Poplar Grove was named in 1845 for a grove of poplar trees near the original town site. A post office called Poplar Grove has been in operation since 1848.
January 2008 tornado
On January 7, 2008, on an unusually warm day which saw temperatures reach the mid, a tornado struck northern Illinois, including Poplar Grove and Candlewick Lake. The tornado severely damaged a favorite local attraction, Edward's Apple Orchard. There was one serious injury reported and the damage was widespread. The tornado was later rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. A weather event this big had not occurred in the area since 1967. The tornado was one of the only eight rated EF4 during the time span of the warm weather, which lasted from January 7 to January 10. Although there were no losses, it was still a very severe storm. The following month the cast of the TV show "Storm Chasers" visited Caledonia Elementary School to talk about tornadoes and the effects they have on communities. The students and the "Storm Chasers" were featured on a Rockford's "23 WIFR News" story on the January 2008 tornado.
On April 9, 2015 northern Illinois was hit with another tornado. This time there were four in the surrounding areas of Rockford, Rochelle, and Belvidere. These tornadoes all broke the record for the last tornado to touch down in the area, and destroyed another favorite attraction, The Belvidere Petting Zoo, as well as killing some of the animals. The rest were all rescued by 200 volunteers who showed up to help the day following the tornadoes.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Poplar Grove has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Demographics
As of the 2010 U.S. census, there were 5,023 people, 653 households, and 670 families residing in the Town. The population density was 304.4 people per square mile. There were 479 housing units at an average density of 106.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 98.46% White, 0.22% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 1.02% from other races, and 0.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.83% of the population. There were 653 households, out of which 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.3% were married couplesliving together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.3% were non-families. 13.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.30. In the town, the population was spread out with 33.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $56,375, and the median income for a family was $60,800. Males had a median income of $43,125 versus $25,982 for females. The per capital income for the village was $20,493. About 3.5% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
Rob Sherman, atheist activist, perennial candidate, and businessman who lived in Poplar Grove for a few months before his death.
