Iroquois County, Illinois

Iroquois County, Illinois
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1833
Seat	Watseka
Largest city	Watseka
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,118.93 sq mi (2,898 km²) 1,117.32 sq mi (2,894 km²) 1.61 sq mi (4 km²), 0.14%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	29,718 28/sq mi (11/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.iroquois.il.us

Iroquois County is a county located in the northeast part of the U.S. state of Illinois along the border with Indiana. It is the third largest county in the state in terms of area, covering over 1,100 square miles (2,800 km²). According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 29,718, which is a decrease of 5.2% from 31,334 in 2000. The county seat of Watseka is located near the center of the county, which is the only county in the United States to be named Iroquois, after the American Indian people.

History

Iroquois County was created on February 26, 1833 out of a portion of Vermilion County. It was named for the Iroquois River, which was itself named for the Iroquois people. The first county seat was established at the town of Iroquois in 1837, though no official buildings were constructed there and offices were rented. Several other sites for the county seat were examined, and in 1839 it was moved to Middleport; a court house and jail were built there. There was a long battle between Middleport and Watseka (also known as South Middleport) as to which should be the county seat; in 1865, it was finally moved to Watseka. The town of Middleport no longer exists, but there is a township of that name. A courthouse was built in Watseka in 1866 at a cost of $28,000 and included a jail in the basement; this building was expanded in 1881, and a new jail was built in 1893 just east of the courthouse.

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  Iroquois County from the time of its creation to 1836

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  Iroquois County between 1836 and 1853

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  Iroquois County in 1853, when the creation of Kankakee County reduced it to its current size.

Geography

Map of Iroquois County, with townships labeled in red

The northern border of the county is about 60 miles (97 km) south of the city of Chicago. The county is bordered on the east by the state of Indiana and its counties of Benton and Newton. To the north lies Kankakee County. Vermilion County, out of which Iroquois County was originally formed, lies to the south. To the west is Ford County.

The Iroquois River enters the county from Indiana and flows westward along the south side of the village of Iroquois, then along the north side of the city of Watseka, whereupon it veers to the north and joins the larger Kankakee River near the city of Kankakee in the county of the same name; the Kankakee River then flows into the Illinois River further to the northwest in Will County. Sugar Creek, further to the south, also flows from the east to the west, entering from Indiana east of Stockland; it passes through the south edge of Milford, is joined by Mud Creek coming up from the south, and winds to the north past the village of Woodland and meets the Iroquois River near Watseka.

The Iroquois County State Wildlife Area, a 2,400-acre (970 ha) state park, is located in the northeast corner of the county. There are also three nature preserves: Bonnie's Prairie, Hooper Branch Savanna, and Loda Cemetery Prairie.

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 1,118.93 square miles (2,898.0 km²), of which 1,117.32 square miles (2,893.8 km²) (or 99.86%) is land and 1.61 square miles (4.2 km²) (or 0.14%) is water.

Cities

• Gilman
• Watseka

Villages

Ashkum Beaverville Buckley Chebanse Cissna Park

Clifton Crescent City Danforth Donovan Iroquois

Loda Martinton Milford Onarga Papineau

Sheldon Stockland Thawville Wellington Woodland

Townships

In 1855, a popular vote resulted in the adoption of township government, which was implemented in 1856. At that time, eleven townships were created; they are listed below.

• Ash Grove
• Beaver
• Belmont
• Chebanse
• Concord
• Loda
• Middleport
• Milford
• Onarga
• Papineau (originally named Wygant)
• Stockland (originally named Crab Apple)

Over the next several decades, more townships were created from the existing ones, for a final total of twenty-six. The newer townships are listed below in order of creation.

• Martinton (1857)
• Iroquois (1858)
• Prairie Green (1858)
• Ashkum (1861)
• Douglas (1861)
• Artesia (1864)
• Fountain Creek (1868)
• Lovejoy (1868)
• Sheldon (1868)
• Milks Grove (1872)
• Pigeon Grove (1876)
• Crescent (1877)
• Danforth (1877)
• Ridgeland (1878)
• Beaverville (1916)

Transportation

Interstate 57 passes through the west part of the county on its route between Champaign and Chicago. From north to south, it passes through or near Chebanse, Clifton, Ashkum, Danforth, Gilman, Onarga, Buckley, and Loda.

The county is bisected by the east–west U.S. Route 24, which passes through Gilman, Crescent City, the county seat of Watseka, and Sheldon.

• U.S. Highway 52
• U.S. Highway 45
• Illinois Route 1
• Illinois Route 49
• Illinois Route 54
• Illinois Route 116

Several railroad lines pass through the county. The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway operates a line that begins in Peoria and runs from east to west through Iroquois County, passing through Gilman and Watseka and continuing into Indiana. A Norfolk Southern Railway line runs nearly parallel with Interstate 57 on its way to Chicago. A CSX Transportation line passes from north to south through the eastern part of the county; a Union Pacific line joins it south of Woodland. Further east, the Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad operates a north–south line.

Notable people

• John S. Darrough, American Civil War soldier and recipient of the Medal of Honor, lived in the county from age 14
• Henry Bacon, architect of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC and other notable public buildings, born in Watseka in 1866
• Fern Andra, movie actress and director from 1913 to 1930, born in Watseka in 1893
• Rex Everhart, Broadway actor who voiced the role of Maurice in the Disney Film "Beauty & The Beast," born in Watseka in 1920
• Scott Garrelts, Pitcher, San Francisco Giants, 1st round draft pick in 1979 amateur draft, grew up in Buckley, graduated from Buckley-Loda High School

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	1,695		—
1850	4,149		144.8%
1860	12,325		197.1%
1870	25,782		109.2%
1880	35,451		37.5%
1890	35,167		−0.8%
1900	38,014		8.1%
1910	35,543		−6.5%
1920	34,841		−2.0%
1930	32,913		−5.5%
1940	32,496		−1.3%
1950	32,348		−0.5%
1960	33,562		3.8%
1970	33,532		−0.1%
1980	32,976		−1.7%
1990	30,787		−6.6%
2000	31,334		1.8%
2010	29,718		−5.2%
Source: United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division

2000 census age pyramid for Iroquois County

As of the census of 2000, there were 31,334 people, 12,220 households, and 8,712 families residing in the county. The population density was 28 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 13,362 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.93% White, 0.71% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.07% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. 3.88% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 36.4% were of German, 12.0% American, 8.7% English, 8.1% Irish and 7.0% French ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.3% spoke English, 3.0% Spanish and 1.1% German as their first language.

There were 12,220 households out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.70% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.40% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 25.70% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 18.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,071, and the median income for a family was $45,417. Males had a median income of $31,799 versus $20,936 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,435. About 6.80% of families and 8.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.80% of those under age 18 and 6.70% of those age 65 or over.

Climate and weather

Watseka, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.6   30 14     1.7   36 18     3.4   48 29     3.8   60 39     4   72 50     4.6   82 59     4.2   84 63     3.7   83 61     3.4   77 53     2.9   64 41     3.3   49 32     2.6   36 21 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     41   -1 -10     44   2 -8     85   9 -2     96   16 4     103   22 10     117   28 15     107   29 17     93   28 16     87   25 12     74   18 5     85   9 0     65   2 -6 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Watseka have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −28 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.61 inches (41 mm) in January to 4.62 inches (117 mm) in June.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Iroquois County, Illinois

References

Bibliography

• Dowling, John (1968). History of Iroquois County. Iroquois County Board of Supervisors. Retrieved 2010-10-15. 
• Kern, J. W. (1907). Past and present of Iroquois County, Illinois. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. Retrieved 2010-10-15. 
• Beckwith, H. W. (1880). History of Iroquois County, Together with Historic Notes on the Northwest. Chicago: H. H. Hill and Company. Retrieved 2010-10-15. 

External links

• Illinois State Archives
• Iroquois County State Wildlife Area