Silvis is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. It is part of a larger metropolitan area known as the Quad Cities. The Quad Cities Metropolitan Area is situated across four counties in Illinois and Iowa. It is located four miles from the intersection of Interstate 80 and Interstate 88, 165 miles west of Chicago, Illinois, and 165 miles east of Des Moines. It sits next to East Moline and Moline.
The area has a rate media market with 308,910 TV households in a designated market area, or 2.7% of United States. Silvis also is near two major medical centers, including a critical access center. Silvis also has two community college districts, a liberal arts college, a public university auxiliary campus, two private universities, and two extension services in the area.
Demographics
As of 2019, the population of Silvis is 7,475 with 2,984 households, and 1,939 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,135 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 86.09% White, 3.45% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 6.51% from other races, and 2.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino ethnicities made up 14.36% of the population.
There were 2,984 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18, 47.2% were married couples, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41, and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the population was 25.6% under the age of 18, 8.9% aged 18 to 24, 26.9% aged 25 to 44, 22.3% aged 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,047, and the median income for a family was $41,390. Males had a median income of $32,451, versus $22,050 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,764. About 8.4% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
History
The City of Silvis (initially named Pleasant Valley) was incorporated in 1906. The city took its name from Richard Shippen Silvis, one of the original settlers whose family operated the Silvis Mining Company. Some older sources give the alternate spelling of "Sylvis" although this spelling is not regularly used today.
Rock Island Line Silvis Workshops
In 1902, the Rock Island Line decided to build its largest railroad locomotive repair workshop in Silvis, on a 900-acre site between the railroad's main line and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad’s Rock Island branch. Construction began on May 1, 1903; the facilities eventually included a general stores department, repair shop, 45-stall roundhouse with a 90-foot turntable, and two large freight yards east and west.
The need for cheap labor attracted a number of immigrants from Mexico, who worked in the stores, the workshops, or as part of the track laboring team. The railway developed housing for all of its workers and families. This was rented to the workers at favorable rates, which were possible under an agreement with the town that meant the occupants paid no property taxes. The Mexican section, with its own Mexican-run general stores and a Mexican-themed band, became known as La Yadra. When the band waned, the railway-donated boxcars that had once housed its instruments were refurbished to create the Lady of Guadalupe church, dedicated on Easter Sunday in 1927. In 1929 the no-property-tax agreement came to an end, and the city authorities evicted the railway workers. Many moved their houses to the area that became second, third and fourth streets.
After The Rock was liquidated in 1980, the locomotive workshops, yards and facilities were used for storage of locomotives and railcars that soon would be sold off to other railroads. The facility later was sold to National Railway Equipment, with the workshops remaining a maintenance and refurbishment hub for the wider North American railroad industry. Railroading Heritage of Midwest America bought the facility in late 2021 to develop a museum and for refurbishing and maintaining steam and heritage diesel locomotives along with associated rolling stock. In November 2022 heritage equipment from the Union Pacific Railroad was moved into the shop. Included were 4-6-6-4 Union Pacific 3985, 2-10-2 Union Pacific 5511 and DDA40X Union Pacific 6936.