Basic Information
- Type of Place
- Suburb
- Metro Area
- W. Chicago
- Politics c. 1860?
- Unions, Organized Labor?
Sundown Town Status
- Sundown Town in the Past?
- Was there an ordinance?
- Don't Know
- Sign?
- Don’t Know
- Year of Greatest Interest
- Still Sundown?
- Surely Not
Census Information
| Total | White | Black | Asian | Native | Hispanic | Other | BHshld | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | ||||||||
| 1870 | ||||||||
| 1880 | ||||||||
| 1890 | ||||||||
| 1900 | ||||||||
| 1910 | ||||||||
| 1920 | ||||||||
| 1930 | ||||||||
| 1940 | ||||||||
| 1950 | ||||||||
| 1960 | ||||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||
| 1980 | ||||||||
| 1990 | ||||||||
| 2000 | 17771 | 54 | 15 | |||||
| 2010 | 24394 | 165 | 38 | |||||
| 2020 |
Method of Exclusion
- Violent ExpulsionPolice or Other Official Action
- Private Bad Behavior
- Reputation
Main Ethnic Group(s)
Group(s) Excluded
- Black
Comments
“I remember an incident back in the late forties where a out of town realtor had came to town and bought a house for a black family….when word got out about 80 % of the people in town met at the property one evening and they burned it down.” Longtime resident of the town; email, 2005
A resident of the town in the 40’s and 50’s said, “Might not technically fit the “sundown” description because there wasn’t a siren or curfew for blacks….they weren’t welcome in town at any time.” email, 2005
A resident of nearby Joliet said “Many of the
residents of New Lenox are openly racist, claiming to be disgusted and
appalled when black children from Joliet use their parks and other
public facilities, and the scant few non-white individuals whom live
there have complained of constant police harassment.” email, 2011