URBANA, ILLINOIS
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois and named for Urbana, Ohio, the home town of Senator John W. Vance. In 1833, Vance, as a member of the Illinois state legislature, helped pass the act that created Champaign County and Urbana. which along with neighboring Champaign is the population center of the county, although officially Champaign has the larger population. Urbana shares a border with Champaign and the two together are often referred to as Urbana-Champaign or Champaign-Urbana, or even Chambana. The border area these two cities share is the site of the renowned main campus of the University of Illinois.
Due in large part to the influences of the university, Urbana is a highly educated community offering many opportunities and advantages of a big city while retaining a small town sensibility. The Champaign-Urbana Campus is recognized as one of the top universities in the world with 10 degree programs ranked among the ten best in the nation. The local public library, the Urbana Free Library is one of the oldest in Illinois and considered one of the leading public libraries in the country.
Many hospitals and clinics in the area provide high quality medical services and facilities assuring access to the very best health care. Urbana is home to Carle Hospital and Clinic, one of the largest private physician group practices in the country, as well as Covenant Hospital, both nationally recognized as innovative health care providers.
Urbana has received national recognition as "Tree City USA" and since 1976 over 100,000 trees have been planted. Fitness trails, biking, jogging, fishing, boating, tennis, soccer, golf, swimming and baseball are only a few of the activities to enjoy in Champaign County’s 58 parks and 8 golf courses. Urbana is home to Stone Creek Golf Course, central Illinois' premier new golfing facility as well as the elegant Urbana Country Club.
City sponsored activities include The Market at the Square, a farmer's market filled with fresh, home-grown produce, local honey, baked goods, hand-crafted items, plants and flowers. It allows people to support local farmers, eat healthy and purchase the work of local artisans. The Market is held every Saturday from mid May through mid November in the city’s downtown district. Don’t miss the Sweet Corn Festival held in August, Champaign County's oldest and largest festival. For over a quarter century this festival has brought thousands of families, entertainers and vendors to Main Street where everyone shares the best that traditional, small town America has to offer. Festival attractions include live music and the “Culture Court”, where local ethnic organizations exhibit their traditional cuisine, attire, music, and traditions.
Another popular attraction is the Arts Boulevard, which showcases local artists as well as the Annual Motor Muster, one of the best vintage car shows in the region in terms of quality and variety. View rare, early antique, full classic, orphan make, muscle and sports cars that will knock your socks off. The area boasts many attractions that will delight the kids including Miller's Petting Zoo where they can go for a pony ride, the Children's Science Museum with interactive learning activities and the Book Market and Book Fair held by the University of Illinois Library, with storytelling and children's events plus a book sale and author workshops for you to enjoy.
Urbana strives mightily protect and preserve its small town atmosphere while providing all the benefits of contemporary American comfort, culture and quality of life.
LOCATION
Urbana is situated in gorgeous central Illinois, nearby the Indiana border. It is located just east of State Route 45 which runs north/south and just south of State Route 150 which runs east/west. Urbana is 10 miles east of the junction of I-57 and I-72, the area’s main north-south artery and east-west artery as well as 2 miles south of I- 74 which runs east-west and heads towards Indianapolis, the closest major urban center. Urbana is within driving distance of sophisticated Chicago which is 136 miles north and jazzy St. Louis which is 165 miles west. The city has a total area 10.5 square miles and sits at an elevation of 743 feet. The topography is a combination of forest land and what was orginally open prarie, with a significant amount of open space, including parks and urban wilderness, that has been preserved by the University of Illinois which sits directly between Urbana and its sister city Champaign.
The joint town is the site of the main campus of the University of Illinois where some buildings have an Urbana address and some buildings have a Champaign address. The two cities share a border and together are often referred to as Urbana-Champaign or Champaign-Urbana, or even Chambana.
TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS
Urbana sits astride a modern transportation infrastructure and is surrounded by US Interstates 72 and 74, which traverse an east-west route and Interstate 57, which traverses a north-south route. The system of local roads and bridges is well maintained and up to date while traffic is rarely a problem with commute times at some of the lowest in the State of Illinois. Willard Airport/CMI is the local airport, which is operated by the University of Illinois. Served by four major carriers including Delta Airlines, American Airlines, American Connection and Northwest Airlines, it is located just 5 miles south of town and offers flights connecting to major hub airports. The regional airport in Decatur is about 40 miles to the southwest and Chicago O’Hare, the busiest airport in the country with flights to any destination you can imagine, is about a two-hour drive north. Flightstar out of local Willard Airport offers airport facilities for private planes and charters.
The Illinois Central railroad line, runs north to south through the city offering easy rail travel opportunities to Chicago, Indianapolis and beyond. A spur line provides service to industry and grain elevators to the west of the city. Norfolk Southern railroad operates an east to west line through the city connecting to Urbana in the east and Bloomington in the west. Amtrak, runs two trains daily northbound to Chicago, and two evening trains southbound, one to Carbondale and the other to New Orleans. The local bus system, the MTD, serves Champaign, Urbana, Savoy, and the surrounding areas uniting the towns and cities in a easily navigatable web. Champaign is also served by Greyhound and the Illini Swallow bus companies and in 1999, a new transportation center was completed and presently consolidates all passenger rail and bus service for Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy into this one convenient downtown depot. Suburban Express operates a weekend bus service between the University of Illinois and Chicago as well as express buses to Chicago O’Hare Airport. Living in Urbana makes it easy to get where you want to go.
BRIEF HISTORY
Until 1819, the land of Champaign County was held by the Kickapoo Indian tribe and was the hunting ground of the Pottawatomie Indians. The first pioneer cabin built in what would become Urbana was constructed by William Tompkins near Boneyard Creek, which is now the site of the Courier Café. Soon other settlers joined him and the first schoolhouse was built by 1832. The City of Urbana was founded on February 20th, 1833 by an act of the Illinois legislature, which also declared Urbana the county seat. Senator John W. Vance, whose efforts led to the passage of the act, named the city after his hometown of Urbana, Ohio.
By 1840, Methodists had founded the town’s first church although because the land was somewhat swampy and not crossed directly by any major waterways, the freeways of the era, the area grew slowly until the arrival of the Illinois Central Railroad in 1854 just 2 miles west of town. The new community of West Urbana grew up around the station and in April 1860, West Urbana renamed itself Champaign and the two cities have been siblings ever since. Abraham Lincoln had clients in the area of Urbana so he visited frequently as a lawyer on the 8th judicial circuit and in 1854 he delivered a speech condemning slavery on the steps of the Urbana courthouse.
In 1863, the First Street Railway connected downtown Urbana with the Illinois Central station in Champaign, making transportation even easier and enabling the local economy to grow and diversify. During the Civil War, Champaign County provided over 2500 men to the Union Cause. Upon their return, many soldiers who had suffered injuries that prevented them from pursuing their former occupations needed to be retrained and educated. So with a land grant from the state, the Illinois Industrial University was founded. Originally an agricultural and mechanical college, the first class was admitted in 1868. Today it is the world famous Champaign-Urbana Campus of the University of Illinois set both in Urbana and in its sister city of Champaign.
In 1871 the Great Urbana Fire consumed almost all of the original downtown which is ironically the same day 150 miles to the north, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed that city. Like the Chicago fire, Urbana's began in a stable, but the town persevered and rebuilt. 1874 brought the founding of the Urbana Free Library, one of the first tax-supported public libraries in Illinois. Located at the corner of Race and Elm Streets since 1918, the library has the highest per capita use rate of any library in the state. In 1931 the Carle Foundation Hospital and Clinic was founded followed by the Covenant Medical Center, which has made Urbana a major medical hub since that time.
In the depths of the Great Depression, when Illinois closed its banks, in a show of civic unity that still thrives today, the Urbana Association of Commerce issued "Urbana money," which kept the local economy alive. With the entry of the United States into the Second World War, the University of Illinois becomes a Naval training station drawing many new residents who continue to make their home in the area following the peace. In 1964, the cultural life of the community is enriched when Mr. and Mrs. Herman Krannert provide funds for the construction of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois, which Time Magazine went on to call, “arguably the best performing arts center in the nation." In 1993, Urbana celebrated the 160th anniversary of its founding by erecting a new city clock that graces the corner of Race and Elm Streets. Urbana is a town that celebrates its past but always keeps its eye on the future.
ABOUT EDUCATION
The Urbana Public School District has 2 high schools, 1 middle school and 8 elementary schools. Urbana High School has just over 1300 students in grades 9-12 and University of Illinois high School has 229 students in grades 8-12. Local public elementary schools have enrollments between 250-365 students and low student to teacher ratios, averaging 12 to 15 students per teacher. Many of the elementary schools have before and after school care services available to working families. Urbana Middle School has 1055 students and a student-teacher ratio of approximately 12 students per teacher.
There are two private high schools including Kingswood School and Calvary Baptist Christian Academy and two private elementary schools including Canaan Academy and Montessori Habitat School. The Concept College of Cosmetology offers beautician training, Frasca Air Services offers aviation training and the Faith School of Theology is a private graduate seminary. Parkland College, founded in 1966, is the local community college. It is a fully accredited, public college established to serve the third largest community college district in Illinois. Parkland offers vocational, technical and academic instruction plus it provides adult and continuing education programs for the diverse populations within the community.
Additional facilities include a theater, planetarium as well as child development center and construction is underway for a new agriculture technology center and social science wing. The shining star of the higher education community is the Champaign-Urbana Campus of the University of Illinois. Founded as an agricultural and industrial college in 1867, it is now regarded as one of the finest universities in the country. With a student body of 35,000, it offers degrees in 150 disciplines.
Past graduates include ten Nobel Prizes winners, and sixteen Pulitzer Prize winners. The school is also the home of the University of Illinois National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NSCA), which is a leader in building the worldwide information superhighway.
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