Winnetka, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Winnetka, Illinois
Village
Location of Winnetka in Cook County, Illinois
Location of Illinois in the United States
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
Township	New Trier
Incorporated	1869
Government
• Type	Council-manager
Area
• Total	3.89 sq mi (10.08 km2)
• Land	3.81 sq mi (9.87 km2)
• Water	0.08 sq mi (0.21 km2)  2.06%
Elevation	650 ft (200 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,744
• Density	3,344.00/sq mi (1,290.96/km2)
	Down 1.87% from 2000
Standard of living (2015-2019)
• Per capita income	$123,319
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units	$1,091,700
Time zone	Central
ZIP code(s)	60093
Area code(s)	847 and 224
Geocode	82530
FIPS code	17-82530

Winnetka is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located 16 miles (26 km) north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,316 as of 2019. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of household income. It was the second-ranked Illinois community on Bloomberg's 2019 Richest Places Annual Index. In 2020, 24/7 Wall St ranked Winnetka as the second-best small town to live in the United States.

Geography

Winnetka is located at 42°6′22″N 87°44′16″W / 42.10611°N 87.73778°W / 42.10611; -87.73778 (42.106227, −87.73801). Winnetka is located 650 feet (200 m) above sea level and has a magnetic declination of 3° 10' W. According to the 2010 census, Winnetka has a total area of 3.893 square miles (10.08 km²), of which 3.81 square miles (9.87 km²) (or 97.87%) is land and 0.083 square miles (0.21 km²) (or 2.13%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 12,187 people, 4,102 households, and 3,328 families residing in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 94.8% White, 0.3% African American, 0.1% Native American, 3.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.2% of the population.

There were 4,102 households, out of which 45.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.3% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.9% were non-families. 17.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 36.2% under the age of 19, 2.3% from 20 to 24, 15.2% from 25 to 44, 32.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.8 years.

The median income for a household in the village was $250,000+, and the median income for a family was over $250,000, as of 2019. The per capita income for the village was $123,319 in 2019. 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line.

History

The first houses were built in 1836. That year Erastus Patterson and his family arrived from Vermont and opened a tavern to service passengers on the Green Bay Trail post road. The village was first subdivided in 1854 by Charles Peck and Walter S. Gurnee, President of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. Winnetka's first private school was opened in 1856 by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Peck with seventeen pupils. In 1859 the first public school building was built with private funds at the southeast corner of Elm and Maple streets. The first year's budget for this school was two hundred dollars. The village was incorporated in 1869 with a population of 450. The name is believed to originate from Potawatomi language, meaning "beautiful place".

The oldest surviving house in Winnetka is the Schmidt-Burnham House. It was moved in 2003 from its previous location on Tower Road to the Crow Island Woods.

Winnetka's neighborhoods include estates and homes designed by distinguished architects including George Washington Maher, Walter Burley Griffin, John S. Van Bergen, Robert Seyfarth, Robert McNitt, Howard Van Doren Shaw and David Adler. Among Winnetka's celebrities are the late actor Rock Hudson and Rock singer/songwriter/producer Richard Marx.

Churches in Winnetka were also designed by noted architects. Among them, the former First Church of Christ, Scientist, 440 Ridge Avenue, was designed in 1924 by architect Solon S. Beman.

The Chicago and Milwaukee Railway was built in 1855 through Winnetka, connecting its namesake cities. It eventually became the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. Between 1937 and 1942 the railroad tracks through Winnetka were grade separated after several people were hit at grade crossings. In 1995 the C&NW was merged into the Union Pacific. Only Metra trains are operated on this track now; freight operations ended in the late 1980s. Winnetka has three Metra stations: Hubbard Woods, Winnetka, and Indian Hill.

The Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee electric interurban was built through Winnetka and the North Shore in the first decade of the 1900s, and the line through Winnetka was removed in 1955. This is now the Green Bay Trail bicycle path.

The Crow Island School, designed by Eliel & Eero Saarinen and the architectural firm Perkins, Wheeler & Will, was declared a National Historical Landmark in 1990. It was declared 12th among all buildings and the best architectural design of all schools. 10,000 people attended the opening in 1938.

Notable people

Education

The Winnetka Public Schools system (District 36) consists of three elementary schools and two middle schools. Hubbard Woods, Crow Island, and Samuel Sewall Greeley (est. 1912) Elementary Schools serve grades kindergarten through four, students in fifth and sixth grades attend the Skokie School and seventh and eighth graders attend the Carleton W. Washburne School, named after educator Carleton Washburne. Winnetka's schools were modeled after Washburne's educational philosophy in an experiment called the Winnetka Plan. The town's schools continue to reflect his educational philosophy.

Some neighborhoods in the southern part of Winnetka are served by Avoca School District 37, which has schools in Glenview (Avoca West Elementary School; K-5) and Wilmette (Marie Murphy School; 6-8). Kenilworth School District 38 (Sears School; K-8) also includes a very small portion of the southeastern part of Winnetka, near Kenilworth.

Winnetka is in New Trier Township, and public school students who reside in Winnetka attend New Trier High School for grades 9 through 12. North Shore Country Day School is a private school option.

Crow Island is a National Historic Landmark due to its significant architectural design.

Private schools

• Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• La Petite École, Winnetka Campus (Preschool–9), bilingual school
• North Shore Country Day School (JK–12)
• Sacred Heart School (Preschool–8), Catholic school
• The School of Saints Faith, Hope & Charity (Preschool–8), Catholic school

See also

In Spanish: Winnetka (Illinois) para niños