Riverwoods, Illinois


Riverwoods is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It was established on the banks of the Des Plaines River in 1959 by local steel magnate Jay Peterson. The population was 3,660 at the 2010 census. The corporate headquarters of Discover Financial and CCH are located there, as well as Orphans of the Storm, an animal shelter founded in 1928 by famous dancer Irene Castle. The village hosts the annual "Arts & Riverwoods" festival.

Architecture

Riverwoods features many significant examples of midcentury residential design, including over 40 homes designed by "prairie modernist" architect Edward Humrich. A recent wave of teardowns and the lack of a local preservation ordinance led the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois to identify Riverwoods in 2006 as one of the Chicago region's communities most threatened by overdevelopment.

Geography

Riverwoods is located at .
According to the 2010 census, Riverwoods has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,843 people, 1,261 households, and 1,118 families residing in the village. The population density was 963.3 people per square mile. There were 1,281 housing units at an average density of 321.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 94.12% White, 0.36% African American, 4.50% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.98% of the population.
There were 1,261 households out of which 42.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 82.8% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.3% were non-families. 9.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the village, the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 33.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $158,990, and the median income for a family was $166,076. The per capita income for the village was $67,878. About 1.8% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Schools

As Riverwoods does not operate its own school district, most of its students attend the neighboring Deerfield district 109 schools: Wilmot Elementary, South Park Elementary, Caruso Middle School, and Deerfield High School. Certain sections attend Bannockburn, Illinois or Lincolnshire, Illinois schools.
Riverwoods is home of the Riverwoods Montessori School, a fully accredited, non-sectarian elementary school and preschool serving children 2–12 years of age. The Riverwoods Montessori Schools is part of the Deerfield Montessori Schools, one of the first Montessori schools established in Illinois.

Notable people