Dixon, Illinois Dixon The Neon Arch on Galena Avenue in Dixon, The Dixon Memorial Arch.

Location of Dixon inside Illinois Location of Dixon inside Illinois Wikimedia Commons: Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a town/city and governmental center of county of Lee County, Illinois, United States. The populace was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 in 2000.

The town/city is titled after founder John Dixon, who directed a rope ferry service athwart Rock River, which runs through the city. The Illinois General Assembly designated Dixon as "Petunia Capital of Illinois" in 1999 and "The Catfish Capital of Illinois" in 2009.

Dixon is a county-wide employment core and is part of two fast burgeoning distribution and warehousing and food refining districts: one is I-88 West and the other, the I-39 Logistics Corridor.

The Dixon Correctional Center employs over 600 workers, as does the Department of Transportation.

Dixon has many industries employing thousands of the region's residents.

Dixon is a county-wide center for healthcare.

The improve has KSB Hospital which is a medical student teaching facility, 4 adult clinics, a children's clinic, 2 dialysis centers, 2 urgent care clinics, and is home to Sinnissippi Mental Health Center and the Northern Illinois Cancer Center.

There is also a hospital, an infirmary, and a clinic for the mentally ill at the Dixon Correctional Center.

The Mabley State Mental Health complex is also positioned in Dixon.

Dixon is the boyhood home of former U.S.

The town/city is also the site of the Lincoln Monument State Memorial, marking the spot where Abraham Lincoln joined the Illinois militia at Fort Dixon in 1832 amid the Black Hawk War.

The memorial is positioned on the west side of Dixon's chief north-south street, Galena Avenue, (U.S.

John Dixon, the eponymous founder, bought Ogee's Ferry in the spring of 1830.

Dixon brought his family to his new establishment on April 11 of that year.

Shortly after, the name of the postal service was changed to Dixon's Ferry. Dixon is the boyhood home of the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan.

Reagan was born in close-by Tampico and moved to Dixon, aged nine.

His family home is preserved at 816 South Hennepin Avenue, and authorized by Congress to turn into the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site. In 1984, amid his first term as president, Reagan returned to Dixon to jubilate his 73rd birthday.

In April 2012, Dixon Municipal Comptroller Rita Crundwell was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for embezzlement.

History, impacted Dixon's finances severely.

Dixon is positioned at 41 50 46 N 89 29 6 W (41.846130, -89.485115). According to the 2010 census, Dixon has a total region of 7.862 square miles (20.36 km2), of which 7.43 square miles (19.24 km2) (or 94.51%) is territory and 0.432 square miles (1.12 km2) (or 5.49%) is water. The town/city of Dixon has various art venues including: a downtown art loggia, 2 arcades held in exhibitions, and a several private company galleries.

Dixon also has a performing arts theatre called Dixon Stage Left, and a musician and visual arts co-op called Rosbrook Studio.

The town/city has various celebrations throughout the year including: Gardenstock Arts & Music Fest, Venitian Night on the Riverfront, a downtown wine festival, Blues-Brews-and BBQ, Reagan Trail Days, and the fall Scarecrow Festival.

Every summer Dixon holds the annual Petunia Festival featuring a parade, carnival (Farrow shows), nation concert, fireworks show, and a 5 - K race the Reagan Run. The parade features a multitude of floats from encircling businesses, politicians, and other region groups.

A carnival is also held in Dixon amid this time, and the festival ends with the Fourth of July fireworks.

The Rock River which runs through the center of Dixon has been designated a National Waterway by the Federal Government.

In response to the dramatic change the streetscape underwent, the Dixon Men's Garden Club planted petunias along Galena Avenue to regain some sort of streetscape identity once again in the early 1960s.

An iconic arch along Galena Avenue, just south of the Rock River, features the word "Dixon" in neon glasswork.

Although generally referred to as the Dixon Arch, the proper name for the structure is the War Memorial Arch. The Northwest Territory Historic Center is a History Research and Learning Center homed in President Ronald Reagan's boyhood South Central School.

The Dixon Park District owns more than 1,100 acres (450 ha) of territory including two historic parks platted in 1842.

The parks range from Lowell Park's 200 acres (81 ha) which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; non-urban Meadows Park which encompasses 567 acres (229 ha) of recreational opportunities with natural areas and farm land; to neighborhood parks positioned throughout the city. Lee County, of which Dixon is the County Seat, offers many recreational areas and campgrounds; over 7,000 campsites are positioned inside 17 miles of the city.

Rita Crundwell: breeder of quarterhorses; embezzled approximately $53 million while Dixon comptroller.

Sherwood Dixon: politician, 36th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois.

Mc - Master: South Dakota state representative, state senator, lieutenant governor, governor, US senator, later banker in Dixon.

Louella Parsons (born Louella Rose Oettinger): influential journal columnist; born in Freeport and interval up in Dixon.

Ronald Reagan: 40th President of the United States, 33rd Governor of California, noted actor; born in Tampico and interval up in Dixon.

Charles Rudolph Walgreen: founder of drugstore chain; he interval up in Dixon and began his longterm position here as a pharmacist.

Dixon High School "Big theft, little city: Dixon's former comptroller is accused of stealing $53 million from Ronald Reagan's hometown".

"Feds: Illinois town/city official actually stole $53 - M".

"$54 - M Dixon theft now subject of college courses".

"Former Dixon bookkeeper who stole $53 - M gets nearly 20 years - News - Journal Star - Peoria, IL".

"Bloody Gulch Rd, Dixon, IL 61021".

"Dixon Petunia Festival - Official Website".

Dixon Petunia Festival.

Dixon, Illinois.

"John Deere Historic Site - City of Dixon Illinois Official Website".

"Dixon History | General | About Us".

Welcome to Dixon, Illinois Dixon Chamber of Commerce Municipalities and communities of Lee County, Illinois, United States County seat: Dixon Alto Amboy Ashton Bradford Brooklyn Dixon East Grove Franklin Grove Hamilton Harmon Lee Center Marion May Nachusa Nelson Palmyra Reynolds South Dixon Sublette Viola Willow Creek Wyoming Binghampton East Paw Paw Eldena Henkel Kingdom Lee Center Maytown Nachusa North Dixon Palmyra Prairieville Radley Roxbury Scarboro Shaws Swissville The Burg Twelvemile Corner Van Petten Walton Welland Woodland Shores