Gibson City | |
City | |
Nickname: The BIG LITTLE CITY of Ford County, Illinois. | |
Country | United States |
---|---|
State | Illinois |
County | Ford |
Elevation | 751 ft (229 m) |
Coordinates | 40°27′56″N 88°22′29″W / 40.46556°N 88.37472°WCoordinates: 40°27′56″N 88°22′29″W / 40.46556°N 88.37472°W |
Area | 2.35 sq mi (6 km2) |
- land | 2.32 sq mi (6 km2) |
- water | 0.03 sq mi (0 km2) |
Population | 3,407 (2010) |
Density | 1,604.0/sq mi (619/km2) |
Mayor | Daniel E. Dickey |
Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
- summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
Postal code | 60936 |
Area code | 217 |
Website: http://gibsoncityillinois.com | |
Gibson City is a city in Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,407 at the 2010 census.
The site of Gibson City was purchased and platted by Jonathan B. Lott in 1869. In 1870, Lott built a home and a post office there, and several stores and a grain elevator were constructed. Lott named the place Gibson after the maiden name of his wife, Margaret Gibson Lott, and City was added later by the post office department. Both the Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad and the Chicago and Paducah Railroad reached the town in 1871, allowing its population to grow. Gibson City was incorporated as a village in 1872. A third railroad, the LaFayette, Muncie and Bloomington Railroad, was built through Gibson City in 1874. In the same year, one of the railroads signed a contract that paid Augustana College, located in Paxton at the time, a commission of $1 per acre on all railroad land sold to Swedish settlers.
In 1883, a fire in the town caused $50,000 ($1,000,000 in 2007 dollars) in property damage.
Gibson City is located at 40°27′56″N 88°22′29″W / 40.46556°N 88.37472°W (40.465653, -88.374711).
According to the 2010 census, Gibson City has a total area of 2.349 square miles (6.08 km2), of which 2.32 square miles (6.01 km2) (or 98.77%) is land and 0.029 square miles (0.08 km2) (or 1.23%) is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,373 people, 1,469 households, and 928 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,604.0 people per square mile (620.2/km²). There were 1,565 housing units at an average density of 744.2 per square mile (287.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.13% White, 0.59% African American, 0.53% Asian, 0.03% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.