Like many rural counties, Stark County has experienced shrinking population. Peoria County's northern neighbor had 5,400 residents in the 2020 census — a nearly ten percent decrease since 2010.
The Stark Council for Continuous Improvement (SCCI) is working to strengthen community ties and draw new people in.
It began when Wyoming economic development advisor Denny Rewerts set up meet-and-greet events for new Stark County School District 100 superintendent Brett Elliott. That led to conversations about how the school district and the wider community could collaborate.
"We had this feeling small counties and communities have to work together," Rewerts said. "And Brett was right in line. And so that's kind of how we started. We decided to invite a few people in, business people, teachers; you know, we have two or three groups. We met and tried to figure out just exactly where we wanted to go," Rewerts said.
SCCI kicked off the fall of 2020. Elliott said a strong school system is the foundation to build upon. For him, that meant renewing relationships and welcoming the community back into the schools. He touts the renewal of the district's work co-op program, and the district's first career fair.
The district has also invested more than $18 million in its schools over the past two years, including the construction of a new high school and a junior high school renovation.
"From our standpoint, it starts with the school district. So if you're attracting new families to the district, have a strong culture," Elliott said.
Elliott said improvements in the schools have instilled a sense of community pride.
"It's been well received. We just had our third or fourth open house. So that helps those who may not have kids or grandkids in the school system; they were able to come through and really see the value in it. So there's a lot of excitement," he said.
The conversation is turning to how to attract new residents, businesses, and tourists to Stark County. The unofficial marketing slogan uses the charms of small-town living with proximity to larger urban centers as a key selling point.
"All the major cities, Quad Cities, Galesburg, Peoria, you know, you're 40 minutes from just about anything you want to do, which helps attract people, that they can live here, but they can work outside of the community," said Elliott.
That's not to say Stark County doesn't have jobs of its own. Beyond agriculture, SCCI is also promoting the county's manufacturing and logistics base. That includes companies like chemical manufacturer FMC, trucking company West Jersey Express, and the county's oldest company, boilermaker Aldrich.
"The owner said if we went to New York and were going to see the Statue of Liberty, if you get on the ferry and tell them you're from Wyoming, Illinois, where Aldrich is at, because they have Aldrich boilers, you go free," Rewerts said.
The hope is that the community can buck the national trend of younger people in rural areas leaving after high school graduation.
"Some of them stay home and farm, but a lot of them go into agriculture, and they're somewhere else," Rewerts said. "And so that part is that part is tough."
Stark County also wants to market itself as an attractive place for remote workers. Rewerts said Wyoming has reliable high-speed broadband, courtesy of Mid-Century Fiber, which focuses on small towns previously lacking adequate coverage. Nearby Toulon is also wired by the company.
SCCI has released two commercials, with two more in the works. Community leaders are also meeting with Discover Peoria this week to grow their marketing push.
The Rock Island Trail may offer one rich tourism opportunity. It offers a direct link from Toulon and Wyoming to Peoria through a connection with the Peoria Park District's Rock Island Greenway.
Rewerts said even without a lot of promotion, the trail is attracting bicyclists to Stark County.
"The word kind of gets out. And then the bikers come up, have lunch and dinner or whatever, and then head back," he said. "We have a lot of bikers that take a lot of the back roads, and come up, you know, but we really need to promote that more. Because it's a beautiful trail."
Rewerts said he thinks keeping the community stakeholders working together on a shared vision is key moving forward as marketing efforts progress. Those efforts may already be yielding some success. U.S. Census estimates show Stark County's population actually grew slightly from 2021 to 2022. Elliott says the "big dream" is new housing and subdivision construction in Stark County.
"In Toulon and Wyoming, we've sold about five or six new homes in the last month. And they only last two days on the market. So I think we're doing something right," Rewerts said.
