Harvard is a city located in McHenry County, Illinois. The population was 9,469 at the 2020 census. The city is 63 miles from the Chicago Loop and it is the last stop on the Union Pacific Northwest Line.

History

The original owners of the land that came to be Harvard, Illinois, were Abram Carmack and Jacob Davis, who obtained it from the government in 1845 and sold it to Gilbert Brainard shortly afterward. Upon Gilbert Brainard's death, the land was purchased by Amos Page, Otis Eastman, and Elbridge Gerry Ayer. These three men planned the layout of the town and named it "Harvard" in honor of Harvard, Massachusetts. The plat was signed by Judge J. M. Strode in Woodstock, Illinois, on November 25, 1856. Shortly afterward, Amos Page and Otis Eastman sold their shares of the property to Elbridge Gerry Ayer. Mr.Ayer's involvement came out of his business interest in the extension of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company railroad west from Cary, toward Janesville, Wisconsin. The newly platted town of Harvard was located directly on the route of the extension, and in April 1856, the railroad accepted Ayer's offer of land to build a station in the town.Harvard - 150 Years, 1856-2006, Harvard Sesquicentennial Committee May 2006

In 1856, Mr. Wesley Diggins built a hotel for Mr. H. C. Blackman, who sold it to Mr. Elbridge Gerry Ayer in 1859. Mr. Ayer built additional floors to raise it to a height of three stories and added a wing and a veranda. During the Civil War, sick and wounded soldiers passing through Harvard were lodged at the hotel with no charge for their meals. In 1925, the Ayer Hotel was purchased by Mr. S. J. Noble and renamed the Noble Hotel. When he could not maintain mortgage payments, it was purchased in 1937 by Mr. P. G. Allen and renamed the Hub Hotel. The building was destroyed in a fire on December 22, 1960.

As railroad employment expanded, Harvard's population grew. On April 18, 1869, voters incorporated the community and elected Elbridge Gerry Ayer as the first village president. The first ordinance adopted required every able-bodied citizen between the ages of 18 and 60 to perform one day of labor for the town.

Harvard was turned from a town into a city when citizens voted to do so (with a vote of 550 to 5) on April 6, 1891. With this change, Harvard was no longer a town administered by a village president. It became a city administered by a mayor.

Motorola opened a mobile telephone manufacturing and distribution facility on Harvard's north side in 1997. The plant employed more than 5,000 at its peak. However, a combination of factors, including a significant decline in Motorola's business in the early 2000s, compelled the company to shutter the facility in 2003.Happy end for Harvard? | Northwest Herald On August 13, 2008, the 1.5 million square foot facility was sold to Optima International's Optima Ventures, LLC a Miami-based real estate investment firm led by Chaim Schochet and 2/3rd owned by the Ihor Kolomoyskyi associated Privat Group, one of Ukraine's largest business and banking groups holding 33% of the individual deposits and accounting for 25% of Ukraine's banking sector from 2003 to 2016. In 2016, Xiao Hua "Edward" Gong, who was born in China but resides in Toronto, purchased the former Motorola plant but, in December 2017, prosecutors in Canada and New Zealand alleged that the plant was part of a money laundering scheme and fraud involving Chinese citizens purchasing securities valued at hundreds of millions of dollars and supported by firms in New Zealand.

In 2006, Harvard held a year-long Sesquicentennial Celebration. The Greater Harvard Area Historical Society is located on Hart Street. The society identifies and marks historical sites in the area. It also works to obtain histories of Harvard families, businesses, and farms that have been in operation for more than 100 years.

Harvard is the self-proclaimed Milk Capital of the World and hosts one of the longest-running festivals in Illinois, Harvard Milk Days, the first weekend of June, to commemorate their contributions to milk production during WWII.

A symbol of the Milk Days Festival, the statue of a cow, Harmilda, "stands 5 feet tall, 8 feet long, and weighs about 125 pounds."

Geography According to the 2010 census, Harvard has a total area of , all land.

Major streets Airport Road Ayer Street Crowley Road Diggins Street/Brink Street Division Street Flat Iron Road Lawrence Road Marengo Street McGuire Road Oak Grove Road Ramer Road

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

+Harvard, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White (NH)4,7414,9013,88559.29%51.88%41.03%Black or African American (NH)4664550.58%0.68%0.58%Native American or Alaska Native (NH)231640.29%0.17%0.04%Asian (NH)10963751.36%0.67%0.79%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)0000.00%0.00%0.00%Other race alone (NH)012170.00%0.13%0.18%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)541212190.68%1.28%2.31%Hispanic or Latino (any race)3,0234,2705,21437.81%45.20%55.06%Total7,9969,4479,469100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Harvard had a population of 9,469. The median age was 32.0 years. 29.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 10.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 103.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.8 males age 18 and over.

98.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 3,127 households, of which 42.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.8% were married-couple households, 18.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 3,306 housing units, of which 5.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%, and the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%.

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 7,996 people, 2,610 households, and 1,853 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,723 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 76.25% White, 0.85% African American, 0.38% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 18.76% from other races, and 2.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37.81% of the population.

There were 2,610 households, out of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them; 53.8% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families; 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05, and the average family size was 3.56.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.1% under the age of 18, 12.7% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,363, and the median income for a family was $48,087. Males had a median income of $30,578 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,253. About 6.9% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.2% of those under age 18 and 1.2% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

Active congregations are listed in the table.

Church Address Denomination Alden United Methodist Church 16532 Route 173 Methodist Asamblea Apostolica de la fa en Cristo Jesus 26 N. Ayer Cornerstone Pentecostal Church of God 343 S. Division Pentecostal First Baptist Church 1102 N. Fourth Street Baptist First Presbyterian Church 7100 Harvard Hills Road Presbyterian First Southern Baptist Church 1102 N. 4th Street Baptist First United Methodist Church of Harvard 1100 N. Division Methodist Harvard Bible Church 5817 Island Road Bible Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Monastery 17906 Route 173 Eastern Orthodox Iglesia Hispania Pentecostal Church 301 W Brainard Pentecostal New Hope Community Church 20906 S. Division New Life Pentecostal Church 309 N. Division Pentecostal Solid Rock Community Church 602 Old Orchard Rd St Joseph Catholic Church 206 E. Front Roman Catholic St Paul Lutheran Church 1601 Garfield Road Lutheran Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 504 E. Diggins Lutheran Yahweh Christian Church 1410 Northfield Ct Non-Denominational Education

Harvard School District No. 50 operates five schools within the city: Harvard High School: grades 9–12 Harvard Junior High School: grades 6–8 Jefferson Elementary School: grades 4 and 5 Richard B. Crosby Elementary School: grades K-3 Washington School: Pre-K and ECE The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford operated one school in Harvard, St. Joseph's School: pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1–8. The school was closed at the end of the 2015–16 school year due to financial issues.

Harvard Diggins Library Harvard Diggins Library began serving the Harvard community in 1909. Delos F. Diggins, who spent his childhood in Harvard, provided a generous bequest to the City of Harvard to build a library. That building, named the Delos F. Diggins Library, became the first free-standing public library in McHenry County. The library served the community successfully from that building until a new library was built in 2001. In deference to the lasting legacy of Delos Diggins, the library was renamed the Harvard Diggins Library. Currently, Harvard Diggins Library is a member of the Northern Illinois Cooperative consortium and the Reaching Across Illinois Library System.

The Harvard Diggins Library building encompasses 19,000 square feet of space. The core of the facility houses the collection, but designated space is available for children, teens, quiet study, and meeting space. Public events are hosted at the library on a regular basis, including lectures, performances, crafts, storytimes, and more. As a municipal library, library cards are free to city residents, and it allows borrowing of materials from most public libraries in Illinois. Non-residents may purchase a card for an annual fee.

Government

Post office

The U.S. Post Office is located on Harvard's North Eastman Street. The current building was constructed during the Kennedy Administration in 1962 when J. Edward Day was the Postmaster General.

Law enforcement The Harvard Police Department is located in the lower level of the old City Hall building at 201 W. Front Street. It consists of 17 full-time police officers, led by Chief of Police Tyson Bauman, a full-time record clerk, and one full-time community services officer (CSO). Dispatch services are provided by the North East Regional Communications Center, also known as NERCOM, of which the department is a founding and partner member, and is located in McHenry, Illinois. The department has a full-time detective, a school resource officer, and bicycles for officers to patrol the city streets, parks, and downtown area.

Fire protection