Champaign Illinois History
History of Champaign Illinois:
It was on February 20, 1805, that the Ohio government authorized the creation of Champaign County. The county's name came from the French word for "level land". The county was originally parts of Greene and Franklin Counties. Among the county's earlier residents were the known as the Swedenborgians, a religious group that established Urbana University.
The town of Champaign was founded in 1855, when the Illinois Central Railroad laid its track two miles west of downtown Urbana. Originally called "West Urbana", it was renamed Champaign, when it acquired a city charter in 1860. Both the city county name were derived Champaign County, Ohio.
| Three Former Champaign Illinois Residents |
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| John Quincy Adams Ward a famous sculptor who is most famous for a sculpture he did of George Washington: born in Urbana, Ohio. |
Brand Whitlock also born in Urbana was a novelist, a diplomat, and among other things he eventual became the mayor of Toledo, Ohio. |
Backwoodsmen Simon Kenton; considered to be a dare-devil of a pioneer but also one of the most mild mannered and generous men of his time. |
Demographics:
Champaign County is predominantly rural, with less than one percent of the county's 429 square miles consisting of urban areas. The county seat is Urbana. With a population of 11,613 people, Urbana was the county's largest community in 2000. Unlike most of Ohio's predominantly rural counties, Champaign County experienced an eight percent population growth rate between 1990 and 2000; bring the total number of residents up to 38,890. The county averages ninety people per square mile.
The largest employers in Champaign County are manufacturing businesses, followed closely by farming. Service industries, sales positions, and government are close behind the primary two employers.
Most voters in Champaign County claim to be independents, yet in recent years, they have supported Republican Party candidates at the national level.
Industry:
Champaign Urbana, and the surrounding area are home to many large technology and software industry based companies focusing on the research and development of new technologies. The Research Park, located in southern Champaign, backed by the University of Illinois campus is home to many companies including ...