Carroll County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,702. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Mount Carroll.

History

Carroll County was formed in 1839 out of Jo Daviess County. The county is named for Charles Carroll who signed the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. Carroll, who died in 1832, was the last signer to die. File:Carroll County Illinois 1839.png, Carroll County at the time of its creation in 1839

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.6%) is water. The Mississippi Palisades State Park is in this county, just north of the city of Savanna. The Savanna Army Depot is located partly in this county.

Adjacent counties

* Stephenson County - northeast * Ogle County - east * Whiteside County - south * Clinton County,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

- southwest * Jackson County,

- west * Jo Daviess County - northwest

National protected area

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

Major highways

* US Route 52 * Illinois Route 40 * Illinois Route 64 * Illinois Route 72 * Illinois Route 73 *

Illinois Route 78 Illinois Route 78 is a major north–south highway in western Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 104 northwest of Jacksonville north to Highway 78 at the Wisconsin state line north of Warren. This is a distance of . Route descrip ...

* Illinois Route 84

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Mount Carroll have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1910 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in June.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 15,387 people, 6,622 households, and 4,343 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 8,437 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.9% white, 0.8% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 40.4% were German, 14.0% were Irish, 11.2% were English, and 10.6% were American. Of the 6,622 households, 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.4% were non-families, and 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age was 46.5 years. The median income for a household in the county was $44,805 and the median income for a family was $55,341. Males had a median income of $42,421 versus $27,552 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,914. About 7.8% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Chadwick-Milledgeville Community Unit School District 399

Eastland Community Unit School District 308
* West Carroll Community Unit School District 314

Communities

Townships

Carroll County is divided into these twelve townships: * Cherry Grove-Shannon * Elkhorn Grove * Fairhaven *

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

* Mount Carroll * Rock Creek-Lima * Salem *

Savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

* Washington * Woodland * Wysox *

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Census designated place

* Lake Carroll

Unincorporated Communities

* Argo Fay * Arnold * Ashdale Junction * Ayers * Blackhawk * Burke * Center Hill * Ebner * Elkhorn Grove * Fair Haven * Georgetown * Hazelhurst * Hickory Grove * Hitt * Ideal * Kittredge * Marcus * Polsgrove * South Elkhorn * Wacker * Zier Cors

Notable people

* John Acker, Illinois state representative, was born on a farm near Savanna. * Willis J. Bailey,

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and the 16th Governor of Kansas * Neva Burright, Illinois harness racing driver and first woman to win a Grand Circuit race * David J. Summerville, Wisconsin State Assemblyman'Wisconsin Blue Book 1923,' Biographical Sketch of David J. Summerville, pg. 636

Politics

As a part of Yankee-settled Northern Illinois, Carroll County became solidly Republican upon that party's formation in the 1850s. Of all the counties won by inaugural Republican Party presidential nominee John Charles Frémont in 1856, Carroll County was to maintain the longest unbroken string of supporting the GOP in subsequent elections. It would give a plurality to every subsequent Republican Presidential nominee up to

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

in 2004, beating by three elections the second longest run of Indiana's Porter County which was to give a plurality to

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

in 1996. In that 1996 election Bob Dole won Carroll County by only 1.51 percentage points – the smallest margin by a Republican to that point – and in 2008 Illinois native

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

broke this last remaining GOP streak stretching back to Frémont by carrying the county by 4.80 percentage points. Obama was to repeat his win in 2012 by 1.49 percent, but a dramatic swing to Republican Donald Trump in 2016 saw him win by the largest margin since

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

’s 1984 landslide by gaining 59.6% of the vote in Carroll County, scoring slightly higher than George H.W. Bush's victory in 1988 in which Bush won 59.4% of the vote in Carroll County. The largest margin of victory ever in Carroll County was achieved by

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

who won 86.7% of votes in the county during the 1920 United States presidential election.