Jo Daviess County, Illinois

This article is about the county in Illinois. For other counties with similar names, see Daviess County.

Jo Daviess County, Illinois
Rugged terrain in the county, part of the Driftless Area.
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1827
Named for	Maj. Joseph Hamilton Daviess
Seat	Galena
Largest city	Galena
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	618.73 sq mi (1,603 km²) 601.09 sq mi (1,557 km²) 17.64 sq mi (46 km²), 2.85%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	22,691 37/sq mi (14/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.jodaviess.org

Jo Daviess County is a county located in the northwest corner of U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 22,678, which is an increase of 1.7% from 22,289 in 2000. Its county seat is Galena.

As part of the Driftless Area, Jo Daviess County is known for its scenic stretches of road and valley views. Within Jo Daviess County lies Charles Mound, the highest natural point in Illinois.

Jo Daviess County is part of the Tri-State Area and the Dubuque, Iowa, Galena, Illinois, Platteville, Wisconsin, metropolitan area.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 618.73 square miles (1,602.5 km²), of which 601.09 square miles (1,556.8 km²) (or 97.15%) is land and 17.64 square miles (45.7 km²) (or 2.85%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Route 20
• Illinois Route 35
• Illinois Route 78
• Illinois Route 84

Adjacent counties

• Lafayette County, Wisconsin - north
• Stephenson County - east
• Carroll County - southeast
• Jackson County, Iowa - southwest (across the Mississippi River)
• Dubuque County, Iowa - west (across the Mississippi River)
• Grant County, Wisconsin - northwest

National protected area

• Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (part)

History

Jo Daviess County was formed in 1827 out of Henry and Putnam Counties. It is named for Maj. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, United States District Attorney for Kentucky, who was killed in 1811 at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Maj. Daveiss' name is universally misspelled, as in the name of this and other counties. The local pronunciation is "Davis".

A proposed wind farm would be located near the town of Nora in the northeastern corner of the county.

County border changes

• 1830- The northern border of Illinois and Wisconsin was formally established. Until that time, several Wisconsin towns actually were under the jurisdiction of Jo Daviess County.
• 1831- Rock Island County was formed from a part of the county, along with a new northern extension of Henry County and Putnam County.
• 1836- Whiteside, Ogle, and Winnebago counties were formed from the southern and eastern sections of the county.
• 1837- Stephenson County was formed from the eastern section of the county.
• 1839- Carroll County was formed from the southern section of the county.

• 

  Jo Daviess County at the time of its creation to 1831 (Wisconsin border adjustment not shown)

• 

  Jo Daviess between 1831 and 1836

• 

  Jo Daviess between 1836 and 1837. Whiteside and Ogle Counties remained temporarily attached to Jo Daviess until county governments could be organized.

• 

  Jo Daviess between 1837 and 1839

• 

  Jo Daviess reduced to its current size in 1839 by the creation of Carroll County and the organization of a government in Whiteside County

Population

2000 census age pyramid for Jo Daviess County

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	24,533		—
1910	22,657		−7.6%
1920	21,917		−3.3%
1930	20,235		−7.7%
1940	19,989		−1.2%
1950	21,459		7.4%
1960	21,821		1.7%
1970	21,766		−0.3%
1980	23,520		8.1%
1990	21,821		−7.2%
2000	22,289		2.1%
2010	22,691		1.8%
IL Counties 1900-1990

As of the census of 2010, there were 22,691 people, 9,524 households, and 6,436 families residing in the county. The population density was 36.67 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 13,587 housing units at an average density of 21.96 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.9% White, 0.70% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 1.0% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. 2.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 47.4% were of German, 18.2% Irish, 11.2% American and 8.1% English ancestry according to Census 2010.

There were 9,524 households out of which 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 26.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.40% under the age of 19, 4.30% from 20 to 24, 20.30% from 25 to 44, 31.30% from 45 to 64, and 21.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 101.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,992, and the median income for a family was $60,185. Males had a median income of $40,935 versus $30,585 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,839. About 5.90% of families and 8.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.10% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Downtown Galena (the county seat) viewed from the U.S. Grant Home

• Apple River
• East Dubuque
• Elizabeth
• Galena
• Hanover
• Menominee
• Nora
• Scales Mound
• Stockton
• Warren

Townships

Jo Daviess County is divided into twenty-three townships:

Apple River Berreman Council Hill Derinda Dunleith East Galena Elizabeth Guilford

Hanover Menominee Nora Pleasant Valley Rawlins Rice Rush Scales Mound

Stockton Thompson Vinegar Hill Wards Grove Warren West Galena Woodbine

Climate and weather

Galena, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.1   27 9     1.3   33 14     2.3   45 25     3.3   59 36     3.7   71 47     4.6   81 57     3.3   84 62     4.4   82 60     3.6   74 51     2.5   62 39     2.6   45 27     1.6   32 16 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     29   -3 -13     32   1 -10     58   7 -4     84   15 2     95   22 8     116   27 14     85   29 17     111   28 16     92   23 11     64   17 4     66   7 -3     41   0 -9 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Galena have ranged from a low of 9 °F (−13 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −34 °F (−37 °C) was recorded in February 1996 and a record high of 103 °F (39 °C) was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.14 inches (29 mm) in January to 4.58 inches (116 mm) in June.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Jo Daviess County, Illinois

• Stagecoach Trail

External links

• Jo Daviess County, IL official website
• Galena/Jo Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Who was Jo Daviess?