Waukegan

History

The site of present-day Waukegan was recorded as Rivière du Vieux Fort ("Old Fort River") and Wakaygagh on a 1778 map by Thomas Hutchins. By the 1820s, the French name had become "Small Fort River" in English, and the settlement was known as "Little Fort". The name "Waukegance" and then "Waukegan" (meaning "little fort"; cf. Potawatomi wakaigin "fort" or "fortress") was created by John H. Kinzie and Solomon Juneau, and the new name was adopted on March 31, 1849. Waukegan had an abolitionist community dating to these early days. In 1853, residents commemorated the anniversary of emancipation of slaves in the British Empire with a meeting. Waukegan arguably has the distinction of being the only place where Abraham Lincoln failed to finish a speech. When he was campaigning in the town in 1860, he was interrupted by a ringing fire alarm. During the middle of the 19th century, Waukegan was becoming an important industrial hub. Industries included ship and wagon building, flour milling, sheep raising, pork packing, and dairying. William Besley's Waukegan Brewing Company was one of the most successful of these businesses, being able to sell beyond America. The construction of the Chicago and Milwaukee Railway through Waukegan by 1855 stimulated the growth and rapid transformation and development of the city's industry, so much that nearly 1000 ships were visiting Waukegan harbor every year. Washburn & Moen. This barbed-wire manufacturer prompted both labor migration and land speculation beginning in 1891, U.S. Starch Works, and Thomas Brass and Iron Works. Immigrants followed, mostly from southeastern Europe and Scandinavia, with large groups from Sweden, Finland, and Lithuania. The town also became home to a considerable Armenian population. One member of this community,…

Geography

Waukegan is on the shore of Lake Michigan, about south of the border with Wisconsin and north of downtown Chicago at an elevation around above sea level. Chicago has two major streets that venture north to Waukegan, one being Sheridan Road, which extends north from Diversey Parkway in Lincoln Park. The second street is Milwaukee Avenue, which starts at the intersection of Desplaines Street and Kinzie Street in downtown Chicago. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Waukegan has a total area of , of which (or 98.99%) is land and (or 1.01%) is water. Waukegan is located within the humid continental climate zone (Köppen: Dfa) with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold and snowy winters. The record high temperature is , which was set in July 1934, while the record low is , set in January 1985. Waukegan's proximity to Lake Michigan moderates the climate, cooling it in the summer and warming it in the winter. Waukegan contains three Superfund sites of hazardous substances that are on the National Priorities List. In 1975, PCBs were discovered in Waukegan Harbor sediments. Investigation revealed that during manufacturing activities at Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC), hydraulic fluids containing PCBs had been discharged through floor drains at the OMC plant, directly to Waukegan Harbor and into ditches discharging into Lake Michigan. The OMC plants were subsequently added to the National Priorities List, and was designated as one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern. Cleanup of the site began in 1990, with OMC providing $20–25 million in funding. During the OMC cleanup, additional soil contaminants were found at the location of the former Waukegan Manufactured Gas and Coke Company. Soil removal was completed at the coke site in 2005, and cleanup…

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Waukegan High School
  High · Waukegan · 4,355 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Warren Township High School
  High · Gurnee · 3,758 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Zion-Benton Twnshp Hi Sch
  High · Zion · 2,113 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• Libertyville High School
  High · Libertyville · 1,811 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• Woodland Middle School
  Middle · Gurnee · 1,668 students · 12.8:1 ratio
• Lake Forest High School
  High · Lake Forest · 1,438 students · 11.1:1 ratio
• Woodland Elementary
  Elementary · Gages Lake · 1,425 students · 12.1:1 ratio
• Grayslake Central High School
  High · Grayslake · 1,419 students · 13.9:1 ratio