Algonquin is a village in McHenry and Kane counties, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago located approximately northwest of the Loop. The population was 29,700 as of the 2020 census.
History Long before Europeans settled in Algonquin, the Potawatomi originally inhabited the land. Algonquin was the location of Indian burial mounds known in the 1800s as the Algonquin Mounds.automobile blue book, vol.c, 1917 By 1834 the first settler of Algonquin, Samuel Gillilan, came to the area from Virginia. Settlers Dr. Cornish, Dr. Plumleigh, Eli Henderson, Alex Dawson, and William Jackson arrived shortly thereafter. There was some dispute regarding the original name of Algonquin, and numerous other names were suggested including Denny's Ferry, Cornish Ferry, Cornishville, and Osceola. But Samuel Edwards suggested the name Algonquin and on December 23, 1847, the name Algonquin became official.
The first signs of economic growth occurred in 1855 when the town saw the construction of the railroad, which enabled farmers in the neighboring area to have other means of getting their products to the markets in Chicago. Finally on February 25, 1890, the Village of Algonquin was formed.
The Village Hall of Algonquin was erected on January 31, 1907, at 2 South Main Street, and is still standing today, where it functions as a historical landmark and community gathering place. It served as the village hall of Algonquin until a new village hall was built at 2200 Harnish Drive in 1996.
From 1906 to 1913, the automobile companies began to go to the Algonquin Hill Climbs, which was an event where if an automobile was able to make it up a series of steep hills in the village, it would be given the stamp of approval. And because of that, the Algonquin Cup was formed which received national recognition at the time. The two hills used in the race were the Phillips Hill which extends from Illinois Route 31 to the cemetery and Perry Hill, located south of downtown, and which is now Lundstrom Lane. The village created a new hill for the race called Huntington Hill, which is now Huntington Drive. A park stands in place of the finish line of Huntington Hill at the intersection of Huntington Drive and Circle Drive which is called Hill Climb Park. The festival in recognition of the event continues to be held each year.
Algonquin road route 62 now, was once noted as the first bridge to be installed on an incline. The first bridge was level with a steep incline headed east. It was later replaced with a four-lane bridge with an incline to reduce stress on vehicles headed east.
For much of the 20th century, Algonquin was a quasi-resort town and people from the Chicago area would visit the town in order to escape urban life. The Fox River offered immense recreational opportunities and several summer homes were constructed. Soon, more people began living in Algonquin year-round. Algonquin remained a small town for much of the 20th Century, growing steadily, until the 1980s, when the village's population exploded with new residential construction. The development continued in earnest in the 1990s and 2000s. The village's first shopping center, Algonquin Town Center, was constructed in the late 1980s on East Algonquin Road and numerous die & mold industries were established west of downtown
In the 1990s, development shifted to Randall Road, which saw the construction of numerous retailers, restaurants, and services. In 2004, the 80-store Algonquin Commons outdoor mall (the largest outdoor mall in Illinois) opened for business, followed by the Algonquin Galleria outdoor mall, which is under development and saw its first stores open in 2006. In the mid-2000s, development also began on the Algonquin Corporate Campus, which is slated to include industrial and office development spread over on the southwest side of the village, bringing hundreds of high-paying jobs to the area.
Geography Algonquin is located in southeastern McHenry County and northeastern Kane County. It is bordered to the north by Lake in the Hills, to the northeast by Cary, to the east by Barrington Hills, and to the south by Carpentersville, the northwest by Lakewood, the southwest by Gilberts, and the west by Huntley.
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Algonquin has a total area of , of which (or 98.36%) is land and (or 1.64%) is water. Approximately 78% of the village area is in McHenry County, with the remainder in Kane County.
Surrounding areas Lake in the Hills Lake in the Hills Trout Valley Huntley Barrington Hills Gilberts Carpentersville Carpentersville
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Algonquin village, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)21,32724,84722,32791.63%82.70%75.18%Black or African American alone (NH)1945077040.83%1.69%2.37%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)2043270.09%0.14%0.09%Asian alone (NH)5422,1742,1432.33%7.24%7.22%Pacific Islander alone (NH)21170.01%0.04%0.02%Other race alone (NH)4131850.18%0.10%0.29%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)2023881,0480.87%1.29%3.53%Hispanic or Latino (any race)9482,0453,3594.07%6.81%11.31%Total23,27630,04629,700100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Algonquin had a population of 29,700.
The median age was 41.9 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.0 males age 18 and over.
99.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.4% lived in rural areas.
Of the 10,769 households, 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 63.3% were married-couple households, 12.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 19.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.13 and the average family size was 2.76.
There were 11,107 housing units, of which 3.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%, and the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%.
Income and poverty The median income for a household in the village was $109,819, and the median income for a family was $127,660. Males had a median income of $71,698 versus $41,039 for females. The per capita income for the village was $46,601. About 3.2% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over. Government
Village of Algonquin Algonquin has a council-manager form of government, where an elected Board of Trustees, led by the Village President, establishes policy & vision and approves ordinances & resolutions, while an appointed Village Manager leads a team of professional staff that carries out the policies and daily operations of the village.
The Village President is Debby Sosine, and the current Trustees are Maggie Auger, Laura Brehmer, Brian Dianis, Jerry Glogowski, Bob Smith, and John Spella. The Village Clerk, who handles village records, is Fred Martin. All officials are elected to four-year terms staggered to maintain consistency. The current Village Manager is Tim Schloneger.
Fire protection Algonquin's fire protection and rescue services are handled by either the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District (ALITHFPD), the Huntley Fire Protection District (HFPD), or the Carpentersville Countryside Fire Protection District (CCFPD).
Education
School District 300 Community Unit School District 300, a large district generally along and east of Randall Rd. The District 300 schools serving Algonquin include:
Neubert Elementary School (K-5) serves students residing in areas immediately west of the Old Town District. Lincoln Prairie Elementary School (P-5) in nearby Lake in the Hills serves students residing in sections of the village near Randall Road. Eastview Elementary School (K-5) serves students residing in areas within Old Town Algonquin, as well as areas immediately north and east of there. Algonquin Lakes Elementary School (K-5) serves students residing in far eastern sections of the village. It is in Kane County. Lake in the Hills Elementary School (K-5) serves students that live in Lake in the Hills. Liberty Elementary School (K-5) in nearby Carpentersville serves students living in the Brittany Hills, Providence Point, Providence Point 2, and Shenandoah neighborhoods. Westfield Community School (K-8) is a combined elementary-middle school. The elementary school serves the Willoughby Farms area. In addition to Westfield Elementary, Neubert, Lincoln Prairie, and Lake in the Hills elementary schools feed into Westfield Middle School. Westfield Middle School feeds mostly into Jacobs High School. Dundee Middle School (6–8) in nearby Dundee serves students living in the Liberty Elementary School area and feeds mostly into Jacobs High School. Algonquin Middle School (6–8) serves Eastview and Algonquin Lakes, and feeds mostly into Dundee-Crown High School. Harry D. Jacobs High School (9–12) serves high-school aged students residing generally west of the Fox River to just a half mile west of Randall Road. Dundee-Crown High School (9–12) in nearby Carpentersville serves high school-aged students living in the east half of the village.
School District 158 Consolidated School District 158 is headquartered in Algonquin, and the schools on the Square Barn Road campus serve the village's far western side, as well as portions of neighboring communities Huntley and Lake in the Hills. School District 158 schools serving far western Algonquin include: Mackeben Elementary School (K-2) Marion Conley Elementary School (3–5) Bernice Heinemann Middle School (6–8) Huntley High School (9–12) in nearby Huntley serves high school-aged students residing in far western sections of the village.
Private schools St. Margaret Mary Catholic School, located in the heart of Algonquin, offer private K-8 education. On the west side of town is Foundations Montessori School.
Community colleges The nearest community colleges are McHenry County College and Elgin Community College. Generally speaking, McHenry County College serves residents residing in District 158 boundaries, while Elgin Community College serves residents residing in District 300 boundaries.
Libraries The majority of the village is served by the Algonquin Area Public Library District which includes two facilities, the main branch on Harnish, just west of Randall Road, and a second branch on Eastgate, south of Algonquin Road. Both offer educational and reading programs. Huntley Public Library, Dundee Township Library, and the Barrington Area Library also serve certain sections of the village.
Economy A growing number of businesses can be found in Algonquin. From a manufacturing corridor along Algonquin Road between Pyott Road and Route 31 to a planned corporate campus on the west side of Randall Road, industry is a significant part of the Algonquin area economy.
Industry
Algonquin Industrial Park Just west of the village's Old Town District is the Algonquin Industrial Park, located along Algonquin Road. Several major companies can be found in this area, including tool, die, and mold industries, plastics industries, and transportation-related businesses. Algonquin's main Post Office is also located in this area. The post office also serves nearby Lake in the Hills, even though the two municipalities have separate zip codes.
Algonquin Corporate Campus