Elmwood Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 24,521 at the 2020 census. The community has long maintained a large Italian American population, with a more recent influx of Hispanic and Latino Americans.
History
Elmwood Park was incorporated as a village in early April 1914 in order to prevent annexation by the greater city of Chicago. Today, one can still see evidence of a minority of landowners, or share farmers, who voted for annexation to the city in 1915 by the odd chunk taken out of Elmwood Park's northeast corner, which kept the community from achieving a full square rectangular border.
At the turn of the century, urban dwellers would take a train on the Milwaukee Road, (which is now Canadian Pacific) westward out of the harsh concrete city for family picnics at the "Elm-Wood-Park", which was an ancient "grove of majestic 180 year old Elms" found near 72nd Ave/Harlem and Irving Park Road. Taking advantage of the park's provenance, a new cemetery was named Elmwood, while the closest train stop to both cemetery and park in unincorporated Marwood/Ellsworth became identified with the official name of "Elmwood Park". During the pressure era of incorporation a decade later, the village's founding representatives thought it most ideal to legally title the community after the stop, and after the namesake elm, which is a native, locally evolved, riparian prairie "bottomland" tree species.
Russell's Barbecue, the oldest continuously operating barbecue restaurant in Chicagoland, is located in Elmwood Park.
Geography
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Elmwood Park has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Elmwood Park village, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
! Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
! Pop 2000
! Pop 2010
!
! % 2000
! % 2010
!
|-
| White alone (NH)
| 21,490
| 17,929
| style='background: #ffffe6; |14,075
| 84.59%
| 72.05%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |57.40%
|-
| Black or African American alone (NH)
| 129
| 398
| style='background: #ffffe6; |658
| 0.51%
| 1.60%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |2.68%
|-
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
| 20
| 24
| style='background: #ffffe6; |24
| 0.08%
| 0.10%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |0.10%
|-
| Asian alone (NH)
| 522
| 570
| style='background: #ffffe6; |732
| 2.05%
| 2.29%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |2.99%
|-
| Pacific Islander alone (NH)
| 6
| 1
| style='background: #ffffe6; |7
| 0.02%
| 0.00%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%
|-
| Other race alone (NH)
| 9
| 21
| style='background: #ffffe6; |51
| 0.04%
| 0.08%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |0.21%
|-
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
| 431
| 211
| style='background: #ffffe6; |375
| 1.70%
| 0.85%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |1.53%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (any race)
| 2,798
| 5,729
| style='background: #ffffe6; |8,599
| 11.01%
| 23.02%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |35.07%
|-
| Total
| 25,405
| 24,883
| style='background: #ffffe6; |24,521
| 100.00%
| 100.00%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Elmwood Park had a population of 24,521.
The median age was 41.6 years. 19.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.8 males age 18 and over.
There were 9,545 households, including 5,979 families, of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.3% were married-couple households, 18.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Sister city
- Frosinone, Lazio, Italy (from 1996)
Notable people
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- Elmer W. Conti, Illinois businessman and politician
- John Giannini, college basketball coach
- Lee Loughnane, trumpet player and founding member of the rock band Chicago
- Jeff Mauro, television personality, Food Network
- Ray Nitschke, linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
References
External links
- Village of Elmwood Park official website
- Fifty Years of Life in Elmwood Park, at Illinois Digital Archives
- Eppllocalhistory Photostream at Flickr.com
- Chicago Tribune Photo gallery: A history of Elmwood Park