Gibson City, Illinois

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Gibson City
City
Nickname(s): 
The BIG LITTLE CITY of Ford County, Illinois.Template:Force singular
Location of Gibson City in Ford County, Illinois.
Location of Gibson City in Ford County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 40°27′58″N 88°22′29″W / 40.46611°N 88.37472°W / 40.46611; -88.37472Coordinates: 40°27′58″N 88°22′29″W / 40.46611°N 88.37472°W / 40.46611; -88.37472[1]
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyFord
Government
 • MayorDaniel E. Dickey[2]
Area
[3]
 • TotalTemplate:Infobox settlement/areadisp
 • LandTemplate:Infobox settlement/areadisp
 • WaterTemplate:Infobox settlement/areadisp
Elevation
[1]
Template:Infobox settlement/lengthdisp
Population
 (2020)
 • Total3,475
 • DensityTemplate:Infobox settlement/densdisp
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)
60936
Area code(s)217, 447
FIPS code17-29125
GNIS feature ID2394891[1]
Wikimedia CommonsGibson City, Illinois
Websitegibsoncityillinois.com

Gibson City is a city in Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,475 at the 2020 census.[4]

History

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. 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, with T. D. Spalding, J. H. Collier, S. J. LeFevre, Bruce McCormick, and W. T. Kerr serving as the first trustees. Spalding acted as the first village president (mayor)[5]. A third railroad, the LaFayette, Muncie and Bloomington Railroad, was built through Gibson City in 1874.[6][7] 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 ($1,500,000 in 2023 dollars) in property damage.[6]

On August 12, 2021, the town experienced what has been labeled as a "Once in a Millennium" flood, due to high levels rainfall.[8] The town received around 10 inches of rain in ten hours, with roads becoming unusable and numerous water rescues conducted.[9][10] Thomas M. Bennett who is a Gibson City native, and at that time represented the district Gibson City resides in to the Illinois House of Representatives,[11] is quoted as saying about the event: “The rains came and came and you thought there was somebody named Noah.”[12] The flood caused around $10-$12 million in damages, and left many people stranded and/or homeless.[13][14]

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Gibson City has a total area of 2.36 square miles (6.11 km2), of which 2.32 square miles (6.01 km2) (or 98.47%) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (or 1.53%) is water.[15]

File:Gibson City, IL Post Office mural, "Hiawatha Returning with Minnehaha" by Francis Foy.JPG
The 1940 WPA mural "Hiawatha Returning with Minnehaha" by Francis Foy is on display in the Gibson City Post Office

Climate

Template:Weather box

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Gibson City had a population of 3,475.[16] There were 835 families residing in the city, and the population density was 1,474.33 inhabitants per square mile (569.24/km2).[17] The median age was 44.8 years. 21.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.3 males age 18 and over.[17]

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[18]

There were 1,535 households in Gibson City, of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.6% were married-couple households, 19.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[17]

There were 1,664 housing units, of which 7.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%. The average housing unit density was 705.98 per square mile (272.58/km2).[17]

Racial composition as of the 2020 census[16]
Race Number Percent
White 3,210 92.4%
Black or African American 27 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 3 0.1%
Asian 28 0.8%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.0%
Some other race 40 1.2%
Two or more races 167 4.8%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 115 3.3%

Income and poverty

The median income for a household in the city was $44,544, and the median income for a family was $68,977. Males had a median income of $47,443 versus $32,313 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,872. About 7.2% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

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

The Norfolk Southern Wabash line runs through Gibson City.

Media

Newspaper

The town's former newspaper was the Gibson City Courier, published from February 21, 1874, until December 30, 2015. The Courier was last owned by The Pantagraph out of Bloomington after being locally owned for several decades.[19] Gibson City is also served by the Ford County Record based in nearby Paxton.

Radio station

WGCY is an FM station licensed to Gibson City Broadcasting at a frequency of 106.3 MHz. Its programming consists of easy listening music and local high school sports.

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Template:GNIS
  2. ↑ "Mayor's Office". Gibson City Illinois. November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  3. ↑ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  5. ↑ A lott of city in 100 years," 1871-1971; centennial history of Gibson City, Illinois (PDF) (1st ed.). Gibson City, Illinois: Gibson City Area Centennial, Inc. 1971. p. 30. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.iltrails.org/ford/1945citydir.html Archived December 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine 1947 Gibson City Directory.
  7. ↑ https://www.davidrumsey.com/maps3731.html Map of Ford County and Paxton, 1876.
  8. ↑ "Just how historic was that historic rain?". WGLT. September 28, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  9. ↑ HINTON, DAVE (August 14, 2021). "Gibson City cleans up, while some wonder where they will live". The News-Gazette. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Story Map on the Gibson City Flooding Event | Department of Climate, Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences | Illinois". climas.illinois.edu. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Tom Bennett named Jason Barickman's successor in Illinois senate". Shaw Local. January 7, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  12. ↑ Brennen, Amanda (August 12, 2023). "3 disasters in 2 years: Our Town Gibson City rallies together, thanking first responders". WCIA.com.
  13. ↑ Dickey, Jacob (November 12, 2021). "Gibson City Flood: Signs of Progress Three Months Later". WCIA.com.
  14. ↑ Zimmerman, Bradley (February 28, 2022). "Gibson City announces flood damage estimates". WCIA.com.
  15. ↑ "Gazetteer Files". Census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  18. ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Gibson City Courier to close | Local Business | pantagraph.com".
  20. ↑ "Grundy County Board chair to run for Illinois Senate in district that includes Bloomington-Normal". WGLT. September 13, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Tom Bennett named Jason Barickman's successor in Illinois senate". Shaw Local. January 7, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2025.

Template:Ford County, Illinois

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