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Bureau County, Illinois
Red Covered Bridge
Red Covered Bridge (1863)
Map of Illinois highlighting Bureau County
Location in the state of Illinois
Map of the U.S
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded 1837
Seat Princeton
Largest city Princeton
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

874 sq mi (2,264 km²)
869 sq mi (2,251 km²)
4.5 sq mi (12 km²), 0.5
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

33,244
Congressional district 16th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website bureaucounty-il.gov

Bureau County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 33,244.[1] Its county seat is Princeton.[2]

Bureau County is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, and the Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park is located partly in this county.

History[]

Bureau County was created from a portion of Putnam County in 1837. It is named for brothers Michel and Pierre Bureau, French Canadians who ran a trading post from 1776 until the 1780s near the conjunction of Big Bureau Creek with Illinois River. Their actual surname most likely was Belleau, but the local American Indians had difficulty pronouncing the "l" sound, which was not found in some local languages.[3][4] An early settler of this area was Bulbona, a man of mixed French and Native American descent with a Native American wife. Unlike most of the other Native Americans in the area, Bulbona remained after the area was settled by Euro-Americans and ran a trading post, where he sold whiskey among other necessities.[5]

The founders of Princeton, the area's oldest town, were settlers from New England, descendants of the English Puritans who settled New England in the 17th century. They were part of a wave of New England farmers who moved to the Northwest Territory in the early 19th century. Most of them came soon after of the completion of the Erie Canal.[5] When they arrived, they faced virgin forest and wild prairie. These New Englanders laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes. They brought with them many of their Yankee New England values, such as a passion for education, establishing many schools, and were staunch abolitionists. They were mostly members of the Congregationalist Church or Episcopalians. Early Bureau County, like much of northern Illinois, was culturally very continuous with early New England culture.[6][7][5]

Like so many other areas in the Midwest, this county was on a "line" of the Underground Railroad. There was a "station" at the home of Owen Lovejoy in Princeton, and several other locations in the county.

Geography[]

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 874 square miles (2,260 km2), of which 869 square miles (2,250 km2) is land and 4.5 square miles (12 km2) (0.5%) is water.[8] Big Bureau Creek is the main body of water.

Adjacent counties[]

Major highways[]

  • I-80 Interstate 80
  • I-180 Interstate 180
  • US 6 U.S. Route 6
  • US 34 U.S. Route 34
  • Illinois 26 Illinois Route 26
  • Illinois 29 Illinois Route 29
  • Illinois 40 Illinois Route 40
  • Illinois 89 Illinois Route 89
  • Illinois 92 Illinois Route 92

Climate and weather[]

Climate chart for Princeton, Illinois
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
1.65
 
29
14
 
 
1.48
 
35
20
 
 
2.46
 
47
30
 
 
3.76
 
61
40
 
 
4.09
 
73
51
 
 
4.36
 
82
61
 
 
3.34
 
85
65
 
 
4.76
 
82
63
 
 
3.65
 
75
55
 
 
2.94
 
63
43
 
 
2.93
 
47
31
 
 
2.45
 
33
19
temperatures in °Cprecipitation totals in mm
source: The Weather Channel[9]

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Princeton have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −22 °F (−30.0 °C) was recorded in February 1996 and a record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.48 inches (38 mm) in February to 4.76 inches (121 mm) in August.[9]

Demographics[]

USA Bureau County, Illinois age pyramid

2000 census age pyramid for Bureau County

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1840 3,067
1850 8,841 188.3%
1860 26,426 198.9%
1870 32,415 22.7%
1880 33,172 2.3%
1890 35,014 5.6%
1900 41,112 17.4%
1910 43,975 7.0%
1920 42,648 −3.0%
1930 38,845 −8.9%
1940 37,600 −3.2%
1950 37,711 0.3%
1960 37,594 −0.3%
1970 38,541 2.5%
1980 39,114 1.5%
1990 35,688 −8.8%
2000 35,503 −0.5%
2010 34,978 −1.5%
US Decennial Census[10]
1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12]
1990-2000[13] 2010-2020[1]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 34,978 people, 14,262 households, and 9,605 families residing in the county.[14] The population density was 40.2 inhabitants per square mile (15.5 /km2). There were 15,720 housing units at an average density of 18.1 per square mile (7.0 /km2).[8] The racial makeup of the county was 94.2% white, 0.7% Asian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian, 3.0% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 7.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.8% were German, 13.8% were Irish, 12.1% were English, 9.2% were American, 8.8% were Italian, 7.6% were Swedish, and 5.8% were Polish.[15]

Of the 14,262 households, 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.7% were non-families, and 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 42.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,692 and the median income for a family was $55,217. Males had a median income of $42,327 versus $29,210 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,103. About 8.6% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.[16]

Communities[]

Cities[]

Villages[]

  • Arlington
  • Buda
  • Bureau Junction
  • Cherry
  • Dalzell (part)
  • DePue
  • Dover
  • Hollowayville
  • La Moille
  • Ladd
  • Malden
  • Manlius
  • Mineral
  • Neponset
  • New Bedford
  • Ohio
  • Seatonville
  • Sheffield
  • Tiskilwa
  • Walnut
  • Wyanet

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Burnett
  • Churchill
  • Coal Hollow
  • Clarion
  • Greenoak
  • Hegeler
  • Hicks Corners
  • Kasbeer
  • Langley
  • Limerick
  • Lone Tree
  • Love
  • Marquette
  • Milo
  • Normandy
  • Ottville
  • Providence
  • Thomas
  • Van Orin
  • Webster Park
  • Wendel
  • Whitefield
  • Yorktown
  • Zearing

Townships[]

  • Arispie
  • Berlin
  • Bureau
  • Clarion
  • Concord
  • Dover
  • Fairfield
  • Gold
  • Greenville
  • Hall
  • Indiantown
  • Lamoille
  • Leepertown
  • Macon
  • Manlius
  • Milo
  • Mineral
  • Neponset
  • Ohio
  • Princeton
  • Selby
  • Walnut
  • Westfield
  • Wheatland
  • Wyanet

Notable people[]

  • Charles W. Brooks, U.S. Senator
  • Warren Giles, executive in Baseball Hall of Fame
  • Virgil Fox, concert organist
  • Kathryn Hays, actress
  • Owen Lovejoy, abolitionist minister and U.S. congressman
  • Joseph R. Peterson, Illinois state legislator and lawyer
  • Robert Petkoff, actor
  • Eliza Suggs, author and temperance activist
  • Richard Widmark, actor

Politics[]

As part of Yankee-settled Northern Illinois, Bureau County became powerfully Republican for the century following the Civil War. The only Democrat to carry the county between 1856 and 1988 was Franklin D. Roosevelt during his landslide 1932 victory, although Progressive Theodore Roosevelt did carry the county during the 1912 election when the GOP was mortally divided. Between 1988 and 2012, the county trended Democratic – Bill Clinton won pluralities in both his elections and Barack Obama won an absolute majority in 2008 and nearly did so in 2012 – however concern with lack of employment opportunities in the Rust Belt led to a powerful swing toward Donald Trump in 2016 for the best GOP result since Ronald Reagan’s 1984 landslide.

United States presidential election results for Bureau County, Illinois[17]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 10,411 59.51% 6,669 38.12% 414 2.37%
2016 9,281 56.01% 6,029 36.38% 1,261 7.61%
2012 8,164 48.93% 8,134 48.75% 388 2.33%
2008 7,911 46.12% 8,889 51.82% 353 2.06%
2004 9,822 54.87% 7,961 44.47% 119 0.66%
2000 8,526 50.68% 7,754 46.09% 543 3.23%
1996 6,528 40.61% 7,651 47.60% 1,894 11.78%
1992 6,836 38.18% 7,551 42.17% 3,520 19.66%
1988 8,896 54.41% 7,354 44.98% 101 0.62%
1984 11,741 62.57% 6,925 36.90% 99 0.53%
1980 11,484 61.79% 5,753 30.95% 1,350 7.26%
1976 10,854 58.20% 7,566 40.57% 228 1.22%
1972 12,786 67.47% 6,133 32.36% 33 0.17%
1968 11,216 59.97% 6,304 33.71% 1,183 6.33%
1964 9,552 51.25% 9,086 48.75% 0 0.00%
1960 12,597 61.73% 7,786 38.15% 24 0.12%
1956 13,909 70.56% 5,781 29.33% 21 0.11%
1952 14,300 69.76% 6,173 30.12% 25 0.12%
1948 11,207 63.15% 6,463 36.42% 78 0.44%
1944 11,802 62.68% 6,976 37.05% 51 0.27%
1940 13,258 61.36% 8,274 38.29% 75 0.35%
1936 10,462 51.48% 9,516 46.83% 344 1.69%
1932 8,721 45.23% 10,309 53.47% 250 1.30%
1928 11,557 63.73% 6,486 35.77% 90 0.50%
1924 9,457 60.38% 1,995 12.74% 4,211 26.89%
1920 9,968 74.94% 2,354 17.70% 980 7.37%
1916 8,213 56.20% 5,793 39.64% 608 4.16%
1912 1,816 19.84% 2,800 30.59% 4,537 49.57%
1908 5,280 57.48% 2,871 31.25% 1,035 11.27%
1904 5,624 64.31% 1,917 21.92% 1,204 13.77%
1900 5,478 56.90% 3,523 36.59% 626 6.50%
1896 5,474 56.31% 3,961 40.74% 287 2.95%
1892 3,924 47.96% 3,555 43.45% 702 8.58%



See also[]

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

References[]

Specific
  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17001.html. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ Pierre de Beuro, an Indian trader Pioneers of Illinois by Nehemiah Matson, 1882, p. 229
  4. ^ Jean Baptiste Point de Sable : the founder of modern Chicago Archived 26 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine by John F. Swenson, 1999- . Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  5. ^ a b c Bradsby, Henry C. (11 May 1885). "History of Bureau County, Illinois". Chicago : World Pub. Co.. https://archive.org/details/historyofbureauc00brad. 
  6. ^ Nehemiah Matson (1872). Reminiscences of Bureau County [Illinois] in Two Parts. Republican book and job office. pp. 265. https://archive.org/details/reminiscencesbu00matsgoog. 
  7. ^ Harrington, George B. (11 May 2018). Past and Present of Bureau County, Illinois: Together with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Prominent and Leading Citizens and Illustrious Dead. Pioneer Publishing Co.. ISBN 9780608368887. https://books.google.com/books?id=U2VBAQAAMAAJ&q=%22New+England%22&pg=PA223. 
  8. ^ a b "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". US Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY10/0500000US17011. 
  9. ^ a b "Monthly Averages for Princeton IL". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0968. 
  10. ^ "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  11. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  12. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/il190090.txt. 
  13. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". US Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  14. ^ "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". US Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US17011. 
  15. ^ "Selected Social Characteristics in the United States – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US17011. 
  16. ^ "Selected Economic Characteristics – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US17011. 
  17. ^ Leip, David. "Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 
General

External links[]

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Coordinates: 41°25′N 89°32′W / 41.41, -89.53

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Bureau 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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