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'Deerfield' is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. A portion of the village is in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,420 at the 2000 census. It is one of the predominant suburbs that make up Chicago's North Shore region.
Deerfield is home to the headquarters of Walgreens, Baxter Healthcare, APAC Customer Services, Fortune Brands, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Così, and was at one time the headquarters of the Sara Lee Corporation. Deerfield High School is one of the top public schools in the state. Trinity International University, an evangelical Christian university, is located in Deerfield.
Deerfield is represented by the 10th Congressional District of Illinois, 29th District of the Illinois Senate, and the 58th District of the Illinois House of Representatives.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

History

Deerfield in Popular Culture

Athletics

Famous Deerfield natives

References

External links

Geography

Deerfield is located at (42.168275, -87.851341).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 14.3 km² (5.5 mi²). 14.2 km² (5.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.54%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,420 people, 6,420 households, and 5,161 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,297.8/km² (3,359.4/mi²). There were 6,518 housing units at an average density of 459.2/km² (1,188.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 95.88% White, 0.33% African American, 0.04% Native American, 2.52% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.69% of the population.
There were 6,420 households out of which 43.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.0% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.6% were non-families. 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the village the population was spread out with 30.6% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there are 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $107,194, and the median income for a family was $118,683. Males had a median income of $90,226 versus $48,450 for females. The per capita income for the village was $50,664. About 1.3% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.

History

Originally populated by the Potawatomi Native Americans, the area was settled by Jacob B. Cadwell in 1835 and named Cadwell's Corner. A shopping center located on the site of Cadwell's farm at Waukegan Road and Lake Cook Road still bears that name. The area grew because of the navigable rivers in the area, notably the Des Plaines River and the Chicago River. By 1840, the town's name was changed to Leclair. Within a decade, settler John Millen proposed a further name change to Deerfield in honor of his hometown, Deerfield, Massachusetts and the large number of deer living in the area. The village's first school, Wilmot School, was founded in 1847. Originally a one-room schoolhouse, Wilmot is now an elementary school which serves 548 students. It is located at the corner of Deerfield and Wilmot Roads. The village was incorporated in 1903.^[1]
The village of Deerfield was incorporated in 1903 with a population in the low 400s.
On May 26, 1944, a US Navy plane crashed in Deerfield on the current site of the Deerfield Public Library, killing Ensign Milton C. Pickens.^[2] Following World War II, a portion of Waukegan Road (Route 43) that runs through Deerfield was been designated a Blue Star Memorial Highway.^[3]
In 1957, Deerfield passed a referendum to build a park on property which had been proposed for use to build middle income housing. The housing plan including a provision which would have integrated Deerfield, at the time an entirely white community. Instead of the houses, Mitchell Pool and Park was built on the property. The first black family did not move into Deerfield until much later. This episode in Deerfield's history is described in ''But Not Next Door'' by Harry and David Rosen^[4].
In 1982, Deerfield began an experiment with a community farm.^[5] Two hundred residents applied for plots on a three-acre community garden. The project had such as strong initial success that the village opened addition community farms on vacant land in the village.
On December 19, 2005, the village board passed a strict anti-smoking ordinance. The law bans smoking in all public places, including businesses, bars, restaurants, parks, parade routes, public assemblies, and within 25 feet from any of the above.^[6]

Deerfield in Popular Culture

In 1979 Deerfield created a "No-Kissing Zone" at the local train station in response to complaints about traffic jams at the station caused by couples taking too long to kiss their goodbyes at the drop-off point.^[2] The "No-Kissing" signs (patterned after international traffic signs) attracted national attention and were featured in 'Time Magazine'' and ABC's "AM America" (precursor to "Good Morning America"). A Deerfield family appearing on the game show "Family Feud" presented Richard Dawson with replica pins of the signs.
In the 1980s Deerfield and other North Shore communities inspired the teen movies of director/screen writer John Hughes. The fictional Shermer, Illinois, included elements of Deerfield and neighboring Northbrook and Highland Park.
A number of media properties have been set and/or filmed Deerfield, including television drama ''Once and Again''^[8], comedy ''Married... with Children''^[9] and portions of reality show ''American High''.^[10] In film, the Deerfield train station is shown in the film ''Risky Business''^[11] and ''Stolen Summer''^[12] used various parts of the village.
The village was identified as the hometown of Kitty Pryde in the X-Men comics.^[13]
Deerfield also figures in the musical ''Dear Edwina'', written by Marcy Heisler, a Deerfield native, and Zina Goldrich. The fictional protagonist lives at 427 Birchwood Avenue in Deerfield. Although the play is set in Paw Paw, Michigan much of it (including the address) is inspired by Heisler's hometown, Deerfield.
In 1962, Harry and David Rosen published their book But Not Next Door about the rejection by Deerfield residents of racially-integrated housing. At the time, according to the authors, blacks were unwelcomed into Deerfield because residents feared their proprty values would decline.^[14]

Athletics

Main articles: Deerfield High School (Illinois)#Athletics

During the 1982 NFL players strike, Deerfield High School served as the practice field for the Chicago Bears players locked out of Hallas Hall.
The Chicago Bulls' current practice facility, the Berto Center, is in Deerfield. Previously, the Bulls practiced at a Deerfield health club, which has since closed. A number of Bulls players and staff have subsequently lived in Deerfield, including Kirk Hinrich and Phil Jackson.

Famous Deerfield natives

★ Bodybuilder Cory Everson and her sister, bodybuilder Cameo Kneuer, lived in Deerfield as a teenagers^[15]

★ Professional wrestler Colt Cabana^[16]

★ Former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman and Super Bowl XXXI player Lindsay Knapp attended high school in Deerfield^[17]

★ Guitar company co-founder Paul Hamer

★ Art Shay, one of the nation's most prolific photojournalists, has lived in Deerfield for 50 years.

★ Pastry chef and cookbook author Gale Gand

★ Indianapolis Colts receiver Aaron Moorehead

★ The rock band The Redwalls

★ Music arranger Dave Siegel

References

1.
2.
3. Blue Star Memorial Highway plaque located at intersection of Waukegan Road and Hazel Avenue
4. But Not Next Door, , Harry, Rosen, Avon Books, ,
5.
6. Deerfield Passes Smoking Ban
7.
8. Once and Again
9. Filming Locations for "Married with Children" (1987)
10. Filming Locations for "American High" (2000)
11. Filming Locations for Risky Business (1983)
12. Filming Locations for Stolen Summer (2002)
13. Pryde, Kitty
14. Rosen, David and Henry Rosen. ''But Not Next Door''. (1962, Obolensky Inc.)
15. Biography for Corinna Everson
16. Colt Cabana a Matt Classic
17. Lindsay Knapp

External links

★ Village of Deerfield Website

★ History from Village website

★ The Deerfield Review