Metamora is a village in Metamora Township, Woodford County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Metamora had a population of 3,904. Metamora is a growing suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Name Metamora was founded as Hanover in 1836. It was named for Hanover, New Hampshire by a consortium of land speculators called the Hanover Company. New post office conventions required towns to have unique names, forcing the town to differentiate itself from others in Illinois named Hanover. Early post office names included Black Partridge (1836) and Partridge Point (1837). The name of the village was finally changed to Metamora in 1845 based on the character in the popular play Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags.Callary, Edward. 2009. Place names of Illinois. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, p. 225. The village still has a Hanover Street and Partridge Street, reflecting these earlier names. Also, a popular location Black Partridge Park.

History Metamora was settled by Yankee settlers. These were people from New England who were descended from the English Puritans who settled that region in the 1600s. The first group were settlers from Hanover, New Hampshire, organized by a company from Gilmanton, New Hampshire who named the town Hanover. A New England man named John Page scouted the area for the company and decided that this particular tract of land would be a good place for farms. When they arrived the area was a forest, with no roads and no structures. The New Hampshire settlers cleared the forest, constructed roads and built farms as well as a small town to support the farms. Other New England settlers arrived shortly thereafter from the states of Rhode Island, Vermont and Massachusetts.The expansion of New England: the spread of New England settlement and institutions to the Mississippi River, 1620-1865 by Lois Kimball Matthews page 211 Metamora was the county seat of Woodford County from 1843 until 1896. The Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site, a courthouse from this period, is preserved as an Illinois state historic site. Future President Abraham Lincoln and future Vice President Adlai E. Stevenson I practiced law there. Geography According to the 2010 census, Metamora has a total area of , of which (or 99.82%) is land and (or 0.18%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Metamora had a population of 3,904. The median age was 41.5 years. 25.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 24.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.4 males age 18 and over.

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

There were 1,491 households in Metamora, of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.5% were married-couple households, 14.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 1,629 housing units, of which 8.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 14.2%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 3,650 93.5% Black or African American 9 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native 8 0.2% Asian 24 0.6% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.0% Some other race 27 0.7% Two or more races 186 4.8% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 77 2.0%

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 2,700 people, 1,050 households, and 743 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,094 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.07% White, 0.26% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.63% of the population.

There were 1,050 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 25.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $46,691, and the median income for a family was $56,384. Males had a median income of $40,745 versus $26,505 for females. The per capita income for the village was $20,200. About 1.8% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education Metamora has a grade school district, a high school district, and a Catholic grade school.

The village is served by Metamora Community Consolidated School District 1 for Kindergarten through 8th grade and by Metamora Township High School for 9th through 12th. Metamora Grade School District 1 serves Kindergarten through Grade 8 in Metamora Township and parts of nearby Worth Township. Metamora Township High School District 122 operates one four-year high school serving the village, along with nearby Germantown Hills, and Spring Bay. St. Mary's Grade School Grades Kindergarten-8th

Events At the beginning of August, Metamora hosts the annual "Metamora 4x50" race, an ultracycling event in which participants compete by riding a 50-mile loop four times.

The Redbirds are the local high school team mascot, and students participate in a range of regional sports meets including golf, volleyball, and soccer.

The Village of Metamora puts on Old Settler's Days each year around the third week of June. It's a century-old tradition involving carnival rides, live local music, and plenty of food. The Lincoln-Douglas 5K and 8 Mile Runs are also conducted during the weekend of Old Settler's Days.

Government

+ Village presidents of Metamora Years Name notes 1859 1860 1861 1862-1863 1864-1865 1866-1868 1868-1872 no record available 1872 1873 by June President and Trustees had resigned 1873 finished Perry's term 1874 1875-1877 citizens voted to reorganize village under general law 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881-1882 1883 1884 1885 1886-1887 1888-1890 1891-1894 1894 replaced McGuire after McGuire's resignation 1895 1896 resigned 1896 replaced Whitmire 1897-1902 1903-1904 1905-1906 1907-1910 1911-1912 1913-1931 1931-1945 1945-1949 1949-1953 1953-1957 1957-1961 1961-1969 1969-1989 1989-1993 1993-1998 died 1997 while in office 1998 appointed Mayor Pro Tem for Garber's term 1998-2001 2001-2005 Briefly ran for U.S. Senate in 2004. 2005-2009 2009-2012 died 2012 while in office 2012 appointed Mayor Pro Tem for Belshaw's term 2012–2021 2021–2025John Cummings2025–presentDawn Deeb

Popular culture Metamora, Illinois served as the location for the fictional Edgecreek, Illinois in several independent films from Ten Thirty-One Pictures Entertainment, including The Only Way in 2004.

References

External links Village of Metamora - official website Historic Illinois (Bradley University) Metamora Township High School