Jamaica Township, Vermilion County, Illinois

Township in Illinois, United States

39°58′47″N 87°48′26″W / 39.97972°N 87.80722°W / 39.97972; -87.80722CountryUnited StatesStateIllinoisCountyVermilionCreated1899Area

• Total31.32 sq mi (81.1 km²) • Land31.08 sq mi (80.5 km²) • Water0.24 sq mi (0.6 km²) 0.77%Elevation

676 ft (206 m)Population

(2010)

• Estimate

(2016)^[1]

195 • Density6.5/sq mi (2.5/km²)Time zoneUTC-6 (CST) • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)FIPS code17-183-38180

Jamaica Township is a township in Vermilion County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 202 and it contained 87 housing units.^[2]

History

Jamaica Township was created from portions of Catlin, Sidell, Carroll, and Vance Townships. The petition was filed in 1897, but the township wasn't approved until 1899 after a lengthy court battle, partly due to the excellent farmland in the area. The township was originally called Kingsley after a local chapel. Rob Weller lived there for 20 years.^[3] Later, local W. T. Baird suggested changing the name for Jamaica, Queens, a borough of New York City, which was named for a northeastern Algonquin Indian tribe.^[4]

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of 31.32 square miles (81.1 km²), of which 31.08 square miles (80.5 km²) (or 99.23%) is land and 0.24 square miles (0.62 km²) (or 0.77%) is water.^[2] The stream of Jordan Creek runs through this township.

Unincorporated towns

Jamaica

Adjacent townships

Catlin Township (northeast)
Carroll Township (southeast)
Sidell Township (southwest)
Vance Township (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2016 (est.)	195	^[1]
U.S. Decennial Census^[5]

References

U.S. Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
United States Census Bureau cartographic boundary files

^ ^a ^b "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- County Subdivision and Place -- 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
^ Stapp, Katherine; W. I. Bowman (1968). History Under Our Feet: The Story of Vermilion County, Illinois. Danville, Illinois: Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc. p. 22.
^ Callary, Edmund (2009). Place Names of Illinois. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-252-03356-8.
^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.