Dixon, Illinois

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Dixon, Illinois
City
Aerial View of Dixon, IL
Flag Seal
Nickname:  Petunia City
Location of Dixon in Lee County, Illinois.
Dixon Show map of Illinois Dixon Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 41°50′46″N 89°29′6″W / 41.84611°N 89.48500°W / 41.84611; -89.48500
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Lee
Government
• Mayor	Liandro Arellano Jr
Area [1]
• Total	8.79 sq mi (22.76 km2)
• Land	8.48 sq mi (21.96 km2)
• Water	0.31 sq mi (0.80 km2)
Elevation	712 ft (217 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	15,274
• Density	1,801.60/sq mi (695.64/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)	61021, 61022, 61023
Area code	815
FIPS code	17-20162
GNIS ID	2394537
Wikimedia Commons	Dixon, Illinois
Website	www.discoverdixon.org

Dixon is a city and the county seat of Lee County, Illinois, United States.^[2] The population was 15,274 as of the 2020 census. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the Rock River, which runs through the city.^[3] The Illinois General Assembly designated Dixon as "Petunia Capital of Illinois" in 1999 and "The Catfish Capital of Illinois" in 2009.

Dixon was the boyhood home of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The 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 during the Black Hawk War. The memorial is located on the west side of Dixon's main north-south street, Galena Avenue, (U.S. Route 52, also Illinois Route 26), north of the Rock River.^[4] The city is also the site of the Dixon Bridge Disaster of 1873, the worst road bridge disaster in American history. A marker for the disaster stands near the Lincoln Statue, on the north bank of the river.