Elwood, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Elwood, Illinois
Village
Location of Elwood in Will County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Will
Area
• Total	13.80 sq mi (35.74 km2)
• Land	13.65 sq mi (35.35 km2)
• Water	0.15 sq mi (0.39 km2)
Elevation	646 ft (197 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,229
• Density	163.30/sq mi (63.05/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)	60421
Area code(s)	815
FIPS code	17-23945
FIPS code	17-23945
GNIS ID	2398822

Elwood is a small village located in Will County, Illinois, in the United States. It's about 40 miles southwest of a big city called Chicago. In 2020, about 2,229 people lived in Elwood. This number was a little less than in 2010.

The Story of Elwood

Elwood started as a village in 1854. It officially became a village in 1869. A new railroad connecting Joliet and Bloomington helped Elwood grow. This railroad is now part of the Union Pacific system. By 1900, Elwood was a small farming town with about 400 people.

Elwood and the Joliet Arsenal

In the late 1930s, the government bought land near Elwood. They built the Joliet Arsenal there for military training and making weapons. It opened in 1940. Building the arsenal helped Elwood grow and brought about 175 new people to the area. In 1942, there was a large accident at the arsenal.

Village Growth and Events

In 1954, Elwood celebrated its 100th birthday! About 20,000 people came to watch a big parade. By 1970, Elwood had grown to about 750 people. On May 8, 1988, a tornado touched down near the village. It caused damage to homes and trees.

In the 1990s, Elwood started to grow much faster. By 1996, the population was nearly 1,423. This growth was helped by the building of the CenterPoint Intermodal Center. The village's population reached its highest point in 2010 with 2,279 people. It then went down slightly to 2,229 in 2020.

Important Places Near Elwood

The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is a special nature reserve near Elwood. It's operated by the United States Forest Service. This prairie was created in 1996 on the land where the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant used to be.

In 1999, the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery was opened in Elwood. It is a large cemetery that will eventually have space for 400,000 burials.

Fires in Elwood

Elwood has had three big fires.

• On August 26, 1995, the fire station was destroyed.
• On May 5, 2008, a building called Bill’s Inn was completely burned down.
• On April 17, 2009, a fire in a neighborhood caused a lot of damage to two townhomes.

Where is Elwood?

Elwood is located at 41°24′49″N 88°6′38″W / 41.41361°N 88.11056°W / 41.41361; -88.11056. The main highways nearby are Interstate 80 to the north and Interstate 55 to the west. The famous old Route 66 highway also passes through the east side of the village. According to the 2010 census, Elwood covers about 6.53 square miles (16.9 square kilometers) of land.

How Many People Live in Elwood?

In 2010, there were 2,279 people living in Elwood. There were 880 households and 630 families. Most people were White (94.9%). About 1.5% were African American, and 0.5% were Asian. About 6.3% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

Many households (35.2%) had children under 18 living there. The average household had about 2.59 people. The average family had about 3.08 people.

The median age in the village was 37.8 years old. This means half the people were younger than 37.8, and half were older. About 25.5% of the people were under 18. About 15.4% were 65 years old or older. Slightly more than half the population (50.8%) was female.

Getting Around Elwood

Pace offers bus service on Route 511. This bus connects Elwood to downtown Joliet and other places.

See also

In Spanish: Elwood (Illinois) para niños