Zion, Illinois

Zion, Illinois
City
City of Zion New Signs in 2025
City of Zion New Signs in 2025
Official seal of Zion, Illinois
Seal
Motto: 
"Historic past, dynamic future"
Location of Zion in Lake County, Illinois.
Location of Zion in Lake County, Illinois.
Coordinates: 42°28′12″N 87°52′07″W / 42.47000°N 87.86861°W / 42.47000; -87.86861[2]
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyLake
FoundedJuly 1901
Founded byJohn Alexander Dowie
Named afterMount Zion, Israel
Government
 • MayorBilly McKinney
Area
[1]
 • Total
9.93 sq mi (25.72 km2)
 • Land9.93 sq mi (25.72 km2)
 • Water0 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
[2]
692 ft (211 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
24,655
 • Density2,482.7/sq mi (958.58/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
60099
Area code(s)847, 224
FIPS code17-84220
GNIS feature ID2397402[2]
Websitewww.cityofzion.com

Zion is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, the population was 24,655.[3]

History

The city was founded in 1900 by John Alexander Dowie, a Scots-Australian evangelical minister and faith healer who had migrated to the United States in 1888. By 1890, he had settled in Chicago, where he built a faith healing business that included a mail order component, and he had also attracted thousands of followers.

He bought land 40 miles (60 km) north of Chicago to found Zion, where he personally owned all of the land and most businesses. The city was named after Mount Zion in Jerusalem.[4]

Dowie also founded the Zion Tabernacle of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, which was the only church in town. The structure was built in the early 1900s and was burned down in 1937, following several decades of tumultuous rule by Dowie's successor, Wilbur Glenn Voliva.[5][6]

The former city seal was the subject of a 1990 Federal Court case, because it featured a crown and scepter, a dove, a cross and the words "God Reigns". The founder of Zion and designer of the city seal, John Alexander Dowie, intended for these to be Christian symbols and added them "for the purpose of the extension of the Kingdom of God upon earth ... where God shall rule in every department of family, industry, commercial, educational, ecclesiastical and political life".[7] The court ruled the city could not use these religious symbols in its seals and emblems. While the Christian symbolism was removed, the phrase "In God We Trust" could be used on the new city seal since it was already acceptable religious language in the public arena.[8]

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Zion has a total area of 9.93 square miles (25.72 km2), of which 9.93 square miles (25.72 km2) (or 99.99%) is land and 0.00 square miles (0.00 km2) (or 0.01%) is water.[9]

Location within Lake County

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
19104,789—
19205,58016.5%
19305,9917.4%
19406,5559.4%
19508,95036.5%
196011,94133.4%
197017,26844.6%
198017,8653.5%
199019,77510.7%
200022,86615.6%
201024,4136.8%
202024,6551.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
2010[11] 2020[12]

Racial and ethnic composition

Zion city, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000[13] Pop 2010[11] Pop 2020[12] % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 12,120 8,787 5,808 53.00% 35.99% 23.56%
Black or African American alone (NH) 6,051 7,391 7,484 26.46% 30.27% 30.35%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 58 53 55 0.25% 0.22% 0.22%
Asian alone (NH) 408 546 534 1.78% 2.24% 2.17%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) 7 10 15 0.03% 0.04% 0.06%
Other race alone (NH) 78 129 177 0.34% 0.53% 0.72%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 657 739 1,100 2.87% 3.03% 4.46%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3,487 6,758 9,482 15.25% 27.68% 38.46%
Total 22,866 24,413 24,655 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Zion had a population of 24,655. The population density was 2,482.38 inhabitants per square mile (958.45/km2). The median age was 34.4 years. 27.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.6 males age 18 and over.[14][15]

99.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.[16]

There were 8,542 households and 5,394 families in Zion, of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.2% were married-couple households, 17.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[14]

There were 9,295 housing units at an average density of 935.86 per square mile (361.34/km2), of which 8.1% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.6%.[14]

Racial composition as of the 2020 census[15]
Race Number Percent
White 7,080 28.7%
Black or African American 7,686 31.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 476 1.9%
Asian 550 2.2%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 21 0.1%
Some other race 5,296 21.5%
Two or more races 3,546 14.4%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 9,482 38.5%

Economy

The median income for a household in the city was $56,819, and the median income for a family was $66,803. Males had a median income of $37,319 versus $29,416 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,345. About 12.5% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Sports

Flat Earth sign by Flat Earth theorist Wilbur Glenn Voliva

The 8,500-seat Fielders Stadium was planned to open in May 2010, and was to host home games for the Lake County Fielders, the North American League baseball team co-owned by the actor Kevin Costner. The Fielders' name is an homage to Costner's 1989 film Field of Dreams, with the logo showing a ballplayer standing in a field of corn.[17]

Fielders Stadium has been subject to a court dispute between its owners and the city over a breach in contract, and was never completed before the Fielders folded.

Zion Industries at Shiloh Tabernacle, July 1904, Zion City, Illinois

Until the 1940s, Zion enshrined the Flat Earth doctrine in its religious code.[18]

Man pouring two bottles of beer into trough into the sewer system during Prohibition in 1921, detail, from- Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beer

Parks and recreation

Illinois Beach State Park

Zion is the closest municipality to South Beach within Illinois Beach State Park. The North Beach is in Winthrop Harbor. The beach was originally part of Camp Logan, developed in 1892 as a rifle range by the Illinois National Guard. In World War I and World War II, it served as a rifle range for the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. The range remained in operation until 1973, when it was transferred to the Illinois Department of Conservation.

In 1950, the Illinois Dunes Preservation Society was established to maintain the natural qualities of the beach. With the help of the Illinois Department of Conservation, the area south of Beach Road was established as the state's first natural preserve. The sections of the northern beach, between Beach Road and the Wisconsin state border, were acquired by the state between 1971 and 1982.[19]

The Illinois Beach Resort and Conference Center is located at the south beach. The North Point Marina, one of the largest in the Great Lakes region, is at the north beach. It is Illinois' largest marina.

On May 9, 2000, the area encompassing Illinois Beach State Park and North Point Marina was officially designated as the Cullerton Complex in honor of William J. Cullerton Sr., a war hero, avid environmentalist, and long-time friend of conservation.[20]

Education

Elementary school districts covering sections of Zion include Zion Elementary School District 6 and Beach Park Community Consolidated School District 3, while the section of Zion in Winthrop Harbor School District 1 is parkland. All of Zion is in the Zion-Benton Township High School District 126.[21]

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways

County roads:[22]

  • A1 (Russell Road)
  • A4 (9th Street)
  • A6 (21st Street)
  • A8 (33rd Street)
  • A9 (Wadsworth Road)
  • W32 (Kenosha Road)
  • W34 (Lewis Avenue)

Public Transit

The Zion Metra station in January 2019

Zion is served by:

Bikeways and Trails

Zion is served by the Robert McClory Bike Path.[24] There is a bike lane on a section of 21st Street that is maintained by the Lake County Division of Transportation and there are several smaller trails maintained by the Zion Park District.

Air

Zion is located just north-east of the Waukegan National Airport, which provides general aviation service. There nearest airports to Zion that provide commercial air service include Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE), and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW).[25]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Zion, Illinois
  3. ^ "Zion city, Illinois". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  4. ^ Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 142.
  5. ^ Simane, Donald E. "The Flat Earth". Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2008.
  6. ^ Weill, Kelly. "When a Flat Earther Refused to Concede and All Hell Broke Loose". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  7. ^ "Harris v. City of Zion, 729 F. Supp. 1242 (N.D. Ill. 1990)". Justia. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  8. ^ "Zion, IL". Encyclopedia of Chicago. 2004. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  9. ^ US Census Bureau. "Gazetteer Files". Census.gov. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  10. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
  11. ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Zion city, Illinois". United States Census Bureau.
  12. ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Zion city, Illinois". United States Census Bureau.
  13. ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Zion city, Illinois". United States Census Bureau.
  14. ^ a b c "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  15. ^ a b "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  16. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  17. ^ Rotenberk, Lori (April 4, 2009). "Major League Hopes Pinned on the Minors". New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
    - "Lake County, IL to Finally have its minor league "Field of Dreams"". Lake County Baseball. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  18. ^ "Looking for Life on a Flat Earth". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  19. ^ State.il.us Archived June 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Megan, Graydon (January 16, 2013). "William Cullerton, 1923-2013 WWII pilot, entrepreneur, radio host and well-known outdoorsman championed conservation". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
    - Grano, Laurie (May 10, 2000). "Cullerton Complex Christened At State Park". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  21. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lake County, IL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 2 (PDF p. 3/5). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2024. - Text list
  22. ^ "County Highways & Bikeways Map | Lake County, IL". www.lakecountyil.gov. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  23. ^ "Union Pacific North (UP-N) | Metra". www.metra.com. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  24. ^ "Robert McClory Bike Path". Lake County, Illinois Convention and Visitors Bureau. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  25. ^ WaukeganNationalAirport. "Home of Waukegan National Airport". Waukegan National Airport. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  26. ^ "1991 World Series - Minnesota Twins over Atlanta Braves (4-3) | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  27. ^ 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Media Guide.

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zion, Illinois.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.