Montgomery, Illinois

Montgomery is a village in Kane and Kendall counties, Illinois. The population was 5,471 at the 2000 census, while the 2010 census lists Montgomery's population at 18,438. This is a 237 percent increase from 2000, making Montgomery the 9th fastest growing municipality in Illinois during this period. Complete census data from the 2010 Census in Montgomery can be found here: http://censusviewer.com/city/IL/Montgomery.

Geography
Montgomery is located at 41.71889°N, -88.39222°W (41.7188316, -88.3920915).

According to the 2010 census, the village has a total area of 9.51 sqmi, of which 9.34 sqmi (or 98.21%) is land and 0.17 sqmi (or 1.79%) is water.

Education
Montgomery is served by five different school districts: West Aurora, East Aurora, Oswego, Yorkville and Kaneland. Further information about the school districts as well as their contract information and a map showing school district boundaries can be found at: http://ci.montgomery.il.us/index.aspx?nid=315

History
The first European settler arriving in the area was Jacob Carpenter, who came to the Chicago area from Logan County, Ohio in November 1832. In the fall of 1835, Daniel S. Gray, from Montgomery County, New York, visited the area where his brother Nicholas Gray had located in the previous spring, on a farm now within the limits of Kendall County. He made immediate preparations to settle there, and in the fall of 1836, after his family moved from New York state, he built the first wooden house in the area. It was located in the southern part of what is now Montgomery, near the west bank of the Fox River.

Daniel Gray is considered the founder of Montgomery, and bought land grants from the federal government, and had ownership of large tracts of land. The settlement was called "Graystown" for several years, but eventually Gray convinced other settlers to call the small village "Montgomery" after the New York County where he and several other settlers had origins.

Daniel Gray founded many companies in Montgomery, including a warehouse, foundry, combine and fabrication shop, and one of the best stone grain mills in the county (Gray–Watkins Mill). Gray was doing preparations for more business operations, including the establishment of a stationary engine factory when he died in October 1855. Upon his death, he still owned the majority of the lots in the village. His heirs continued to sell these lots and the village continued to grow.

On February 17, 1858, the village of Montgomery was incorporated.

For much of the twentieth century, the village grew slowly and steadily. Lyon Steel was founded in Montgomery, and participated in the war effort of World War II. The Aurora Caterpillar manufacturing plant has been producing wheel-loaders since 1959.

In the beginning of the twenty-first century, Montgomery experienced rapid growth, along with many other communities in Kendall County.

Demographics
As of the 2010 Census, there were 18,438 people residing in the village. The population density was 1,938.8 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 75.32% White, 8.35% African American, 0.37% Native American, 3.19% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.37% from other races, and 3.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 26.7% of the population.

There were 5,998 households out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 22.5% were non-families. 50.8% of all households contained individuals under the age of 18, while 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07 and the average family size was 3.52.

In the village the population was spread out with 33.25% under the age of 18, 60.16% from 18 to 64, and 6.58% who were 65 years of age or older.

Of the 6,326 dwelling units in the village, 5,998 or 94.8% were occupied. 85.1% of the occupied housing units were owner occupied, with 14.9% occupied by renters.

Notable people

 * Carole Mathews, American actress; appeared on the NBC-TV western series The Californians (1958-1959); Miss Chicago (1938)

Cultural references
Montgomery was featured as the hometown of Vice President Caroline Reynolds in the fictional TV series, Prison Break. The town actually used in filming was Woodstock, IL.