North Utica

History

The town of Utica had previously been established on the banks of the Illinois River near the Indian village Kaskaskia during the 1830s, but flooding and the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal a few miles north encouraged redevelopment of the village there as North Utica. An F3 tornado struck Utica on April 20, 2004, heavily damaging the downtown business district, causing $8 million in damage and killing 8, with another indirect fatality officially recognized by the village. A 2022 Memorial Day fire damaged twenty eight privately owned cabins near the entrance to Starved Rock State Park. The Grand Bear lodge, waterpark and a majority of the cabins and villas on site were not affected.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, North Utica has a total area of , of which (or 99.68%) is land and (or 0.32%) is water.

Largest nearby schools

• Ottawa Township High School
  High · Ottawa · 1,261 students · 14:1 ratio
• La Salle-Peru Twp High School
  High · La Salle · 1,198 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• Northwest Elem School
  Elementary · La Salle · 634 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• Northview Elem School
  Elementary · Peru · 575 students · 14:1 ratio
• Wallace Elem School
  Elementary · Ottawa · 396 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• McKinley Elem School
  Elementary · Ottawa · 380 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• Parkside Middle School
  Middle · Peru · 368 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• Lincoln Elem School
  Elementary · Ottawa · 341 students · 11.4:1 ratio