Avon, Illinois

Avon is a village in Fulton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 704 at the 2020 census.

History
Ira Woods and his family settled in Avon in 1835. Avon was named "Woodsville" from 1837 to 1843. In 1843, the town became big enough to ask for a post office. The name was then changed to "Woodstock". On April 4, 1852, the United States Postmaster General gave the town the name of "Avon" to avoid confusion with another community in McHenry County, IL. Avon was once a thriving town, due in part to the railroad industry, by serving as a method of transporting cattle to the slaughterhouses in Chicago and also as a stop between Chicago and Quincy.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 704 people, 328 households, and 177 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,585.59 PD/sqmi. There were 371 housing units at an average density of 835.59 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 96.16% White, 0.85% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 2.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.

There were 328 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.49% were married couples living together, 7.62% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.04% were non-families. 43.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.29% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 2.10.

The village's age distribution consisted of 24.8% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 28% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $35,833, and the median income for a family was $46,250. Males had a median income of $30,625 versus $26,635 for females. The per capita income for the village was $22,257. About 26.6% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.8% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Geography
Avon is located in northwestern Fulton County at 40.66222°N, -90.43556°W (40.662254, -90.435485). A small portion of the village extends west into Warren County. Illinois Route 41 passes through the village, leading north 21 mi to Galesburg and southwest 10 mi to Bushnell.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Avon has a total area of 0.44 sqmi, all land.

Notable people

 * Ken Carpenter, radio and TV announcer