Chenoa, Illinois

Chenoa is a city in McLean County, Illinois, USA. The population was 1,845 at the 2000 census. Located at the intersections of Interstate 55, Historic Route 66, and U.S. Route 24.Founded in 1854 by Mathew T. Scott, Chenoa was created to provide a retail and trade center for his farm tenants as well as a grain shipping facility. The Chenoa Centennial was celebrated in 1954. The town is situated in a highly productive agricultural area. Two currently active businesses here are notable due to their longevity. They are Schuirman's Drug Store (now Chenoa Pharmacy) and Union Roofing. The latter company today is one of the largest roofing contractors in Illinois. Several small manufacturers operate here and a number of antique dealers are Chenoa-based. There is a small grade school located off Division Street. A well attended July 4 celebration is held in Chenoa each year.

Geography

Signage upon entering Chenoa.

Chenoa is located at 40°44′35″N 88°43′12″W (40.743136, -88.720079)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.3 km²), of which, 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (3.10%) is water.

Situated in McLean County, the area surrounding Chenoa boasts some of the richest soil in the world. Only patches of farmland in Argentina, southern Ukraine and along the Yellow River in China match the fertile ground that covers much of the northern half of Illinois, particularly a high-yielding band through the state's midsection. McLean County is traditionally the state's leading corn and soybean producer.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 1,845 people, 713 households, and 524 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,472.2 people per square mile (569.9/km²). There were 768 housing units at an average density of 612.8/sq mi (237.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.72% White, 0.22% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 1.08% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.60% of the population.

There were 713 households out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,420, and the median income for a family was $50,948. Males had a median income of $35,821 versus $21,361 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,559. About 4.6% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

An ethanol plant that could cost $180 million to build, produce up to 500 construction jobs and employ 65 people full time in production has been proposed for a Chenoa industrial park. Construction on the 100-acre (0.40 km²) complex could begin as early as Summer'07 if U.S. Ethanol receives the necessary permits. On April 24, 2007 the Chenoa City Council approved a financial incentives from a (TIF) tax increment financing district. The plant could be online 18 months after construction begins. The plant would be able to process as much as 40 million bushels (1 million metric tons) of corn a year into 100 million gallons (38 megaliters) of ethanol annually. Once completed, the plant will operate 24 hours a day and employ up to 65 people. The plant would be able to store up to 1 million bushels (25,000 metric tons) of corn and receive grain by truck and rail. The plant will have its own water system, which will recycle back into the plant. There should be no smell or noise problems because the plant would use a dry milling process. Any discharge will be burned. U.S. Ethanol has hired AGAR Industries of Merrill, Wisconsin to design and build the facility, which will be built in the newly formed 500-acre (2.0 km²) industrial park on the city’s south side. [1]

Downtown Chenoa, Illinois in mid-March 2007.

== History==

THE ORIGIN OF CHENOA

The Town of Chenoa was laid out on 13 May 1856 by Matthew T. Scott. At this time the Chicago and Alton Railroad, had been running trains for almost two years, but the survey for the east-west Toledo, Peoria and Oquawka(soon to be the Toledo Peoria and Western) had not reached McLean County. Scott anticipated the place where the railroads would cross and platted the town which he called Chenoa. Matthew T. Scott (24 February 1828 - 21 May 1891) was the son of a Kentucky banker and by the time he reached Illinois, was an experienced land developer who lead a group of well financed investors. The European settler history of Chenoa began in 1854 when[Matthew T. Scott, began buying thousands of acres of land in this area.

MEANING OF THE NAME CHENOA

There has been much discussion about the meaning of the name Chenoa. Mid-nineteenth century histories explain that it was an Indian word for "Kentucky" and could therefore be rendered as "Dark and Bloody Ground." Callary makes it clear that this is incorrect and that this meaning is unknown in Kentucky. Others explain that Chenoa is a a Cherokee word meaning "Dove" or "White Dove." Again this is not the case. Dove in Cherokee is "waya" and white dove "unega waya." There is also the often-repeated story that Scott had originally wanted the name to read "Chenowa" but the railroad had mistakenly dropped the letter "w." This again is not true. The railroad had no say in the naming of Chenoa; the spelling "Chenoa" is exactly how Scott recorded the name when he first laid out the town. However,"Chenoka" or "Chenoa" is one of many Native American names for the Kentucky River and this may explain how Scott got the idea that the word could be translated as Kentucky.

ORIGINAL TOWN DESIGN

The plan of Chenoa is complex because it is the blending of two rival townsites. Scott's original town, which lies west of the railroad, was built around a central park, is much more like the plan like central Illinois towns of the 1830s than that of other towns laid out in the 1850s. However, Scott only owned the in Section 2, while his rival, and former business companion, William M. Hamilton had managed to purchase Section 1. Marshall's land included most of the land east of the railroad; on this land, he laid out a competing town town, East Chenoa. Scott did control a small strip between the two towns which he refused to plat out into streets and lots, so anyone who tried to pass the short distance from one town to the other would be guilty of trespass. Scott would call this strip his "imaginary wall," although it was never a physical barrier. The duel nature of the platting also explains why Chenoa had two distinct streets named Lincoln. Both Scott's and Marshall's towns were orthogonal grids with north-south and east-west streets, but plan became still more complex when a later addition by Scott included Veto Street, which ran parallel to the railroad and at an odd angle to the earlier streets.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHENOA

The land around Chenoa was prairie wilderness at that time. The Indians who had hunted and lived in Illinois country for many years had been moved by the U. S. Government to regions west of the Mississippi river by the time Chenoa was founded. Soon the tough prairie sod was broken by the plow which made acres and acres of land available for farming. J. B. Lenney came from Pennsylvania to the new town of Chenoa and in 1855 put up the first building here which was called "The Farmer's Store." J. B. Lenney took an active part in the development of the town and is referred to as the "Father of Chenoa."

Historical Landmarks

The Matthew T. Scott House.

Matthew T. Scott House. The House was built in 1855 in a form known informally as a Kentucky Cat Slide.

The house was bought and restored by Mrs. Elizabeth Stevenson Ives, a great niece of Matthew T. Scott. It is also on the National Register of Historical Places. [2]

A crumbling rail station in Chenoa.

External links

• Official Chenoa city website
• Matthew T. Scott house