Machesney Park is a village located in Winnebago County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,950 at the 2020 census. Machesney Park is part of the Rockford metropolitan area.
History
The name Machesney Park has its roots in Machesney Airport, which was located on the main street North Second where the Machesney Mall stands today, which was founded in 1927 by Fred Machesney, a Barnstorming aviator. The Machesney Elementary School across the street from where the airport was located was also named after Fred Machesney's airport. The airfield was Rockford's main airport until the 1950s, when the Greater Rockford Airport came on line. In 1928 a famous flight from Rockford to Sweden took off from the field. The attempt failed as the two pilots crashed in Greenland, later being safely rescued. Machesney Field was used by the Army Air Corps during World War II as a stop by fighter aircraft being ferried to the Soviet Union.
This area of unincorporated Winnebago county saw growth pick up after World War II. This led to the formation of North Park, a public water district and volunteer firefighting company, and the unofficial name for the area.
Machesney Park became a village in 1981, after being approved in a referendum.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Machesney Park has a total area of , of which (or 97.5%) is land and (or 2.5%) is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Machesney Park had a population of 22,950. The median age was 41.2 years. 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.0 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 9,134 households in Machesney Park, of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.1% were married-couple households, 18.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
2000 census
In 2000 Of the 7,756 households 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.2% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.2% were non-families. 19.2% of households were one person and 6.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.04.
The age distribution was 24.3% under the age of 18, 5.46% from 20 to 24, 12.41% from 25 to 34, 22.83% from 35 to 49, 19.81% from 50 to 64 and 12.40% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. There were about as many females as males (9 more males).
In 2000 The median household income was $48,315, and the median family income was $53,788. Males had a median income of $38,619 versus $23,279 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,685. About 3.2% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The majority of Machesney Park is in the Harlem School District 122. The Harlem District serves portions of the communities of Machesney Park and Loves Park, southern Roscoe, and a portion of Rockford. The Village is home of Harlem High School, which is part of the Harlem School District.
Portions of Machesney Park are in the Rockford School District 205<!--UNI 34510-->. A small portion extends into the Rockton School District 140<!--ELM 34540--> and the Hononegah Community High School District 207<!--SEC 19620-->.
Village presidents
- Linda Vaughn (D) 2001 — 2009
- Tom Strickland (R) 2009 — 2013
- Jerry D. Bolin 2013 — 2017
- Steve Johnson 2017 — ?