Downers Grove Township, DuPage County, Illinois

Downers Grove Township
Township

Location in DuPage County

DuPage County's location in Illinois
Coordinates: 41°45′15″N 87°58′32″W / 41.75417°N 87.97556°W / 41.75417; -87.97556Coordinates: 41°45′15″N 87°58′32″W / 41.75417°N 87.97556°W / 41.75417; -87.97556
Country  United States
State  Illinois
County DuPage
Settled November 6, 1849
Government
  Supervisor Frank J. Wurster (R)
Area
  Total 50.93 sq mi (131.9 km2)
  Land 49.56 sq mi (128.4 km2)
  Water 1.36 sq mi (3.5 km2)  2.67%
Elevation 758 ft (231 m)
Population (2010)
  Total 146,795
  Density 2,961.9/sq mi (1,143.6/km2)
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
  Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 60439, 60480, 60514-60517, 60521, 60523, 60527, 60559, 60561
GNIS feature ID 0428909

Downers Grove Township is one of nine townships in DuPage County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 146,795 and it contained 60,438 housing units.[1] It is the largest township in the county, both in terms of area and population. Although large in size, it is one of the more blue-collar areas of the county, and is home to largely undeveloped pockets of farmland, which extend south of Downers Grove and Darien

History

Downers Grove Township is named for Pierce Downer, who settled in the neighborhood about 1830.[2]

Back in the 1800s, the town's residents buried people at a cemetery called Main Street Cemetery. That cemetery was close to a creek. There was flooding and icy conditions around the creek, which made burying people near it difficult to do. To find a new spot to bury people, the town's people asked a wealthy resident named Dexter Stanley, who owned large amounts of land, to donate some of his land to build a new cemetery. He agreed, and the town built the Oak Hill Cemetery. The cemetery is still used today.[3]

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of 50.93 square miles (131.9 km2), of which 49.56 square miles (128.4 km2) (or 97.31%) is land and 1.36 square miles (3.5 km2) (or 2.67%) is water.[1]

Cities, towns, villages

Unincorporated towns

(This list is based on USGS data and may include former settlements.)

Extinct towns

(These towns are listed as "historical" by the USGS.)

Cemeteries

The township contains these ten cemeteries: Cass, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Fullersburg, Hinsdale Animal, Oak Hill, Pierce Downer, Saint Johns Lutheran, Saint Mary of Gostyn and Saint Patricks Catholic.

Major highways

Airports and landing strips

Rivers

Lakes

Landmarks

School districts

Political districts

References

  1. 1 2 "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- County Subdivision and Place -- 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  2. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 108.
  3. "Cemeteries". Downers Grove Township. Downers Grove, Illinois. 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.