Paxton, Illinois

Geobox|Settlement
name = Paxton
native_name =
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category = City
etymology =
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image_caption = View of Downtown Paxton


symbol =
country = United States
state = Illinois
region = Ford
region_type = County
district =
district_type = Township
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lat_m = 27
lat_s = 31
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long_EW = W
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area_imperial = 2.2
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population = 4525
population_date = 2000
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leader_type = Mayor
timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
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postal_code = 60957
area_code = 217
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map_caption = Location of Paxton within Illinois
map_background = Illinois - background map.png map_locator = Illinois2
commons = Paxton, Illinois
statistics =
website = http://www.paxtonil.com
footnotes =

Paxton is a city in Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,525 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ford CountyGR|6.

History

The town was initially named Prairie City in the late 1840s, then Prospect City by an Illinois Central Railroad official in 1855. However, as Wilbur W. Sauer points out in his study of the early history of Ford County, residents noted that the town was "all prospect and no city." In 1859, it was renamed for Sir Joseph Paxton, architect of the Crystal Palace, who was a major shareholder in the Illinois Central Railroad, which in 1856 was the longest span of railroad in the world (Chicago to Cairo). It was rumored that Paxton was interested in organizing an English settlement in Illinois. The colony never materialized, but the town kept the name. Founded in 1859, Paxton will celebrate its sesquicentennial in 2009.

Augustana College was located in Paxton from 1863-1875, aided by a community effort led by recent Swedish immigrants to fund educational and cultural opportunities for citizens. An early public high school was established in 1872; it served the surrounding area for the next several decades, culminating in the formation of a community high school district in May 1920.

On June 22, 1919, former President William Howard Taft visited Paxton while on his way to Champaign. After disembarking from a long train ride, Taft delivered a speech in the Pells Park Pavilion in favor of U.S. entry into the newly formed League of Nations. An excerpt of his speech can be found in the June 26, 1919 edition of the Paxton Daily Record, which is available on microfilm at the Paxton Carnegie Library.

Taft is one of three Presidents to visit Ford County, joining Richard M. Nixon (who was Vice-President when he visited in 1957), and Gerald R. Ford, who visited Melvin on October 24, 1974 to honor Congressman Leslie C. Arends of Melvin for 40 years of service in the United States House of Representatives, including 32 years as the Republican Whip, the longest tenure in that position of anyone from either party.

On April 7, 1979, Paxton made the national news after a gun battle along Interstate 57 two miles (3 km) south of the city left two law enforcement officers and three civilians dead. "The Shootout" as it is know locally, began on a seemingly ordinary Saturday night. Illinois State Troop Michael McCarter [http://www.odmp.org/officer/8799-trooper-michael-k.-mccarter] was patrolling the area north of Paxton, accompanied by his civilian brother-in-law Donald Vice, when he clocked two southbound vehicles near Buckley going 65 miles per hour, 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. He eventually pulled them over a mile south of Paxton and radioed for assistance from Paxton police. Officer William Caisse [http://www.odmp.org/officer/2665-patrolman-william-o.-caisse] responded, as did Officer Larry Hale, who first stopped to ticket a motorcyclist.

Just a few minutes later, five people would be dead in a wild nighttime shootout: McCarter and Vice, Caisse, and Cleveland and David Lampkin, two of four brothers who were headed from their homes in Union Pier, Michigan to Mississippi for their grandmother's funeral. The only survivors would be Hale, Clyde Lampkin, who was never implicated in the incident, and Monroe Lampkin [http://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/search/inms.asp] , who, police would later contend, killed McCarter and Vice. Hale was wounded in an exchange with David Lampkin, whom he later fatally shot. Monroe Lampkin escaped the scene on foot, setting off a massive manhunt, but was captured the following day walking on the outskirts of Paxton. How the shootout started is not entirely clear. Monroe Lampkin claims that his brothers only pulled their guns after one of the officers cursed and fired at them and that he never fired a shot. Known by police to be part of auto parts theft ring based in Detroit, it is believed that the Lampkin brothers were worried that police would find the weapons they had in the trunk of their cars, and opened fire on the officers.

In 1979, Monroe Lampkin was convicted and sentenced to death, but that decision was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court five years later. In 1985, Lampkin was convicted and sentenced again, this time to life in prison, but that conviction was later overturned in 1990 because of inadmissible evidence given by a witness. Finally, in 1991, Lampkin was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole, a sentence that was upheld by appellate court in 1993. He is currently serving time at the state prison in Pontiac, Illinois. [http://books.google.com/books?id=9kt1kCd-d7UC&pg=PA240&vq=Paxton&dq=Hot+Type+News+Gazette&source=gbs_search_s&sig=-B5k6NCLopIIMDKDXKqQYOQbVuM]

From 1961-2001, Paxton was home to what was dubbed "The World's Largest Community Sale", attracting hundreds of vendors and buyers and thousands of spectators from throughout central Illinois. Sponsored by the Lions Club, the sale stretched from one end of Market Street to the other for a day-long extravaganza each spring that was part farm show, part auction, and part garage sale.

From 1897-2007, the Paxton Daily Record was published in Paxton, making the paper one of the longest-running daily newspapers of its size in the state of Illinois. Today, the Paxton Weekly Record is owned by the Champaign News-Gazette and continues to publish local news, sports, and other events.

Paxton is the home of the "Illinois Central Historical Society", a railroad depot historic preservation group that centers on the history of the Illinois Central Railroad. [http://www.icrrhistorical.org/index.htm]

The town also boasts the Historic Brick Water Tower & Ford Country Historical Society Museum, which opened on July 4, 2007. The convert|80|ft|m|sing=on tall brick water tower was built in 1887 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The community has many homes built in the late 19th century, some of which are now part of an historic homes walking tour designed by P.R.I.D.E. in Paxton, a not-for-profit organization and charter member of the Illinois Main Street program. Many of the home owners have garnered awards from various preservation and restoration societies for their efforts in maintaining the architectural heritage of these important landmarks.

In addition to these historic homes, homeowners throughout the community gear up for bragging rights every year during the 4th of July house decorating contest. The Paxton Old-Fashioned Fourth Of July Celebration is one of Central Illinois' largest Independence Day celebrations, and is a day filled with food, entertainment, contests, the Knights of Columbus 5K Run and Walk, a community worship service, fireworks, and more at Pells Park in Paxton.

Paxton is also famous for its downtown Christmas tree. Every year a Christmas tree is donated by a local family, and with the help of city and local utility workers, the 40 to convert|60|ft|m|sing=on evergreen (with a manhole serving as a giant tree stand) becomes a beacon of light in the downtown. P.R.I.D.E. in Paxton's annual tree lighting ceremony, held at 7:00 P.M. on the Friday night after Thanksgiving, and the annual Christmas Parade through downtown, held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, have been community favorites for several decades.

Paxton, as well as several other communities in East Central Illinois, is home to a Semi-Professional Baseball Team called the [http://www.eibaseball.com Paxton Swedes] . The Swedes got their name from the town's Swedish Heritage. The Swedes are part of the Eastern Illinois Baseball League which has eight teams. The Swedes were league champions in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007. The Swedes play their home games at beautiful Memorial Field in Paxton. Memorial Field is also home to the PBL Panthers High School Baseball Team. Memorial Field stands out as one of the top baseball fields in East Central Illinois.

Geography

Paxton is located at coor dms|40|27|31|N|88|5|45|W|city (40.458745, -88.095784)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.8 km²), all of it land.

Paxton is directly served by three major highways (I-57, U.S. Route 45, and Illinois Route 9), the Illinois Central Railroad, and a municipal airport with an all-weather convert|3500|ft|m landing strip [http://www.airnav.com/airport/1C1] .

The city is close to several commercial airline hubs, just convert|30|mi|km from the U of I Willard Airport and convert|56|mi|km from the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington. The nearest Amtrak stations are in Rantoul (11 miles) and Gilman (22 miles).

Numerous outstanding community colleges and universities, including the University of Illinois, Illinois State University, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Parkland College, are nearby.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 4,525 people, 1,776 households, and 1,198 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.4 people per square mile (783.5/km²). There were 1,888 housing units at an average density of 847.6/sq mi (326.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.3% White, 7.5% African American, 0.07% Native American 3 total Asians Asian, 0.55% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.64% of the population. There were 1,776 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,804, and the median income for a family was $44,256. Males had a median income of $31,140 versus $23,555 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,617. About 4.2% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

The education level of the population age 25 and older in Paxton is as follows:

* High school or higher: 88.0%
* Bachelor's degree or higher: 13.4%
* Graduate or professional degree: 4.4%

References

External links

* [http://www.paxtonil.com City of Paxton Website]
* [http://www.pblunit10.com Paxton-Buckley-Loda School District]
* [http://www.cedf.org Community Economic Development Foundation Website]
* [http://www.paxtonparkdistrict.com/ Paxton Park District]