Cherry Valley, Illinois
| Cherry Valley | |
| Village | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | Winnebago, Boone |
| Townships | Cherry Valley, Rockford, Belvidere, Flora |
| Elevation | 728 ft (222 m) |
| Coordinates | 42°14′05″N 88°56′56″W / 42.23472°N 88.94889°WCoordinates: 42°14′05″N 88°56′56″W / 42.23472°N 88.94889°W |
| Area | 8.70 sq mi (23 km2) |
| - land | 8.44 sq mi (22 km2) |
| - water | 0.26 sq mi (1 km2) |
| Population | 3,143 (2012) |
| Density | 583.3/sq mi (225/km2) |
| Village President | Jim E. Claeyssen |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 61016 |
| Area code | 815 |
 Location in Winnebago County and the state of Illinois.
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Website: www |
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The village of Cherry Valley is a community of 8.72 square miles (22.6 km2) located in the Kishwaukee River valley, which lies primarily in Winnebago County. Approximately ten percent of the village is located within Boone County. The village is within the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, and borders the southeast side of Rockford. The population is 3,162 as of the 2010 census, up from 2,191 in 2000.
Official documents from the Winnebago County Clerk's office and the Village of Cherry Valley state Cherry Valley was settled in 1835. The first settler was Joseph Griggs. Cherry Valley was incorporated as a village on January 31, 1857. Early landmark events for Cherry Valley was the establishment of a mill on the Kishwaukee River, and the coming of the railroad in 1852.
Early on Cherry Valley was called by various names, such as "Griggs Ford" and Graball, and then other names, before the present name was adopted. After deciding to change the name, the people put their suggestions into a hat. A Mrs. Butler, from Cherry Valley, New York placed the name of Cherry Valley in the hat and that name was selected. The core of the village, centered on its main street businesses in small brick buildings, is surrounded by several blocks of houses built in the 19th century. This late 19th century appearance is further accentuated by turn of the 20th century-style lamp lights as well as the original brick paving along the eastern end of main street.
Although located close to Rockford, Cherry Valley was far enough away to be considered, for most of its history, not a part of the Rockford community. However, with the advent of modern transportation in the later 20th century, Cherry Valley became in essence a suburb of Rockford. As the city of Rockford grew and expanded its boundaries it came in direct contact with Cherry Valley. Since that time there have been land control related issues between the two municipalities. For the most part these issues have been resolved with a boundary agreement between the two communities.
In the last dozen years Cherry Valley has seen a shift towards Chicago, with roughly a third of its new residents being former Chicago suburban residents who live in the village and commute to work in the Chicago suburbs. Being near to an interchange on I-90 (Jane Addams Memorial Tollway) contributed to this shift, and in 2006 the toll booths on the Cherry Valley interchange and exit were removed because of increased traffic flow and the need to remove the chronic traffic jams that had built over the years.
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