Mendota, Illinois

Mendota, Illinois
City
Sign leading into Mendota Mendota Location in Illinois
Motto: The World's Greatest Little City
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	LaSalle
Incorporated	1855
Government
• Type	Mayor
• Mayor	David W. Boelk (I)
Area[1]
• Total	5.08 sq mi (13.16 km2)
• Land	4.98 sq mi (12.90 km2)
• Water	0.10 sq mi (0.26 km2)
Elevation[2]	741 ft (226 m)
Population (2014)[3]
• Total	7,254
• Density	1,457/sq mi (562/km2)
Time zone	CST (UTC−6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC−5)
ZIP code	61342
Area code	815, 779
Website	http://www.mendota.il.us/

Mendota is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, in the state's north-central region. The population was 7,372 at the 2010 census, and was estimated to be 7,254 by July 2014.^[3] It is part of the Ottawa-Peru, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Mendota is located approximately 70 miles east of Moline and 55 miles south of Rockford. The current mayor is David W. Boelk, an independent elected to a four-year term.

History

Mendota is a name derived from a Native American word meaning "junction of two trails", which was found appropriate for the city since there was a nearby railroad junction.^[4]

Transportation

Mendota is served by U.S Interstate 39, U.S. Route 34, U.S. Route 52, and many state highways including Illinois Route 251. Three Amtrak trains in each direction stop daily at the Mendota Amtrak station: the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg between Chicago and Quincy, and the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Kansas City and Los Angeles. (The California Zephyr passes through without stopping.) There are also two small airports near-by.

Geography

Mendota is located at 41°32′58″N 89°7′6″W / 41.54944°N 89.11833°W / 41.54944; -89.11833 (41.549397, -89.118377).^[5]

According to the 2010 census, Mendota has a total area of 5.096 square miles (13.20 km²), of which 5 square miles (12.95 km²) (or 98.12%) is land and 0.096 square miles (0.25 km²) (or 1.88%) is water.^[6]

Demographics

As of the 2010 census^[9] there were 7,372 people and 2,826 households residing in the city. The population density was 1,475.9 people per square mile (569.8/km²). There were 3,037 housing units at an average density of 607.4 per square mile (233.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.3% White, 0.7% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 8.5% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 24.5% of the population.

There were 2,826 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 11% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.14.

The population consisted of 27.7% aged 19 or younger and 18% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.2 years. Females comprised 52.4% of the total population.

The median income for a household in the city was $43,534. The per capita income for the city was $21,995. Median income for males was $40,938 and $26,753 for females. 12.3% of the population were below poverty level, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Tourism

The Mendota Sweet Corn Festival^[10] attracts thousands of visitors each August; it features a parade, carnival, beer garden with live bands, free sweet corn cooked in a vintage steam engine, and other special events. The city closes down several streets in the downtown area to host the annual event which is sponsored by Del Monte Foods. The Mendota Tri-County Fair^[11] is held every Labor Day weekend at the Mendota Fairgrounds. The fair hosts a carnival, beer garden, and several other events.

The city has two man made lakes, Lake Mendota and Lake Kakusha, used for boating and fishing. Mendota also maintains a community swimming pool as well as several parks including Snyders Grove, a 104-acre (0.42 km²) reserve/park.^[12]

Mendota has three museums:

• The Hume-Carnegie Museum^[13] showcases artifacts of local history, including items manufactured in Mendota and a small collection pertaining to Wild Bill Hickok, who was born in nearby Troy Grove. It is located in a former Carnegie library building in Veteran's Park.^[14]
• The Union Depot Railroad Museum^[15] houses the current Amtrak station, several rooms of vintage railroad artifacts, passenger train cars from the 1930s and 1940s. It is also home to CB&Q No. 4978, a 2-8-2 class Locomotive built in September 1923 by Baldwin Locomotive Works.^[16]
• The Breaking the Prairie Museum^[17] is a small barn replica showcasing a rotating display with one large item (a vintage tractor or large item of farm husbandry) and several smaller items. Adjacent to the barn is "The Country Chapel", a small church which is owned by the museum. Completed in 2004, it houses a restored pump organ from the 1880s. It is closed to the public, however special tours can be arranged by contacting the Mendota Historical Society Office.^[18]

Notable people

• William P. Bettendorf, inventor; city of Bettendorf, Iowa named for him; born in Mendota
• Bill Brown, former running back with the Minnesota Vikings
• Helen E. Hokinson, cartoonist for The New Yorker (1925–1949)
• James Massey, cryptographer; lived in Mendota
• Jason Pohl, motorcycle designer with Orange County Choppers; born in Mendota
• Frank Seno, NFL running back and defensive back for the Washington Redskins (1943–1944 and 1949), and Chicago Cardinals (1947–1948); born in Mendota
• David C. Shapiro, dentist and Illinois state legislator; born in Mendota
• Otto Vogel, outfielder for the Chicago Cubs; born in Mendota
• Deacon White, professional baseball pioneer in Hall of Fame; lived in Mendota

Media

Mendota has one weekly newspaper, The Mendota Reporter^[19]

Mendota has two commercialized radio stations.

Schools

Mendota has four public schools and one private school. The three public grade schools: Blackstone, Lincoln, and Northbrook are part of Mendota Consolidated Community School District 289; while the Mendota Township High School is district 280. Blackstone School houses kindergarten and first grade, and had an enrollment of 271 students in 2010. Lincoln School houses second through fourth grades, and had a student enrollment of 391 in 2010. Northbrook School is home to the fifth through eighth grades, as well as pre-kindergarten; and had an enrollment of 644 in 2010. The student enrollment of the high school in 2010 was 611 students.^[20] A new high school facility was built in 2002 at 2300 Main Street (U.S. Route 52). Holy Cross Roman Catholic Parish^[21] has a private school which educates students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

Aurora University was originally chartered as Mendota College on the north side of Mendota where the high school was located from 1917–2003.^[22]

Wartburg College (now located in Waverly, Iowa) was located in Mendota from 1875 to 1885.^[23]

Economy

A number of businesses operate within Mendota including:^[24]

• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), a grain processor.
• Del Monte Foods, a food processing company.

In popular culture

The Arctic Monkeys, an English rock band, filmed their music video "One For the Road" at the Tri-Country Fairgrounds in September, 2013.^[25]

References

External links

• City of Mendota
• Aurora University
• Wartburg College
• Mendota Township High School

Municipalities and communities of LaSalle County, Illinois, United States
County seat: Ottawa
Cities	Earlville LaSalle Marseilles Mendota Oglesby Ottawa Peru Sandwich‡ Streator‡ Wenona‡
Villages	Cedar Point Dalzell‡ Dana Grand Ridge Kangley Leland Leonore Lostant Millington‡ Naplate North Utica Ransom Rutland Seneca‡ Sheridan Somonauk‡ Tonica Troy Grove
Townships	Adams Allen Brookfield Bruce Dayton Deer Park Dimmick Eagle Earl Eden Fall River Farm Ridge Freedom Grand Rapids Groveland Hope LaSalle Manlius Mendota Meriden Miller Mission Northville Ophir Osage Ottawa Otter Creek Peru Richland Rutland Serena South Ottawa Troy Grove Utica Vermillion Wallace Waltham
CDPs	Dayton Lake Holiday
Other unincorporated communities	Altmar Baker Blakes Catharine Danway Dimmick Farm Ridge Fitchmoor Garfield Harding Hitt Jonesville Kernan Leeds Lowell Meriden Milla Mount Palatine‡ Northville Norway Peterstown Piety Hill Prairie Center Reed Crossing Richards Rockwell Science Serena Stavanger Stoneyville Sulphur Springs Ticona Tomahawk Bluff Triumph Vermilionville Waltham Wedron Welland‡ Wilsman Woodland Addition
Ghost towns	Bailey Falls Culton East Wenona Freedom Centre Little Rock Munson Otter South Ottawa
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties