Editing Mahomet, Illinois

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                     = Mahomet, Illinois
| official_name            = 
| settlement_type          = [[List of towns and villages in Illinois|Village]]
| image_skyline            = Lake of the Woods Mahomet Illinois.jpg
| image_caption            = [[Lake of the Woods, Illinois|Lake of the Woods]]
| pushpin_map              = USA Illinois Champaign County#USA Illinois
| pushpin_map_caption      = Location within Champaign County
| pushpin_label = Mahomet
| pushpin_relief = yes
| coordinates              = {{coord|40|11|12|N|88|22|32|W|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes    = <ref name=gnis/>
| subdivision_type         = Country
| subdivision_name         = [[United States]]
| subdivision_type1        = State
| subdivision_name1        = [[Illinois]]
| subdivision_type2        = County
| subdivision_name2        = [[Champaign County, Illinois|Champaign]]
| established_title        = 
| established_date         = 
| leader_party             = 
| leader_title             = Village President
| leader_name              = Sean Widener<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mahomet-il.gov/page/elected-officials/|title=Village of Mahomet Elected Officials|publisher=Village of Mahomet, Illinois|year=2025|access-date=February 17, 2025}}</ref>
| area_total_sq_mi         = 9.79
| area_land_sq_mi          = 9.72
| area_water_sq_mi         = 0.07
| elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft             = 732
| population_footnotes     = 
| population_total         = 9434
| population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_density_sq_mi = 970.38
| timezone1                = [[North American Central Time Zone|CST]]
| utc_offset1              = -6
| timezone1_DST            = [[North American Central Time Zone|CDT]]
| utc_offset1_DST          = -5
|postal_code_type                = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 61853<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zipdatamaps.com/61853|title=Mahomet IL ZIP Code|publisher=zipdatamaps.com|year=2023|access-date=February 17, 2023}}</ref>
| area_code_type           = 
| area_code                = [[Area code 217#United States|217]]
| website                  = {{URL|https://www.mahomet-il.gov/}}
| unit_pref                = Imperial
| blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info               = 17-46136
| blank1_name             = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info              = 2399226<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2399226}}</ref>
| area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_17.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 15, 2022}}</ref>
| area_total_km2           = 25.36
| area_land_km2            = 25.18
| area_water_km2           = 0.18
| population_density_km2   = 374.67
| image_map                = File:Champaign County Illinois Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Mahomet Highlighted.svg
| map_caption              = Location of Mahomet in Champaign County, Illinois.
| pop_est_as_of            = 
| pop_est_footnotes        = 
| population_est           = 
}}

'''Mahomet''' is a village in [[Champaign County, Illinois]], United States, along the [[Sangamon River]]. The population was 9,434 at the 2020 census. Mahomet is located approximately {{convert|10|mi}} northwest of [[Champaign]] at the junction of [[Interstate 74 in Illinois|Interstate 74]] and [[Illinois Route 47]].

==Etymology==
The town's own published account credits their founder Daniel T. Porter, who had Connecticut roots, as the one who denominated both the new village as Middletown (after [[Middletown, Connecticut]]) and the post office as Mahomet (after [[Mahomet Weyonomon]], a [[Mohegan]] [[sachem]] from Connecticut). With the arrival of the railroad, the town embraced the name of its post office in 1871 because there already was a [[Middletown, Illinois]].<ref name="Jackson">{{Cite news |last=Jackson |first=Marcus |date=October 28, 2016 |title=What's In A Name? Mahomet |work=[[The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana)|News-Gazette]] |url=http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-10-28/whats-name-mahomet.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231075607/http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-10-28/whats-name-mahomet.html |archive-date=December 31, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Mahomet |url=http://www.mahomet-il.gov/index.asp?SEC=98B89A85-0A98-487C-B327-24DCD5C13420&Type=B_BASIC |accessdate=December 30, 2016 |publisher=Village of Mahomet, Illinois}}</ref> However, alternative theories of the origin of the name "Mahomet" also exist. One derives the word from the "Mahomet Lodge", the local [[Masonic Lodge]] at the time the town was searching for a new name.<ref name="Jackson" /> Its use as the name of the lodge was a manifestation of the Freemasons' liberal use of religious names and stonemason tools and symbols.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}  Local historian, Gregory Pasley, claims the Post Office held the name of "Mahomet" by 1838 and says this was before the Masonic Lodge was established in the village.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pasley |first=Gregory |title=Diggin' Up Bones |publisher=Cornfield Troll |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-615-98985-3|edition=1 |location=Mahomet, Il}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=March 2024|reason=Self-published, needs a reliable source.}} Another theory stated that the town's name was arbitrarily assigned when the conflicting names were noted by the [[US Postal Service]].<ref name="MCC">{{Cite web |title=History of Mahomet |url=http://www.mahometchamberofcommerce.com/pages/HistoryofMahomet/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219215217/http://mahometchamberofcommerce.com/pages/HistoryofMahomet/ |archive-date=February 19, 2015 |access-date=March 7, 2015 |website=Mahomet Chamber of Commerce}}</ref> [[Henry Gannett]]'s book, ''The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States'', proposes [[Muhammad]] as the town's namesake.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gannett |first=Henry |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ |title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1905 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n195 196]}}</ref>

==History==
The village of Mahomet was first settled in 1832 on the banks of the [[Sangamon River]]. It was the first community to be established in modern-day [[Champaign County, Illinois|Champaign County]]. The original village name was Middletown, possibly because it is half-way between the towns of [[Danville, Illinois|Danville]] and [[Bloomington, Illinois|Bloomington]].<ref name="Jackson" /> In 1871, the name of the village was changed to Mahomet because there was already another Middletown in Illinois, which was causing mail problems.<ref name="MCC" /> Most early settlers came from [[Ohio]], [[Virginia]], [[Kentucky]], and [[Pennsylvania]] and chose to reside in Mahomet because there was abundant water from the [[Sangamon River]] and abundant trees. Currently, most residents commute around {{convert|10|mi|km|0}} to the cities of [[Champaign, Illinois|Champaign]] and [[Urbana, Illinois|Urbana]] to work, although the village has a thriving small business district.

In 2007, the citizens of Mahomet voted to repeal the alcohol [[prohibition]] order that had been in place since [[World War II]].

==Geography==
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Mahomet has a total area of {{convert|9.79|sqmi|km2|2}}, of which {{convert|9.72|sqmi|km2|2}} (or 99.29%) is land and {{convert|0.07|sqmi|km2|2}} (or 0.71%) is water.<ref name="gaz2021">{{Cite web |publisher=United States Census Bureau |title=Gazetteer Files |url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html |access-date=June 29, 2022 |website=Census.gov}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{stack|{{US Census population
|1880= 771
|1890= 473
|1900= 515
|1910= 565
|1920= 649
|1930= 729
|1940= 823
|1950= 1017
|1960= 1367
|1970= 1296
|1980= 1986
|1990= 3103
|2000= 4877
|2010= 7258
|2020= 9434
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{Cite web |title=Census - Geography Profile: Mahomet village, Illinois|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US1746136|access-date=October 5, 2021|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
}}
}}
[[File:Early American Museum Lake of the Woods Mahomet Illinois.jpg|thumb|left|The Early American Museum at Lake of the Woods forest preserve.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Early American Museum Home Page<!-- Bot generated title --> |url=http://www.earlyamericanmuseum.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702045648/http://www.earlyamericanmuseum.org/ |archive-date=July 2, 2007 |access-date=July 13, 2007}}</ref>]]As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US1746136 |access-date=June 28, 2022 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref> there were 9,434 people, 3,030 households, and 2,501 families residing in the village. The population density was {{Convert|963.44|PD/sqmi|PD/km2}}. There were 3,594 housing units at an average density of {{Convert|367.03|/sqmi|/km2}}. The racial makeup of the village was 89.47% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 1.08% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.19% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 2.78% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.06% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.81% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 5.61% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 3.51% of the population.

There were 3,030 households, out of which 43.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.24% were married couples living together, 8.78% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.46% were non-families. 14.52% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.26 and the average family size was 2.93.

The village's age distribution consisted of 29.4% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 25% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $113,871, and the median income for a family was $122,585. Males had a median income of $70,487 versus $42,898 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the village was $41,978. About 0.8% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including none of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

==Parks and recreation==
[[File:Champaign County Forest Preserve District HQ Mahomet.jpg|thumb|upright|"HI Tower"<ref>[https://www.ccfpd.org/forest-preserve/lake-of-woods/hi-tower Champaign County Forest Preserve District - Helping Preserve Nature in Champaign County<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623130648/http://www.ccfpd.org/attractions/hitowerbellcarillon/index.html |date=June 23, 2007 }}</ref> at the Champaign County Forest Preserve District Headquarters in Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve, Mahomet, Illinois.]]
The most popular tourist attractions in Mahomet are all Champaign County Forest Preserve District properties: Lake of the Woods Park and its award-winning Hartwell C. Howard Golf Course, and the River Bend Forest Preserve. Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve is a {{convert|900|acre|km2}} park along the [[Sangamon River]]. The park features a botanical garden, a lake, a picturesque covered bridge and also offers activities like boating, fishing, cross country skiing, and sledding. Within Lake of the Woods Park is the Museum of the Grand Prairie (formerly called the Early American Museum), which has a collection that features life in the 19th and early 20th century in East-Central Illinois. The park has a {{convert|3.3|mi|km|1|adj=on}} bike path and a bell tower. The Hartwell C. Howard Golf Course is an 18-hole regulation course, a 9-hole par 3 course, and a practice range. The River Bend Forest Preserve is {{convert|275|acre|km2}}, of which {{convert|130|acre|km2}} is water. The park has two large lakes, one of them being the largest lake in [[Champaign County, Illinois|Champaign County]] and {{convert|2.5|mi|km|1}} of forest along the Sangamon River.

[[File:Lake of the Woods covered bridge.jpg|thumb|Lake of the Woods forest preserve covered bridge.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Champaign County Forest Preserve District - Attractions - Covered Bridge |url=https://www.ccfpd.org/lake-of-the-woods/covered-bridge |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811192931/http://www.ccfpd.org/attractions/coveredbridge/index.html |archive-date=August 11, 2007 |access-date=July 13, 2007}}</ref>]]

==Education==
{{main|Mahomet-Seymour Community Unit School District 3}}
{{See also|Mahomet-Seymour High School}}
The Mahomet School District has 2,980 students and 183 instructors spread over five schools.<ref name="Report Card">{{Cite web |title=MAHOMET-SEYMOUR CUSD 3 |url=http://www.illinoisreportcard.com/District.aspx?districtId=09010003026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520033308/http://illinoisreportcard.com/District.aspx?districtId=09010003026 |archive-date=May 20, 2015 |access-date=May 19, 2015 |website=Illinois Report Card |publisher=Illinois State Board of Education}}</ref>
[[File:Sangamon River Lake of the Woods Mahomet Illinois.jpg|thumb|The Sangamon River as viewed from the covered bridge at Lake of the Woods forest preserve.]]

==Notable people==
* [[Melanie Paxson]]

==Points of interest==
* [[Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden]]
* [[Hazen Bridge]] - A registered historical bridge northeast of Mahomet.
* [http://mahometpubliclibrary.org/ Mahomet Public Library]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
*[http://mahomet.govoffice.com/ Village of Mahomet Illinois, Web site]
*[http://www.ms.k12.il.us/ Mahomet-Seymour Schools web site]
*[http://www.mahometalumni.com/ Mahomet-Seymour Alumni web site]

{{Champaign County, Illinois}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Champaign County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1832]]
[[Category:1832 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:Villages in Illinois]]