Silvis is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. It is part of a larger metropolitan area known as the Quad Cities. The Quad Cities Metropolitan Area is situated across four counties in Illinois and Iowa. It is located from the intersection of Interstate 80 and Interstate 88, west of Chicago, and east of Des Moines. It sits next to East Moline and Moline, Illinois.
As of the 2020 census, Silvis had a population of 8,003.
Silvis is near two major medical centers, including a critical access center. Silvis also has two community college districts, a liberal arts college, a public university auxiliary campus, two private universities, and two extension services in the area.
History
The City of Silvis (initially named Pleasant Valley) was incorporated in 1906. The city took its name from Richard Shippen Silvis, one of the original settlers whose family operated the Silvis Mining Company.
The need for cheap labor attracted a number of immigrants from Mexico, who worked in the stores, the workshops, or as part of the track laboring team. The railway developed housing for all of its workers and families. This was rented to the workers at favorable rates, which were possible under an agreement with the town that meant the occupants paid no property taxes. The Mexican section, with its own Mexican-run general stores and a Mexican-themed band, became known as La Yarda. When the band waned, the railway-donated boxcars that had once housed its instruments were refurbished to create the Lady of Guadalupe church, dedicated on Easter Sunday in 1927. In 1929 the no-property-tax agreement came to an end, and the city authorities evicted the railway workers. Many moved their houses to the area that became second, third and fourth streets.
After The Rock was liquidated in 1980, the locomotive workshops, yards and facilities were used for storage of locomotives and railcars that soon would be sold off to other railroads. The facility later was sold to National Railway Equipment, with the workshops remaining a maintenance and refurbishment hub for the wider North American railroad industry. Railroading Heritage of Midwest America bought the facility in late 2021 to develop a museum and for refurbishing and maintaining steam and heritage diesel locomotives along with associated rolling stock. In November 2022 heritage equipment from the Union Pacific was moved into the shop. Included were 4-6-6-4 Union Pacific 3985, 2-10-2 Union Pacific 5511 and EMD DDA40X Union Pacific 6936.
Golf course
The city is home to TPC Deere Run, a public golf course designed by former PGA Tour professional D.A. Weibring along the area's famous Rock River. Golf Digest once ranked it No. 42 among U.S. public golf courses, while Golfweek Magazine has called it among the state's top five courses. Since 2000, TPC Deere Run has hosted the PGA Tour's annual John Deere Classic, previously known as the Quad Cities Open. The John Deere Classic is held in July the week before the British Open. A total of 84 men served in World War II, Korea, and in Vietnam. Eight died during World War II: Joseph Gomez, Peter Macias, Johnny Muños, Tony Pompa, Frank Sandoval, Joseph "Joe" Sandoval, William "Willie" Sandoval, and Claro Solis.
Eduvigis and Angelina Sandoval immigrated to the U.S. from Romita, Mexico. Their son, Frank, was a combat engineer assigned to help build the Ledo Road in Burma. He was killed when his unit was sent to the front to fight for control of a key airbase. His older brother, Joe, assigned to the 41st Armored Infantry Division in Europe, was killed in April 1945, just days before the war ended.
In 2015, Fourth Wall Films released a documentary, "Letters Home to Hero Street", by Emmy-nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Silvas city, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|5,831
|5,666
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |5,366
|80.22%
|75.76%
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |67.05%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|245
|359
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |731
|3.37%
|4.80%
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |9.13%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|19
|12
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |20
|0.26%
|0.16%
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |0.25%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|57
|87
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |174
|0.78%
|1.16%
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |2.17%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|0
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |1
|0.00%
|0.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |0.01%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|0
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |25
|0.00%
|0.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |0.31%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|73
|150
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |332
|1.00%
|2.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |4.15%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|1,044
|1,198
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |1,354
|14.36%
|16.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |16.92%
|-
|Total
|7,269
|7,479
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |8,003
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6;' |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Silvis had a population of 8,003. The median age was 41.6 years. 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.7 males age 18 and over.
99.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,537 households in Silvis, of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.2% were married-couple households, 22.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 38.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There are three Silvis school district: preschool schools.,
References
External links
- Official Website
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070820005754/http://www.neta.com/~1stbooks/hero.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/20050827020515/http://www.herostreetusa.org/HeroStMain.htm
- http://www.city-data.com/county/Rock_Island_County-IL.html
- http://developsilvis.com/index.html
- http://www.johndeereclassic.com
- http://herostreetusa.org
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX5dbkD69Wc
- https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hero-street-a-documentary-film