid Augustana College, located in Paxton at the time, a commission of $1 per acre on all railroad land sold to Swedish settlers.

In 1883, a fire in the town caused $50,000 ($1,000,000 in 2007 dollars) in property damage.[4]

Gibson City is located at 40°27′56″N 88°22′29″W (40.465653, -88.374711).[6]

According to the 2010 census, Gibson City has a total area of 2.349 square miles (6.08 km²), of which 2.32 square miles (6.01 km²) (or 98.77%) is land and 0.029 square miles (0.08 km²) (or 1.23%) is water.[7]

The 1940 WPA mural "Hiawatha Returning with Minnehaha" by Francis Foy is on display in the Gibson City Post Office

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 3,373 people, 1,469 households, and 928 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,604.0 inhabitants per square mile (619.3/km²). There were 1,565 housing units at an average density of 744.2 per square mile (287.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.13% White, 0.59% African American, 0.53% Asian, 0.03% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.

There were 1,469 households, out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,638, and the median income for a family was $41,047. Males had a median income of $33,938 versus $20,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,926. About 8.9% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Illinois State Highways 9, 47, and 54 intersect on the edge of Gibson City.

• Scott M. Bennett, member of the Illinois Senate, Gibson City native.
• Thomas M. Bennett, current member of the Illinois House of Representatives, Gibson City native.
• Dwight Eddleman, legendary Illinois Fighting Illini three-sport athlete.
• Earl Hamilton, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies
• Russell Johnson, cartoonist
• John Arthur Love, 36th Governor of Colorado and the Director of the Office of Energy Policy in the Nixon administration.
• Frances McDormand, actress; winner of the Triple Crown of Acting, born in Gibson City
• Larry Pratt, catcher for the Boston Red Sox, Brooklyn Tip-Tops and Newark Pepper

• Gibson City Website