Editing Lacon, Illinois

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Lacon, Illinois
| official_name = 
| native_name = 
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| settlement_type = [[List of cities in Illinois|City]]
| image_skyline = Lacon 1091.jpg
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| image_caption = 5th Street, Lacon, view towards the [[Illinois River]]
| image_flag = 
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| etymology = 
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| image_map = File:Marshall County Illinois Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Lacon Highlighted.svg
| mapsize = 
| map_alt = 
| map_caption = Location in Marshall County, Illinois
| image_map1 = 
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| map_alt1 = 
| map_caption1 = 
| pushpin_map = USA
| pushpin_label_position = left
| pushpin_label = Lacon
| pushpin_map_alt = 
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| pushpin_relief = 
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in the United States 
| coordinates = {{coord|41|1|26|N|89|24|28|W|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint = 
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| grid_name = 
| grid_position = 
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = United States
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = Illinois
| subdivision_type2 = County
| subdivision_name2 = [[Marshall County, Illinois|Marshall]]
| subdivision_type3 = Township
| subdivision_name3 = [[Lacon Township, Marshall County, Illinois|Lacon]]
| subdivision_type4 = 
| subdivision_name4 = 
| established_title = Founded
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| leader_title = Mayor
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| leader_title1 = Mayor
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| unit_pref = Imperial
| area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2022">{{cite web |title=2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Illinois |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2022_Gazetteer/2022_gaz_place_17.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |accessdate=February 27, 2023}}</ref>
| area_total_km2 = 4.25
| area_total_sq_mi = 1.64
| area_land_km2 = 4.14
| area_land_sq_mi = 1.60
| area_water_km2 = 0.11
| area_water_sq_mi = 0.04
| area_water_percent = 
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| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m = 
| elevation_ft = 484
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| population_as_of = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = <ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=&g=1600000US1740559&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1| title=P1. Race – Lacon city, Illinois: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| access-date=February 27, 2023}}</ref>
| population_total = 1878
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| population_density_km2 = 453.14
| population_density_sq_mi = 1173.75
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| timezone1 = [[North American Central Time Zone|CST]]
| utc_offset1 = -6
| timezone1_DST = [[North American Central Time Zone|CDT]]
| utc_offset1_DST = -5
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| postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code = 61540
| postal2_code_type = 
| postal2_code = 
| area_code_type = 
| area_code = [[Area code 309#United States|309]]
| geocode = 
| iso_code = 
| blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info = 17-40559
| blank1_name = 
| blank1_info = 
| blank2_name = 
| blank2_info = 
| blank_name_sec2 = 
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| blank1_name_sec2 = 
| blank1_info_sec2 = 
| blank2_name_sec2 = Wikimedia Commons
| blank2_info_sec2 = Lacon, Illinois
| website = {{URL|laconcity.com}}
| footnotes = 
}}
'''Lacon''' is a city in, and the [[county seat]] of,<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|accessdate=2011-06-07|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> [[Marshall County, Illinois|Marshall County]], [[Illinois]], [[United States]]. It is part of the [[Peoria, Illinois|Peoria]] [[Peoria metropolitan area|Metropolitan Statistical Area]]. The population was 1,878 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]],<ref name="Census 2020"/> down from 1,937 in [[2010 United States census|2010]].

==History==
Lacon was named after [[Laconia]], a region of Greece.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]] | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n177 178]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ellsworth |first=Spencer |url=http://archive.org/details/recordsofoldenti00ells |title=Records of the olden time; or, Fifty years on the prairies. Embracing sketches of the discovery, exploration and settlement of the country, the organization of the counties of Putnam and Marshall, incidents and reminiscences connected therewith, biographies of citizens |date=1880 |publisher=Lacon, Ill. Home journal steam printing establishment |others=University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign}}</ref> Lacon was established in 1831 and is the oldest town in Marshall, Putnam, Bureau, and Stark counties.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://laconcity.com/about.html |title=Lacon city website |access-date=2017-01-04 |archive-date=2021-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511215635/http://laconcity.com/about.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ford |first=Henry A. |url=http://archive.org/details/historyofputna3742ford |title=The history of Putnam and Marshall counties, embracing an account of the settlement ... of Bureau and Stark counties. With an appendix, containing notices of old settlers ... lists of officers .. |last2=Illinois History Collection ICarbs |date=1860 |publisher=Lacon [Ill.] The author |others=Southern Illinois University Carbondale Morris Library}}</ref> On August 6, 1831, it was laid out as the town of Columbia.<ref name=":0" /> The town grew in population after the Black Hawk War.<ref name=":0" />

A Temperance Society was formed July 28, 1836.<ref name=":0" /> A Presbyterian Church organized in 1837.<ref name=":0" /> A post-office was established in 1837.<ref name=":0" /> A newspaper called The Lacon Herald published in December 1837.<ref name=":0" /> The name changed from Columbia to Lacon on January 19, 1837.<ref name=":0" /> The town expanded with a purchase of an addition on July 3, 1837.<ref name=":0" />

The Marshall County Courthouse was built in 1840 and a county jail in 1844.<ref name=":0" /> On June 27, 1842, President [[Martin Van Buren]] paid a brief visit to the town.<ref name=":0" />

Lacon was the site of the [[lynching of F. W. Stewart]] in 1898.<ref>{{cite news|title=Miners Hang a Negro at Lacon|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76621703/lacon-lynchingchicago-daily-tribune/|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=November 7, 1898|accessdate=January 31, 2022}}</ref>

==Geography==
<gallery heights="200px" mode="packed">
Image:Lacon Illinois September 2018.jpg|Lacon in September 2018
Image:Lacon Bridge-1.JPG|The [[Lacon Bridge]] across the [[Illinois River]], technically a [[continuous truss bridge]]
</gallery>

Lacon is located in central Marshall County at {{coord|41.023904|-89.407669|type:city_region:US|format=dms|display=inline}}.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> It is situated on the east shoreline of the [[Illinois River]].

[[Illinois Route 17]] passes through the city center as Ferry Street, leading west across the Illinois River on the [[Lacon Bridge]] into [[Sparland, Illinois|Sparland]]. Route 17 leads east {{convert|20|mi}} to [[Wenona, Illinois|Wenona]] and west {{convert|21|mi}} to [[Wyoming, Illinois|Wyoming]]. [[Illinois Route 26]] also runs through the center of Lacon, following Prairie Street. It leads northeast up the Illinois River valley {{convert|19|mi}} to [[Hennepin, Illinois|Hennepin]] and south along the river {{convert|28|mi}} to [[East Peoria, Illinois|East Peoria]].

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], Lacon has a total area of {{convert|1.641|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|1.6|sqmi|sqkm|2}} are land and {{convert|0.041|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, or 2.5%, are water.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2022"/>

===Climate===
{{Weather box   <!-- Infobox begins -->
| single line = Y
| location    = Lacon, Illinois (1991–2020)
<!-- Average high temperatures -->
| Jan high F  =33.8
| Feb high F  =38.3
| Mar high F  =51.4
| Apr high F  =64.5
| May high F  =75.0
| Jun high F  =84.4
| Jul high F  =87.0
| Aug high F  =85.6
| Sep high F  =79.6
| Oct high F  =66.6
| Nov high F  =51.2
| Dec high F  =38.3
<!-- Mean daily temperature -->
| Jan mean F  =25.9
| Feb mean F  =29.9
| Mar mean F  =41.4
| Apr mean F  =52.9
| May mean F  =63.3
| Jun mean F  =72.8
| Jul mean F  =76.0
| Aug mean F  =74.3
| Sep mean F  =67.4
| Oct mean F  =55.0
| Nov mean F  =41.9
| Dec mean F  =30.8
<!-- Average low temperatures -->
| Jan low F  =18.0
| Feb low F  =21.5
| Mar low F  =31.3
| Apr low F  =41.4
| May low F  =51.7
| Jun low F  =61.2
| Jul low F  =65.1
| Aug low F  =63.0
| Sep low F  =55.1
| Oct low F  =43.5
| Nov low F  =32.6
| Dec low F  =23.2
<!-- Total precipitation, this should include rain and snow. -->
| precipitation colour    =  green
| Jan precipitation inch  =2.07
| Feb precipitation inch  =2.06
| Mar precipitation inch  =2.65
| Apr precipitation inch  =4.00
| May precipitation inch  =4.76
| Jun precipitation inch  =4.29
| Jul precipitation inch  =3.97
| Aug precipitation inch  =3.33
| Sep precipitation inch  =3.30
| Oct precipitation inch  =3.16
| Nov precipitation inch  =2.63
| Dec precipitation inch  =2.17
<!-- Snowfall -->
| Jan snow inch  =8.1
| Feb snow inch  =6.2
| Mar snow inch  =3.2
| Apr snow inch  =0.7
| May snow inch  =0.0
| Jun snow inch  =0.0
| Jul snow inch  =0.0
| Aug snow inch  =0.0
| Sep snow inch  =0.0
| Oct snow inch  =0.1
| Nov snow inch  =1.1
| Dec snow inch  =5.2
<!-- Mandatory fields, source -->
| source = NOAA<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/us-climate-normals/#dataset=normals-monthly&timeframe=30&station=USC00114805 |title=NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access |publisher=NOAA |access-date=2024-04-17 }}</ref>
}}<!-- Infobox ends -->

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1850= 963
|1870= 2105
|1880= 1814
|1890= 1649
|1900= 1601
|1910= 1495
|1920= 1464
|1930= 1548
|1940= 1627
|1950= 2020
|1960= 2175
|1970= 2147
|1980= 2135
|1990= 1986
|2000= 1979
|2010= 1937
|2020= 1878
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

[[Image:Lacon-street-scene-153.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Residential street in winter]]
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 1,979 people, 797 households, and 540 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1,233.9|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 852 housing units at an average density of {{convert|531.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 80.09% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 7.10% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.10% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.20% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.10% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.40% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 12.91% of the population.

There were 797 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,203, and the median income for a family was $47,670. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $20,694 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $18,309. About 3.6% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 6.2% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

== Notable people ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2021}}
<!-- Note:
· Only people who already have a Wikipedia article may appear here. This establishes notability.
· The article must mention how they are associated with <city name>, whether born, raised, or residing.
· The fact of their association should have a reliable source cited.
· Alphabetical by last name please
· All others will be deleted without further explanation
-->
* [[Charles N. Barnes]], Illinois politician and lawyer
* [[Robert Boal]], Illinois politician
* [[Lucy Page Gaston]], anti-tobacco crusader
* [[Valerie Allen Marland]], First Lady of [[West Virginia]] (1953–1957)
* [[Michael P. McCuskey]] (born 1948), [[United States federal judge|United States district judge]] of the [[United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois]]. He is a past resident of Lacon.<ref name="pjs-comeshome">{{cite news | title = McCuskey comes home as Marshall County judge | first = Gary L. | last = Smith | date = January 5, 2015 | pages = A1, A9 | work = [[Peoria Journal Star|Journal Star]] | publisher = [[GateHouse Media]] | location = Peoria, Illinois }}</ref>
* [[Robert V. McGarvey]], U.S. National Champion racehorse trainer
* [[Nellie Bangs Skelton]], composer and pianist
* [[Robert Sproull]], educator and physicist

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Lacon, Illinois}}

==External links==
{{Official website|laconcity.com}}

{{Marshall County, Illinois}}
{{Illinois county seats}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Illinois]]
[[Category:Cities in Marshall County, Illinois]]
[[Category:County seats in Illinois]]
[[Category:Peoria metropolitan area, Illinois]]
[[Category:1831 establishments in Illinois]]