Sandwich is a city in DeKalb and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 7,421 at the 2010 census and 7,221 at the 2020 census.
History
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 bottom 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. 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 Fair
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. 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. In 2020, the Fair was cancelled for the first time in its history due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Geography
As of 2021, Sandwich has a total area of , of which (or 99.62%) is land and (or 0.38%) is water.
Features
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.
Climate
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).
Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 7,221 people, 2,548 households, and 1,672 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,891 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.81% White, 1.05% African American, 0.50% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 6.52% from other races, and 7.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.78% of the population.
There were 2,548 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.02% were married couples living together, 10.71% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.38% were non-families. 24.41% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.91% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.34 and the average family size was 2.82.
The city's age distribution consisted of 26.4% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
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.