Deerfield, Illinois

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Deerfield has a total area of 5.62 square miles (14.56 km²), of which 5.58 square miles (14.45 km²) (or 99.29%) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) (or 0.71%) 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 3,359.4 people per square mile (1,297.8/km²). There were 6,518 housing units at an average density of 1,188.7 per square mile (459.2/km²). 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 Horace Lamb and 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. At the time, the alternate name for the village on the ballot was Erin. Deerfield won by a vote of 17-13. 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 on land donated by Lyman Wilmot, whose wife, Clarissa, was the village's first school teacher. The village was incorporated in 1903 with a population in the low 400s.

In the 1850s, the Deerfield home of Lyman Wilmot served as a stop on the Underground Railroad as escaped slaves attempted to get to Canada.

In a 1917 design by Thomas E. Tallmadge of the American Institute of Architects, Deerfield (and adjacent Highland Park) served as the center for a new proposed capital city of the United States. By that year, all of Deerfield's original farms had been converted either to residential areas or golf courses.

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. Following World War II, a portion of Waukegan Road (Route 43) that runs through Deerfield has been designated a Blue Star Memorial Highway.

In 1959, when Deerfield officials learned that a developer building a neighborhood of large new homes planned to make houses available to African Americans, they issued a stop-work order. An intense debate began about racial integration, property values, and the good faith of community officials and builders. For a brief time, Deerfield was spotlighted in the national news as "the Little Rock of the North." Supporters of integration were denounced and ostracized by angry residents. Eventually, the village passed a referendum to build parks on the property, thus putting an end to the housing development. Two model homes already partially completed were sold to village officials. The remaining land lay dormant for years before it was developed into what is now Mitchell Pool and Park and Jaycee Park. At the time, Deerfield's black population was 12 people out of a total population of 11,786. This episode in Deerfield's history is described in But Not Next Door by Harry and David Rosen, both residents of Deerfield.

Since the early 1980s, Deerfield has seen a large influx of Jews, Asians, and Greeks, giving the community a more diverse cultural and ethnic makeup.

On June 27, 1962, ground was broken by Kitchens of Sara Lee (now Sara Lee Corporation) for construction of the world's largest bakery. The plant, located on the current site of Coromandel Condominiums on Kates Road, began production in 1964 using state-of-the-art materials handling and production equipment. It was billed as the world's first industrial plant with a fully automated production control system. President Ronald Reagan visited the plant in 1985. The plant closed in 1990 as Sara Lee consolidated production in Tarboro, North Carolina. By 1991, headquarters employees had moved to downtown Chicago. In 2007, Sara Lee severed its final tie to its former home town with the closure of the Sara Lee Bakery Outlet Store.

In 1982, Deerfield began an experiment with a community farm. Two hundred residents applied for plots on a 3-acre (12,000 m²) community garden. The project had such a strong initial success that the village opened additional 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 (7.6 m) from any of the above.

In November 2007, BusinessWeek.com listed Deerfield third in a list of the 50 best places to raise children. The rankings were based on five factors: school test scores, cost of living, recreational and cultural activities, number of schools and risk of crime. Deerfield ranked behind Groesbeck, Ohio, and Western Springs, Illinois.

In 2015, a plan to rezone a parcel of land originally zoned for single-family homes, in order to allow the construction of a 48-unit affordable apartment building complex, was proposed. The plan was met with a mixture of resistance and support by residents.

Deerfield Historic Village

Located in front of Kipling Elementary School is the Deerfield Historic Village, founded and maintained by the Deerfield Area Historical Society, this outdoor museum consists of five historic buildings and includes the headquarters for the Deerfield Historical Society.

The Historic Village includes the Caspar Ott House, considered to be the oldest building in Lake County, built in 1837. It was restored by Bob Przewlocki. The George Luther House (1847) now includes the Society's offices and Visitor Center. The Bartle Sacker Farmhouse (1854) is a typical 19th century home. While those buildings are all original (although relocated from their original sites), the carriage house and little red school house are replicas. Each year, all fourth graders in district 109 spend a day learning in the school house.

Shopping districts

In 1998, a significant portion of the Deerfield downtown area (comprising a then-outdated shopping center called the Deerfield Commons and the former Deerfield Savings and Loan) was demolished and replaced with a new outdoor shopping district, Deerfield Square, sometimes called "The Square" or "The Commons" by some Deerfield residents. This district is composed of shopping stores, restaurants, and workout facilities, such as Barnes & Noble, Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano, Footloose, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, CorePower Yoga, Whole Foods Market, and Pure Barre. In addition to merchandising space, Deerfield Square includes office space and an outdoor plaza which is used during the summer for free outdoor concerts.

Along the border with Northbrook, Deerbrook Mall opened in 1971. It includes both an indoor and outdoor shopping area- the last store located inside the mall was TJ Maxx which moved to Northbrook in 2014, finally allowing the interior of the mall to close. Near Deerbrook Mall is Cadwell's Corners, a small outdoor mall that carries the village's original name. Cadwell's Corners was mostly empty of stores by 2011, and the Deerfield Public Library selected the location for a temporary library during renovation of their original building. Since Fresh Thyme moved in in June 2014, Cadwell's Corners has filled in.

Athletics

During both the 1982 and 1987 NFL players' strikes, Deerfield High School served as the practice field for the Chicago Bears players locked out of Halas Hall.

The Chicago Bulls formerly practiced at the Berto Center in Deerfield. Previously, the Bulls practiced at the Multiplex, which was closed for many years and reopened in 2009 by the Deerfield Park District as the Sachs Recreation Center. A number of current and past Bulls players and staff have lived in Deerfield, including Will Perdue, John Paxson, and Ron Artest. The Bulls decided to upgrade from the Berto Center, where they held their training and operations from 1992 to 2014, and relocated to the new Advocate Center in the fall of 2014. The Advocate Center is located adjacent to the United Center, as more players and staff were moving to the city of Chicago.

Government and infrastructure

The village hall is called the Bernard Forrest Deerfield Village Hall.

The United States Postal Service operates the Deerfield Post Office.

Economy

In 1982 a 324-acre (131 ha) tax-increment-financing district opened along Lake-Cook Road, spurring business development. As of 1987 the office leasing activity in Deerfield increased tremendously, and throughout the 1980s office buildings were developed along Lake-Cook Road, between Interstate 294 and Waukegan Road. Two hotels, an Embassy Suites and a Hyatt, opened during the era to accommodate the increased business traffic. Factors augmenting the establishment of businesses along the corridor included the opening of the district, the abundance of vacant land, and the corridor's proximity to the Chicago Loop and O'Hare International Airport.

Corporate headquarters

Deerfield is home to the headquarters of Baxter Healthcare, Beam, Big Apple Bagels, CF Industries, Consumers Digest, Così, Fortune Brands Home & Security, Mondelēz International, United Stationers, and Walgreens Boots Alliance, As of 2009 Walgreens employed 5,200 people at its headquarters. As of 2003 Baxter employed a total of 1,000 employees in its headquarters and in other offices in Deerfield.

Deerfield was at one time the bakery division headquarters of the Sara Lee Corporation. In 1987 Sara Lee had about 1,200 employees in Deerfield. In 1990, the Deerfield Sara Lee plant and bakery headquarters was closed, and the land was sold to developers. During 1987, Baxter Travenol (later Baxter International) had about 1,500 employees and Walgreens, then in an unincorporated area near Deerfield, had about 1,100 employees.

Offices of foreign companies

Deerfield houses the headquarters of some U.S. subsidiaries of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, including Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., and Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc.

Top employers

According to Deerfield's 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Cityscape

As of 1987 Deerfield was mostly made up of single-family houses. As of that year the resale prices of Deerfield houses ranged from $100,000 to $300,000. 43.5% of the town's land consisted of single-family houses, while 1.1% contained multi-family housing. As of that year little of the remaining land was available for further residential development.

Education

Deerfield is served by Deerfield Public Schools School District 109, which operates four public elementary schools (Kipling, South Park, Walden, and Wilmot) and two public middle schools (Caruso and Shepard). The village is also home to one Roman Catholic school (Holy Cross School), one Conservative Jewish school (Rochelle Zelle Jewish Hishschool/Chicagoland Jewish High School), and two Montessori schools. The majority of Deerfield's children go on to attend Deerfield High School; however, a small portion attend Highland Park High School (both of which comprise School District 113).

At one time, District 109 contained as many as eight elementary schools. However, Maplewood, Woodland Park, Briarwood, and Cadwell. (the original Deerfield Grammar School located on Deerfield Road was torn down to build the District Offices) were all closed beginning in the 1970s through the 1980s and their students absorbed by the four larger, remaining elementary schools.

Trinity International University, a private Christian university, is headquartered in Deerfield.

Sister city

Deerfield has one sister city:

Notable people

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. 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 films of director/screenwriter 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 in Deerfield, including television drama Once and Again, comedy Married... with Children and portions of reality show American High. In film, the Deerfield train station is shown in the film Risky Business, and Stolen Summer used various parts of the village.

The village was identified as the hometown of Kitty Pryde in the X-Men comics.

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. Although the play is set in Paw Paw, Michigan, much of it (including the address) is inspired by Heisler's hometown, Deerfield.

In 2010, the History Channel's documentary The Crumbling of America mentioned Deerfield in a discussion of frequent blackouts that residents experienced over 2000 times from 2000 to 2009.

Transportation

Deerfield has two Metra stations connecting it to downtown Chicago, both on the Milwaukee District/North Line.