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Belvidere, Illinois
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Belvidere is a city in Boone County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,820 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Boone County. 2005 population estimates show a large increase, as the population rose to 24,593.
Belvidere is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
idere is located at (42.254758, -88.844093), and sits at an altitude that is approximately above sea level. Located in north central Illinois, Belvidere is approximately northwest of the downtown of Chicago, and approximately east of Rockford.
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Encyclopedia
Belvidere is a city in Boone County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,820 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Boone County. 2005 population estimates show a large increase, as the population rose to 24,593.
Belvidere is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Belvidere is located at (42.254758, -88.844093), and sits at an altitude that is approximately above sea level. Located in north central Illinois, Belvidere is approximately northwest of the downtown of Chicago, and approximately east of Rockford. Belvidere is divided by the Kishwaukee River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.1 square miles (23.6 kmē), of which, 9.1 square miles (23.5 kmē) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 kmē) of it (0.55%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,820 people, 7,531 households, and 5,324 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,295.3 people per square mile (886.3/kmē). There were 7,970 housing units at an average density of 878.6/sq mi (339.3/kmē). The racial makeup of the city was 54.53% White, 1.15% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 11.57% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race are 60.07% of the population.
There were 7,531 households out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.26.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.
Belvidere Curfews
--- weekdays 12:00 a.m.- 5:00 a.m.
--- weekends 1:00 a.m.- 5:00 a.m.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,529, and the median income for a family was $50,601. Males had a median income of $37,116 versus $24,454 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,804. About 7.8% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.
School District
As of January 2007, budget cuts were decided upon because of the failed November referendum. The cuts will not take place the following school year if the April 17 referendum passes. Otherwise, students throughout District #100 will suffer from lack of sports and co-curricular activities. A few months after the November referendum failed, it was announced that Superintendent Donald Schlomann would be moving to district 303, St. Charles.
Update: The April 17th referendum failed, it was voted down 5,362 to 5,101. Cuts will appear to take place in the school district.
2nd Update: The Belvidere school board takes a leap of faith. They vote to dip into their savings to open two high schools next year, with two sets of sports teams.
In a five-one vote, the board chose to open both Belvidere and Belvidere North next year. Both high schools will have their own sports teams and co-curriculars.
On April 18th students walked out of Belvidere High School because of failure of the referendum. This walk-out was interpreted in a multitude of ways from "children stomping their feet" to "well-organized and peaceful student protest". Belvidere High School has been named one of the best high schools in the state of Illinois.
History
Early Belvidere
The location where Belvidere now sits was first settled in 1835 by a Mr. Whitney, who in tribute named the place Elysian Fields. The name was later changed to Belvidere by a Mr. Peck.
Belvidere was originally built on the north side of the Kishwaukee River. In 1851, a railroad was built south of the river, the business section followed to the south side of the river, where Belvidere's "downtown" is now located.
Belvidere used to have two Hospitals, St. Joseph Hospital and Highland Hospital. Both have since closed with the latest closing being that of St. Joseph's in 1999.
1967 Tornado
On April 21, 1967, a devastating tornado struck Belvidere. Twenty-four lives were lost in the tornado, many of whom were school children. The F4 tornado struck at the end of the school day of Belvidere High School, while many children including those that attended area grade schools were waiting on school buses outside of the high school. Out of sixteen school buses outside of the high school, twelve were overturned or thrown. The tornado did US$ 22 million in damage, demolished over 100 homes, and injured over 300.
Miss America
In 1968 Belvidere native Judith Anne Ford won the Miss America pageant as Miss Illinois. Judith Anne Ford graduated from Belvidere High School. Her talent was gymnastics and she was the first Miss America to go to Vietnam as part of a USO tour. Ms Ford was the only contestant to show up for the Miss Boone County Pageant so she was selected and sent to the state pageant.
Registered Historic Places
Businesses in Belvidere
Chrysler operates Belvidere Assembly an auto assembly plant, originally constructed in the mid-1960s, in Belvidere. The Belvidere plant manufactured the Dodge Neon until the spring of 2006. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the plant manufactured Chrysler Newports and Plymouth Furys. After a massive restructuring of the Belvidere plant, the plant is now one of the most modern auto assembly plants in the USA. It produces the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot.
Recent years have seen significant growth in local industry and employment. Businesses that have located facilities in Belvidere include: (Beauty Salon Equipment), (Fastener Manufacturing), (Carpentry), (Automotive Plant), (Ice Cream Factory), (Wire Products Manufacturing), (Food Distribution Facility), (Transportation), , (Manufacturing of Paperboard and Trays), (Urgent Care / Healthcare), and , (Electronic Medical Records).
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