Stockton is a village in
Jo Daviess County,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The population was 1,728 at the 2020 census.
History
The village of Stockton is the youngest village in Jo Daviess County. It was established after the Minnesota Northwestern Railroad decided to build a station in Section 2 of
Stockton Township in 1886, which through mergers later became named the
Chicago Great Western Railway. The railroad tracks were removed in the early 1970s.
[Huddleston, Jerry.]
CGW's Winston Tunnel
, accessed April 7, 2009.
What is now Front Street in Stockton was then a dirt road which served as the main thoroughfare to
Lena. In April 1887, one Charles Hermann became Stockton's first business owner.
[Donth, Cynthia.]
W.E. White Building
, ( PDF), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, June 27, 1997, '' Illinois Historic Preservation Agency'', accessed May 4, 2008.
In 1914, the
Kraft Brothers opened a cheese factory in Stockton, and operated it until Kraft sold the facility in 1998.
[StocktonIL.com]
Stockton History
", accessed April 7, 2009.[KraftFoodsCompany.com]
History of Kraft Foods
", accessed April 7, 2009. This was the birthplace of the Kraft Corporation and the first cheese plant opened by J.L. Kraft.
Geography
Stockton is located at (42.350357, -90.006127).
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Stockton has a total area of , all land.
Climate
Major highways
*
U.S. Route 20, east towards
Freeport and west towards
Galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...
*
Illinois Route 78
Illinois Route 78 is a major north–south highway in western Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 104 northwest of Jacksonville north to Highway 78 at the Wisconsin state line north of Warren. This is a distance of .
Route descrip ...
, north towards
Warren and the
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
state line and south towards
Mount Carroll
Demographics
As of the
2020 census there were 1,728 people, 774 households, and 481 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 873 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 93.75%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.81%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.06%
Native American, 0.52%
Asian, 0.00%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.46% from
other races, and 4.40% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 3.36% of the population.
There were 774 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.92% were married couples living together, 20.28% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.86% were non-families. 32.69% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.28% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.05.
The village's age distribution consisted of 23.2% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 25.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $43,295, and the median income for a family was $55,060. Males had a median income of $31,643 versus $20,441 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the village was $26,501. About 23.5% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 28.1% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.
Geology
Stockton is not part of the
Driftless Area, but is the first municipality found outside of it, coming from western
Jo Daviess County. One climbs out of the valley of the
Upper Mississippi River and finds a high point in Stockton.
The village water tower sits on a ridge at elevation
that rises to to the west at the village limits. To the northwest the same ridge line continues where U.S. Route 20 crests at just to the west. This ridge line continues for 3 miles to the northwest to Benton Mound ( ), the second highest peak in Illinois.
Notable people
*
Leo Binz, archbishop of Dubuque and St. Paul and Minneapolis; born in Stockton
*
Charles E. Byrum, member of the
South Dakota House of Representatives; born in Stockton
*
Dennis Gage, host of the television show ''My Classic Car''; grew up in Stockton
*
Ron Lawfer, farmer and Illinois legislator; born in Stockton
['Illinois Blue Book 1997-1998,' Biographical Sketch of I. Ronald Lawfer, pg. 107]
Historical landmarks
*
Townsend Home
*
W.E. White Building
*Great Western Hotel
References
External links
Jo Daviess CountyOfficial website
{{authority control
Villages in Jo Daviess County, Illinois
Driftless Area
Populated places established in 1886
Villages in Illinois