Image of the Charles Pope Beet Sugar Works on the Calumet River in Riverdale (1910)
The Village of Riverdale was incorporated in 1893.[3] In 1904 the Englishman and former Chicago glucose manufacturer Charles Pope (1843-1922) [4] purchased property in Riverdale at what is today the west side of Indiana Avenue [5] with the intention of establishing a beet sugar factory. The property was previously occupied by The Riverdale Distillery, which had been established by the Union Copper Distilling Company of Chicago in 1871 to manufacture fermentum yeast. Located on the south bank of the Little Calumet river with access to the Illinois Central tracks, the beet sugar factory opened in 1905 with a capacity of 350 tons of beet sugar per day, a production rate that was eventually increased to 500 tons per day.[6] The factory was sold by Pope's heirs in 1922 to the Midwest Sugar Refining Company, who added sugar to the product line that was produced from cane supplied from Cuba and Puerto Rico.[7] and who the following year began a program that was intended "to expand this enterprise far beyond its present capacity so as to make the company one of the leading producers and refiners of sugar in the Middle West."[8] In 1947 this enterprise was replaced by The Chromium Mining and Smelting Corporation.[9]
Geography
Riverdale is located at 41°38′26″N87°37′50″W / 41.64056°N 87.63056°W / 41.64056; -87.63056 (41.640684, -87.630645).[10] According to the 2010 census, Riverdale has a total area of 3.745 square miles (9.70 km2), of which 3.57 square miles (9.25 km2) (or 95.33%) is land and 0.175 square miles (0.45 km2) (or 4.67%) is water.[11]
As of the 2020 census[17] there were 10,663 people, 4,472 households, and 2,726 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,843.47 inhabitants per square mile (1,097.87/km2). There were 5,087 housing units at an average density of 1,356.53 per square mile (523.76/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 3.17% White, 92.20% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.73% from other races, and 2.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.19% of the population.
There were 4,472 households, out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 20.91% were married couples living together, 34.44% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.04% were non-families. 33.09% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.74% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.73 and the average family size was 2.79.
The village's age distribution consisted of 31.4% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $38,355, and the median income for a family was $42,632. Males had a median income of $36,231 versus $30,861 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,987. About 27.2% of families and 28.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.9% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.
Riverdale village, Illinois – Racial and Ethnic Composition (NH = Non-Hispanic) Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Riverdale is divided between two congressional districts. Most of the city is in Illinois's 2nd congressional district; the area west of Ashland Avenue and the area southwest of 141st and Halsted Streets are in the 1st district. The local government of Riverdale consists of six elected trustees, one elected village clerk, and one elected mayor. On April 9, 2013, incumbent mayor Deyon Dean was defeated by trustee Lawrence Jackson, who was sworn in as mayor of Riverdale on May 2, 2013.
^"Charles Pope, Sugar Refiner, Passes Away". The Chicago Daily Tribune: 9. March 26, 1922.
^"Some Success with Sugar Beets". The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer. LIII (18): 283–284. October 31, 1914.
^Wilson, James (1905). U.S. Department of Agriculture – Report No. 80 – Progress of the Beet-Sugar Industry in The United States in 1904. New York: Government Printing Office. pp. 60–61.
^"New Refining Company ACQUIRES Pope Factory – Plant at Riverdale, Ill, Purchased by Midwest Refining Company from Charles Pope Heirs". Facts About Sugar – A Weekly Journal of the Sugar Industry. XV (20): 391. November 11, 1922.
^"General Manager McKinney Tells About The Future Plans Of The Company". The (Riverdale) Pointer. XVII (8): 1. November 11, 1922.
^Brennan, J.H., H.E. Dunn and C.M. Cosman (1961). HISTORY OF IRON AND STEELMAKING IN THE UNITED STATES - Publication in One Book of a Series of Historical Articles That Have Appeared in Journal of Metals, 1956-1961. New York: Metallurgical Society of AIME. p. 100.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
United States
