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Galesburg is located at 40°57'8" North, 90°22'7" West (40.952292, -90.368545) 1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.2 km² (17.1 mi²). 43.8 km² (16.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.05% water.
Galesburg was founded by George W. Gale, a minister of the gospel from New York State who dreamed of establishing a manual labor college. A committee from New York purchased 17 acres (69,000 m²) in Knox County in 1835, and the first 25 settlers arrived in 1836. They built cabins in Log City near current Lake Storey, just north of Galesburg.
Galesburg was home to the first anti-slavery society in state of Illinois founded in 1837, and was a stop on the underground railroad. Railroads play a key role in Galesburg -- the first railroad came to Galesburg in 1854Events January 13 The accordion is patented by Anthony Faas. February 11 Major streets lit by coal gas for first time. February 14 Texas is linked by telegraph with the rest of the United States, when a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas i.
Galesburg was the site for one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, on 07 October 1858Events January 14 Felice Orsini and his accomplices fail to assassinate Napoleon III in Paris but their bombs kill 156 bystanders. Because of the involvement of French emigres living in Britain, there is a brief anti-British feeling in France but the empe.
Lately the city has been on the decline, unable to adjust its economy to post-industrial needs. Unemployment is high, but the largest employer is Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. Many factories have laid off workers.
As of the censusA census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). It can be contrasted with sampling in which information is only obtained from a subset of a population. As such it is a method used f 2 of 2000, there are 33,706 people, 13,237 households, and 7,902 families residing in the city. The population density is 770.1/km² (1,994.9/mi²). There are 14,133 housing units at an average density of 322.9/km² (836.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 84.23% White, 10.20% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.03% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.46% from other races, and 1.84% from two or more races. 5.01% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 13,237 households out of which 26.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% are married couples living together, 12.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% are non-families. 34.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 16.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.24 and the average family size is 2.87.
In the city the population is spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $31,987, and the median income for a family is $41,796. Males have a median income of $31,698 versus $21,388 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,214. 14.7% of the population and 10.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 23.4% of those under the age of 18 and 6.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.