Alsip is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,725 at the 2000 census. It is a suburb of Chicago. Alsip was settled in the 1830s by German and Dutch farmers. The village is named after Frank Alsip, the owner of a brickyard that opened there in 1885. The village began to grow after the Tri-State Tollway was built there after World War II.
The Village of Alsip was first settled by Europeans of mostly German and Dutch descent in the 1830's as a truck farming area. Prior to being settled by Europeans, the area was inhabited by the Potawatomi Indians, a large Potawatomi settlement was located nearby. French explorers and missionaries, including Marquette and Joliet, visited the area during the 15th and 16th centuries, establishing a Catholic mission church here in 1696 near what is now 122nd Street and Loveland Avenue. The mission church eventually burned down, forcing it=s parishioners, mostly French trappers and Native American converts, to travel east to another French mission near what is now 123rd Street and Vincennes Avenue in Blue Island. Alsip later developed into a small industrial center. One of the first industries to emerge was a clay quarry and brick factory owned and operated by Frank Alsip. The business, which was established in 1885, was one of the area=s largest employers. Although the Alsip family did much for the economic development of the area, they did not reside in the community that would later bear their name; preferring to reside instead in the City of Chicago. When the village was incorporated May 2nd, 1927, it was named after the Alsip family. Since that time, Alsip has grown to cover approximately 8.5 square miles. Today, Alsip is a combination of business and residential areas with a population of approximately 21,000 residents. Alsip is also now the home of over 800 commercial, industrial, retail and corporate businesses. Some of these businesses include: Coca Cola, Griffith Laboratories International Headquarters, Crown Cork and Seal Inc., and Landis Plastics.
Alsip is located in the south/central portion of Cook County Illinois, and is about 19 miles Southwest of downtown Chicago. Alsip=s northern edge borders the City of Chicago, making it conveniently located for business and residential alike. The population of Alsip is relatively young with a median age of 26.9 years. 49% of the working population is employed in white collar positions. The remaining 51% are engaged in work categorized as blue collar. 60% of Alsip families have incomes between $35,000 and $65,000 annually.
Alsip residents are referred to as Alsipians. As of the census of 2000, there were 19,725 people, 7,536 households, and 5,011 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,098.5 people per square mile. There were 7,756 housing units at an average density of 1,218.3/sq mi. The racial makeup of the village was 82.03% White, 10.09% African American, 0.15% Native American, 2.10% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.22% from other races, and 2.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.76% of the population, including 7.1% of Mexican descent.
The top five non-African American, non-Hispanic ancentries reported in Alsip as of the 2000 census were Irish (24.2%), German (20.7%), Polish (17.3%), Italian (11.8%) and English (3.4%).[4]
There were 7,536 households out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.26.
In the village the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $47,963, and the median income for a family was $54,846. Males had a median income of $42,233 versus $31,395 for females. The per capita income for the village was $20,498. About 5.2% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.
Learn more about this city.
City of Alsip, IL official site
City of Alsip, IL Chamber of Commerce
City of Alsip, IL newspaper
County of Alsip, IL official site
State of Illinois official site