Sandwich, Illinois

Sandwich, Illinois
City
Sandwich City Hall & Opera House
Nickname:  The Fair City
Location of Sandwich in DeKalb and Kendall Counties, Illinois.
Coordinates: 41°38′39″N 88°37′44″W / 41.64417°N 88.62889°W / 41.64417; -88.62889[5]
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Counties	DeKalb, Kendall
Townships	Sandwich, Somonauk, Little Rock
Incorporated (city)	February 21, 1859 (1859-02-21)[1]
Founded by	Almon Gage
Area [3]
• Total	4.75 sq mi (12.31 km2)
• Land	4.74 sq mi (12.27 km2)
• Water	0.019 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation [5]	669 ft (204 m)
Population  (2020)[4]
• Total	7,221
• Density	1,520/sq mi (587/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	60548
Area codes	815, 779
FIPS code	17-67548
GNIS feature ID	2396534[5]
Website	www.sandwich.il.us

Sandwich is a city in DeKalb and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois.^[6] Its population was 7,421 at the 2010 census and 7,221 at the 2020 census.^[4]

The town's history is tied to politician "Long John" Wentworth and his efforts to move the Illinois border with Wisconsin from being even with the southernmost latitude of Lake Michigan to its present location. If those efforts had not been successful, the state line would reside along the LaSalle-DeKalb County border, placing the incorporated community in Wisconsin. The community was established when Almon Gage sought a railroad stop on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad that ran through town.^[7] Originally naming it Newark Station (not to be confused with the nearby village of Newark) he and Wentworth worked extensively to create the community and also to get the railroad stop created. In honor of his efforts, Wentworth was given the opportunity to name the town. He named it after his home of Sandwich, New Hampshire. The city's Wentworth Apartments and Wentworth Street are named after him.

Sandwich is the home of the Sandwich Fair, which first started as an annual livestock show in DeKalb County. Originally known as the Union Agricultural Institute, it first opened in 1858.^[8] Since 1888, it has been held yearly on the Wednesday through Sunday after Labor Day. It is one of the oldest continuing county fairs in Illinois, drawing daily crowds of more than 100,000, with top attendance days reaching over 200,000.^[9] In 2020, the Fair was cancelled for the first time in its history due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[10]

As of 2021, Sandwich has a total area of 4.754 square miles (12.31 km²), of which 4.763 square miles (12.34 km²) (or 99.62%) is land and 0.018 square miles (0.05 km²) (or 0.38%) is water.^[3]

Within the city limit of Sandwich, there is a network of creeks, which either connect to Somonauk Creek (Lake Holiday), Little Rock Creek, or to the Fox River. Lake Davis, which stretched from Veterans Memorial Park to what is now Gletty Road, was drained early in the 19th century to open up additional farmland. The Sandwich town site was built on a natural gradation due to a geological fault line known as the Sandwich Fault, so the city stands on a hillside. The southeast corner of the city is the lowest spot, roughly near the Harvey Creek Preserve, as well as near Little Rock Creek. The last earthquake along the Sandwich Fault was on February 10, 2010, with a previous tremor being reported in January 2007.

Sandwich's climate is typified by large seasonal temperature variances, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Dfa". (Hot Summer Continental Climate).^[11]

As of the 2020 census, Sandwich had a population of 7,221. The median age was 39.8 years. 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.4 males age 18 and over.^[13][14]

97.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.2% lived in rural areas.^[15]

There were 2,761 households in Sandwich, of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.3% were married-couple households, 18.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[13]

There were 2,891 housing units, of which 4.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.3%.^[13]

The median income for a household in the city was $70,563, and the median income for a family was $76,452. Males had a median income of $46,429 versus $26,841 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,619. About 5.3% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

The community is served by Sandwich Community Unit School District 430, which operates three elementary schools, an intermediate school, a junior high, and a high school. The schools are: Prairie View Elementary, Lynn G. Haskin Elementary, W.W. Woodbury Elementary, Herman E. Dummer School, Sandwich Middle School, and Sandwich High School. Although in past years, CUSD #430 would place some students in out of district schools. The mascot is the Indian, and the school colors are orange and black. Sandwich High School is an active member of the Interstate Eight Conference, and competes in IHSA regulated sports competitions. The high school also has a very competitive wrestling team, and in the 2010, 2011, and 2012 high school football seasons, the teams made it to state playoffs. Sandwich also takes advantage of being in the Waubonsee Community College tax district.

Sandwich is home to the Sahara-Pak heat-of-compression air dryer, a design patented in 1974 by Henderson Engineering, which is considered by many industry observers to be the most significant development ever made in the design of equipment for drying compressed air. Sandwich has a strong manufacturing history, which is evident by the presence of the Plano Molding Company factory, which makes molded plastic furniture, tackle boxes, organization equipment, and other various items. Sandwich is also home to Meadowvale, Inc., a dairy mix manufacturer that specializes in ice cream, frozen custard, and soft serve mixes that are distributed across the US.^[16] Although many factories in the area have been closed down or relocated, the community will continue to be a site of manufacturing for some time to come.

• Hugh Brannum (1910–1987), actor, who played the role of "Mr. Green Jeans" on Captain Kangaroo
• Lyell Carr (1857–1912), artist^[17]
• Latham Castle (1900–1986), judge and Illinois Attorney General
• Garrett Gilkey (1990-), NFL offensive guard, attended school in Sandwich, native of Lemont
• Paul Harvey (1882–1955), film and TV actor
• Rufus B. von KleinSmid (1875–1964), President of the University of Southern California

• Sandwich City Hall
• Sandwich Fault Zone
• von KleinSmid Mansion

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sandwich, Illinois.

• Official website
• Sandwich Chamber of Commerce