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Boone County, Illinois
Floyd Hopkins Block (7937909994)
Floyd Hopkins Block in the Belvidere North State Street Historic District
Map of Illinois highlighting Boone County
Location in the state of Illinois
Map of the U.S
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded 1837
Named for Daniel Boone
Seat Belvidere
Largest city Belvidere
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

288 sq mi (746 km²)
286 sq mi (741 km²)
2.3 sq mi (6 km²), 0.5
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

53,448
Congressional district 16th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.boonecountyil.org

Boone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,448.[1] Its county seat is Belvidere.[2]

Boone County is included in the Rockford, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History[]

Unlike most of Illinois, much of Northern Illinois was not submerged in a shallow prehistoric sea. As a result, bedrock found in the area now bounded as Boone County is almost entirely Ordovician, as opposed to nearby counties like McHenry and Carroll which contain large areas of later Silurian bedrock. Till and outwash from the Illinoian glaciation covers area bedrock to a depth of several hundred feet. The county's proximity to the driftless area protected the region somewhat from the more recent Wisconsin glaciation. As a result, the county's northern townships resemble a driftless-like area, with higher peak elevations and more surface detail compared to the southern townships dominated by the broad flood plains of the Kishwaukee River and its tributaries.

By the time of the first identified human settlements, the region was made up of thickly wooded forested hills and grassy prairie plains. Archeological study at the Koster Site seems to indicate that humans had established complex societies ten thousand years ago along the river basins of the Illinois and Mississippi. By the time of European exploration, Upper Mississippian culture collapsed; westward expansion forced many Algonquin-speaking nations into conflict with each other as they moved after encroachment of their lands. Potowatomi and Mascouten tribes were still living in the region when white settlers arrived and statehood was declared in 1818.

As a political institution, Boone County was formed in 1837 out of Winnebago County. It was named for Kentucky frontiersman Daniel Boone.[3] The first non-Native American settlers arrived in what is now Boone County in 1835. They arrived as a result of the end of the Black Hawk War as well as the completion of the Erie Canal. They consisted entirely of settlers from New England. These were "Yankee" settlers, that is to say they were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the colonial era. They were primarily members of the Congregational Church though due to the Second Great Awakening many of them had converted to Methodism and some had become Baptists before coming to what is now Boone County. When the New England settlers arrived in what is now Boone County there was nothing but a dense virgin forest and wild prairie. In the late 1870s immigrants began arriving from Germany and Ireland.[4]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 282 square miles (730 km2), of which 281 square miles (730 km2) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km2) (0.5%) is water.[5]

Adjacent counties[]

Major highways[]

  • I-90 Interstate 90
  • US 20 US Route 20
  • Illinois 76 Illinois Route 76
  • Illinois 173 Illinois Route 173

Logan Avenue county route 40 Genoa Road (T-40) Garden Prairie Road county route 41 Poplar Grove Road county route 32 Capron Road (T-41)

Climate and weather[]

Climate chart for Belvidere, Illinois
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
1.48
 
28
11
 
 
1.29
 
33
16
 
 
2.42
 
45
26
 
 
3.71
 
59
37
 
 
4.10
 
71
47
 
 
4.56
 
81
57
 
 
3.86
 
85
62
 
 
4.47
 
82
60
 
 
3.32
 
75
51
 
 
2.61
 
63
39
 
 
2.69
 
47
29
 
 
1.97
 
33
17
temperatures in °Cprecipitation totals in mm
source: The Weather Channel[6]

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Belvidere have ranged from a low of 11 °F (−12 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −29 °F (−33.9 °C) was recorded in January 1979 and a record high of 109 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.29 inches (33 mm) in February to 4.56 inches (116 mm) in June.[6]

Demographics[]

USA Boone County, Illinois age pyramid

2000 census age pyramid for Boone County.

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1840 1,705
1850 7,624 347.2%
1860 11,678 53.2%
1870 12,942 10.8%
1880 11,508 −11.1%
1890 12,203 6.0%
1900 15,791 29.4%
1910 15,481 −2.0%
1920 15,322 −1.0%
1930 15,078 −1.6%
1940 15,202 0.8%
1950 17,070 12.3%
1960 20,326 19.1%
1970 25,440 25.2%
1980 28,630 12.5%
1990 30,806 7.6%
2000 41,786 35.6%
2010 54,165 29.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9]
1990-2000[10] 2010-2020[1]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 54,165 people, 18,505 households, and 14,273 families residing in the county.[11] The population density was 193.0 inhabitants per square mile (74.5 /km2). There were 19,970 housing units at an average density of 71.1 per square mile (27.5 /km2).[5] The racial makeup of the county was 84.4% white, 2.0% black or African American, 1.3% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 9.3% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 20.2% of the population.[11] In terms of ancestry, 25.6% were German, 13.7% were Irish, 9.2% were English, 8.6% were American, 7.7% were Italian, 7.1% were Swedish, and 5.0% were Polish.[12]

Of the 18,505 households, 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 22.9% were non-families, and 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.32. The median age was 36.8 years.[11]

The median income for a household in the county was $61,210 and the median income for a family was $69,380. Males had a median income of $53,581 versus $34,651 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,105. About 7.9% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.[13]

Education[]

  • Belvidere Community Unit School District 100
  • Harvard Community Unit School District 50
  • Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426
  • North Boone Community Unit School District 200
  • Rockford School District 205

Communities[]

Cities[]

Villages[]

  • Caledonia
  • Capron
  • Cherry Valley (mostly in Winnebago County)
  • Poplar Grove
  • Timberlane

Census-designated places[]

  • Argyle
  • Beaverton Crossroads
  • Blaine
  • Candlewick Lake
  • Edgewood
  • Garden Prairie
  • Herbert
  • Hunter
  • Irene
  • Prairie View
  • Russellville

Townships[]

Boone County is divided into these nine townships:

  • Belvidere
  • Bonus
  • Boone
  • Caledonia
  • Flora
  • Leroy
  • Manchester
  • Poplar Grove
  • Spring

Government[]

Boone County is located in the Boone-Winnebago County Regional Office of Education #4.[14]

Boone County, with neighboring Winnebago County, is located in Illinois's 17th Judicial Circuit. The entirety of Boone County, along with portions of southeastern Winnebago County, is in the third subcircuit.[15]

Politics[]

United States presidential election results for Boone County, Illinois[16]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 13,883 55.43% 10,542 42.09% 623 2.49%
2016 12,282 53.40% 8,986 39.07% 1,733 7.53%
2012 11,096 51.75% 9,883 46.09% 462 2.15%
2008 10,403 46.78% 11,333 50.96% 502 2.26%
2004 11,132 56.97% 8,286 42.40% 123 0.63%
2000 8,617 55.51% 6,481 41.75% 425 2.74%
1996 6,181 47.51% 5,345 41.09% 1,483 11.40%
1992 5,589 41.01% 5,114 37.53% 2,924 21.46%
1988 6,923 61.69% 4,234 37.73% 65 0.58%
1984 7,536 66.65% 3,717 32.88% 53 0.47%
1980 6,697 57.66% 3,175 27.34% 1,742 15.00%
1976 6,470 58.38% 4,458 40.23% 154 1.39%
1972 7,003 68.89% 3,131 30.80% 31 0.30%
1968 5,936 62.27% 2,801 29.38% 796 8.35%
1964 5,053 57.77% 3,694 42.23% 0 0.00%
1960 6,552 71.51% 2,605 28.43% 5 0.05%
1956 6,706 77.96% 1,890 21.97% 6 0.07%
1952 6,628 74.21% 2,287 25.60% 17 0.19%
1948 4,916 71.43% 1,941 28.20% 25 0.36%
1944 5,708 73.18% 2,074 26.59% 18 0.23%
1940 6,330 73.33% 2,277 26.38% 25 0.29%
1936 5,375 67.00% 2,383 29.71% 264 3.29%
1932 5,244 69.23% 2,239 29.56% 92 1.21%
1928 5,965 80.95% 1,371 18.60% 33 0.45%
1924 4,872 75.37% 348 5.38% 1,244 19.25%
1920 5,386 89.39% 496 8.23% 143 2.37%
1916 5,181 77.58% 1,211 18.13% 286 4.28%
1912 1,361 36.96% 540 14.67% 1,781 48.37%
1908 2,805 76.06% 587 15.92% 296 8.03%
1904 3,036 84.69% 302 8.42% 247 6.89%
1900 3,159 79.55% 704 17.73% 108 2.72%
1896 3,111 80.89% 657 17.08% 78 2.03%
1892 1,994 73.82% 518 19.18% 189 7.00%



As a historic Yankee settlement, Boone County in its early years was a major base for the Free Soil Party, being one of nine Illinois counties to vote for Martin van Buren in 1848. Its Free Soil affinities meant Boone became one of the first strongholds of the Republican Party and remained overwhelmingly Republican for the following century, although it did vote for Progressive Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 when the Republican Party was severely split. Between at least 1892 and 1928 no Democratic Presidential candidate ever managed twenty percent of the county's vote, and in the century up to 1960 no Democrat reached thirty percent – a degree of GOP loyalty comparable to such famous bastions as Owsley County in Kentucky, Grant County in West Virginia, or Avery County in North Carolina. Even Barry Goldwater, who alienated the Yankee Northeast so much as to lose all but one county there, still won Boone County by 15.6 percentage points, and between 1968 and 1988 no Democrat did better than Jimmy Carter’s 40.2 percent.

The shift of the Republican Party towards an expanded Southern and Western base, and particularly its growing strength with social conservatives, alienated the Yankee North during the 1990s and 2000s, but Boone County remained in Republican hands. The candidacy of Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996 caused George H. W. Bush and Bob Dole both to win Boone County with mere pluralities against Bill Clinton, and in 2008, Illinois resident Barack Obama became the only Democrat to carry the county since James K. Polk in 1844. The 2010s have seen a reversal of this Democratic trend due to concern over employment declines in the “Rust Belt."

See also[]

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Boone County, Illinois
  • List of Boone County, Illinois topics

References[]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17007.html. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ History of the Origin of the Place Names in Nine Northwestern States. 1908. pp. 12. https://books.google.com/books?id=q_lKAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA12. 
  4. ^ The Past and Present of Boone County, Illinois. Chicago: H. F. Kett & Company, 1877, p. 226.
  5. ^ a b "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY10/0500000US17007. 
  6. ^ a b "Monthly Averages for Belvidere, Illinois". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0093. 
  7. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  8. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  9. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/il190090.txt. 
  10. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  11. ^ a b c "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US17007. 
  12. ^ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US17007. 
  13. ^ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US17007. 
  14. ^ Chico, Gery J. (November 23, 2013). "Order of the State Board of Education Pursuant to 105 ILCS 5/3A-4 (a)". Illinois State Board of Education. https://www.isbe.net/Documents/ROE-consolidation-order131122.pdf. 
  15. ^ "Seventeenth Circuit Maps and Legal Descriptions". Illinois State Board of Elections. https://archive.org/details/illinois-17th-judicial-circuit-subcircuits. "Click View PDF" 
  16. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 

Further reading[]

External links[]

Coordinates: 42°20′N 88°49′W / 42.33, -88.81


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Boone County, Illinois. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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