people called it the ‘hard road.” The new state highway passed along Ladd Street and brought traffic through the center of Pontiac. The 1891 Iron Truss bridge over the Vermilion proved inadequate to carry increased traffic over the river, and in 1925 it was replaced with a new steel and concrete structure. In 1925 the designation of the road was changed to Route 66, but this was only a change in name, as most of this famous highway simply borrowed the pavement of Route 4. Changes brought by the new modes of transport were among the forces that contributed to a re-examination of the past. In Pontiac this took the form of the nationally known Threshermen's Reunion. It started in a modest way in 1949 at Pontiac's Chautauqua Park next to the Vermilion River as a gathering of interested people who brought together a collection of old farm machinery. The assemblage steam engines and the people who ran them grew in popularity. In 1999 the sponsors purchased their own forty acres north of town. In 1966 the first phase of construction on Interstate 55 was finished and in the early 1970s the road, which closely followed Route 66, was brought up to improved federal standards. Highway oriented businesses soon clustered around these roads, at first on the north and south sides of Pontiac, and later near Exit 197, west of the old town center. Unlike many towns, Pontiac has continued to be serviced by railroad passenger service. In 1971 Amtrak took over the task of moving people between Chicago and St. Louis, and Pontiac has continued to be an important stop. Pontiac is home to the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame. It was previously located at Dixie Truckers Home in McLean, Illinois, but was moved to a new, larger location in Pontiac when Dixie changed ownership. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 11,864 people, 4,139 households, and 2,619 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,379 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.39% White, 10.90% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 2.06% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.37% of the population. There were 4,139 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them,