Bourbonnais | |
|---|---|
 Seal | |
| Motto: "Village of Friendship" | |
 Location of Bourbonnais in Illinois | |
.svg) Location of Illinois in the United States | |
| Coordinates:41°10′15″N87°52′24″W / 41.17083°N 87.87333°W /41.17083; -87.87333[1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Kankakee |
| Established | 1875 |
| Named after | François Bourbonnais |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–Administrator[2] |
| • Mayor | Jeff Keast[3] |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.31 sq mi (24.12 km2) |
| • Land | 9.31 sq mi (24.12 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 696 ft (212 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 18,164 |
| • Density | 1,950.6/sq mi (753.15/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Zip code | 60914 |
| Area codes | 815 and 779 |
| FIPS code | 17-07471 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2398154[1] |
| Website | villageofbourbonnais.com |
Bourbonnais (/bərbəˈneɪ,bərˈboʊnəs/bər-bə-NAY ,bər-BOH-nəs) is a village inKankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,164 at the2020 census.
The village is named for François Jace Bourbonnaispère, a fur trapper, hunter and agent of theAmerican Fur Company, who had married a Native American woman and arrived in the area near the fork of two major Indian trails and theKankakee River circa 1830.[6]John Jacob Astor had founded the company in 1808, and when the United States banned foreign (i.e. British and Canadian) companies (such as theHudson's Bay Company) from competing in the country after theWar of 1812, it flourished. By 1830 it had a near monopoly of fur trading in the midwest, but the number of local trappable wild animals had declined.
In 1832,Noel Le Vasseur arrived as the Astor firm local fur trading agent, establishing a trading post in the area, and becoming the first permanent non-Native American settler. He marriedWatseka, niece of aPotawatomi chieftain, and after the Potawatomi were relocated to Iowa, recruitedFrench-Canadiens to settle around his store.[7] The Potawatomi were forced to move westward by a series of treaties culminating in theTreaty of Tippecanoe, which Congress ratified in 1833. The treaty reserved two sections for Potawanomi chief Me-she-ke-te-no, and one section each for Catish (Mrs. Bourbonnais Sr.) andManteno (daughter of Francois Bourbonnais Jr.).[6] LeVasseur received considerable land through a series of shrewd trades, and eventually divorced Watseka and married a Canadian woman named Ruth.[8] After establishment of the new Catholicdiocese of Chicago, missionary Fr.Stephen Badin briefly settled in Bourbonnais Grove in 1846, before retiring further south.
In 1853, the Illinois legislature splitIroquois County, and Bourbonnais Grove became part of newKankakee County. Because theIllinois Central Railroad ran throughKankakee, founded in 1854, it became the county seat, with Bourbonnais Grove as one of several townships. In 1858, residents built the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, and soon nuns of theCongregation of Notre Dame arrived from Canada to teach and provide nursing care. Two years later they founded Notre Dame Academy. In 1865clerics of St. Viator foundedSt. Viator College for boys.[9]
After a referendum in 1875, the settlement incorporated as the Village of Bourbonnais, with George R. LeTourneau as its first mayor, and trustees Francois Sequin, Joseph Legris, Alexis Gosselin, P.L. Monast, Alex LaMontagne, Joseph Goulet, Jacob Thyfault and Len Bessette. LeVasseur died, aged 80, four years later.[8] LeTourneau also became mayor and sheriff of Kankakee as well as state senator; his home (begun in 1837 and with renovations completed in 1866) eventually became headquarters of the local historical society, which is also restoring the garden and nearby arboretum.[10][11] After enrollment declines in the early 20th century, in 1940, the Catholic institutions were bought out by what becameOlivet Nazarene University, since the Protestant school in nearbyVermillion County had burned down the previous year.
The originalFrench pronunciation ofBourbonnais came to beAnglicized over time to/bərˈboʊnɪs/bər-BOH-nis. In 1974, a state representative from Bourbonnais introduced aresolution "correcting" the pronunciation of the town's name to/bɜːrbəˈneɪ/bur-bə-NAY, closer to the French.[12] In 1976, for the U.S. Bicentennial, the Village Board passed a resolution making "ber-buh-NAY" the official pronunciation.[13]
In 1999, the town was the site of a major train wreck, theBourbonnais train accident.
Bourbonnais was home of the summertime training camp of theChicago Bears professional football team from 2002 to 2019. In 2020, the team relocated their training camp to their headquarters atHalas Hall inLake Forest, Illinois after major renovations of the building complex.[14]
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Bourbonnais has a total area of 9.31 square miles (24.11 km2), all land.[15]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 595 | — | |
| 1910 | 611 | 2.7% | |
| 1920 | 620 | 1.5% | |
| 1930 | 685 | 10.5% | |
| 1940 | 771 | 12.6% | |
| 1950 | 1,598 | 107.3% | |
| 1960 | 3,336 | 108.8% | |
| 1970 | 5,909 | 77.1% | |
| 1980 | 13,280 | 124.7% | |
| 1990 | 13,934 | 4.9% | |
| 2000 | 15,256 | 9.5% | |
| 2010 | 18,631 | 22.1% | |
| 2020 | 18,164 | −2.5% | |
| US Decennial Census[16] | |||
As of the2020 census[17] there were 18,164 people, 6,387 households, and 4,272 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,950.60 inhabitants per square mile (753.13/km2). There were 6,642 housing units at an average density of 713.27 per square mile (275.40/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 79.26%White, 9.59%African American, 0.27%Native American, 2.33%Asian, 0.00%Pacific Islander, 2.17% fromother races, and 6.38% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 6.61% of the population.
There were 6,387 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.54% were married couples living together, 10.63% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.11% were non-families. 27.46% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.29% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.30 and the average family size was 2.65.
The village's age distribution consisted of 19.0% under the age of 18, 20.6% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $76,920, and the median income for a family was $95,783. Males had a median income of $51,796 versus $31,570 for females. Theper capita income for the village was $30,972. About 6.5% of families and 7.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[18] | Pop 2010[19] | Pop 2020[20] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 13,640 | 15,614 | 14,002 | 89.41% | 83.81% | 77.09% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 685 | 1,385 | 1,717 | 4.49% | 7.43% | 9.45% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 16 | 20 | 22 | 0.10% | 0.11% | 0.12% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 365 | 351 | 421 | 2.39% | 1.88% | 2.32% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0.01% | 0.05% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 20 | 26 | 63 | 0.13% | 0.14% | 0.35% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 184 | 328 | 739 | 1.21% | 1.76% | 4.07% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 345 | 898 | 1,200 | 2.26% | 4.82% | 6.61% |
| Total | 15,256 | 18,631 | 18,164 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
TheChicago Bears of theNational Football League held their annual summer training camp atOlivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais from 2002 through 2019.[21]
Bourbonnais Elementary School District 53 (BESD53) serves local students from kindergarten to middle school.
Bourbonnais shares a high school, Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School (BBCHS), withBradley, Illinois The Kankakee Area Career Center (KACC) serves local area high school students as a vocational and technical education institution. Bourbonnais is served by three private high schools:Bishop McNamara Catholic School (Catholic),Grace Christian Academy[22] (non-denominational[23]), and Kankakee Trinity Academy (inter-denominational[24]).The village is home toOlivet Nazarene University (ONU), on the site of the oldSt. Viator College campus.
River Valley Metro provides bus service on multiple routes connecting Bourbonnais to destinations in the Kankakee area.[25]
Municipalities and communities ofKankakee County, Illinois,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
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| Townships | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties. | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
