Jo Daviess County () is the northwesternmost

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 22,678. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Galena. Jo Daviess County is part of the Tri-State Area and is located near

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

and Platteville,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. As part of the

Driftless Area The Driftless Area, a topographical and cultural region in the American Midwest, comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois. Never covered by ice during the las ...

, Jo Daviess County is known for its scenic stretches of road, high hills and valley views. Within Jo Daviess County lies

Charles Mound Charles Mound is a gentle, high hill located in Scales Mound Township, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. It is northeast of the small town of Scales Mound, and northeast of Galena. Despite its name, Charles Mound is a naturally occ ...

, the highest natural point in Illinois, as well as eight of the ten highest points in Illinois.

History

Jo Daviess County was formed in 1827 out of

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

and Putnam Counties. It is named for Maj.

Joseph Hamilton Daveiss Major Joseph Hamilton Daveiss (; March 4, 1774 – November 7, 1811), a Virginia-born lawyer, received a mortal wound while commanding the Dragoons of the Kentucky Militia at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Five years earlier, Daviess had tried to warn ...

United States District Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, who was killed in 1811 at the

Battle of Tippecanoe The Battle of Tippecanoe ( ) was fought on November 7, 1811, in Battle Ground, Indiana, between American forces led by then Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and Native American forces associated with Shawnee leader Tecum ...

. The local pronunciation is "Davis". Jo Daviess County was founded exclusively by immigrants from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

. These were old stock "

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United S ...

" immigrants, meaning they were descended from the English

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

who settled New England in the 1600s. The completion of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

caused a surge in New England immigration to what was then the Northwest Territory. The end of the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

led to an additional surge of immigration, once again coming almost exclusively from the six

states as a result of overpopulation combined with land shortages in that region. Some of these later settlers were from

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

and had parents who had moved to that region from

shortly after the Revolutionary War. New Englanders and New England transplants from upstate New York were the vast majority of Jo Daviess County's inhabitants during the first several decades of its history. These settlers were primarily members of the Congregational Church though due to the

Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...

many of them had converted to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

and some had become Baptists before coming to what is now Jo Daviess County. The Congregational Church subsequently has gone through many divisions and some factions, including those in Jo Daviess County are now known as the Church of Christ and the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...

. As a result of this heritage the vast majority of inhabitants in Jo Daviess County, much like antebellum

were overwhelmingly in favor of the abolitionist movement during the decades leading up to the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In the late 1880s and early 1890s

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

migrants began moving into Jo Daviess County, most of these later immigrants did not move directly from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, but rather from other areas in the Midwest where they had been living, particularly the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

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 Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 147,546. Its county seat is Rock Island; its largest city is neighboring ...

was formed from a part of the county, along with a new northern extension of Henry County and Putnam County. * 1836-

Whiteside Whiteside may refer to: Places ;Australia * Whiteside, Queensland, suburb in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland ;Canada * Whiteside, Nova Scotia ;United Kingdom * Whiteside (Lake District), a fell in the west of the English Lake District * White ...

Ogle Ogle may refer to: Places * Ogle County, Illinois, United States * Original name of Ashton, Illinois, a village * Ogle, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Ogle Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States * Ogle, N ...

, 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. File:Jo Daviess County Illinois 1827.png, Jo Daviess County at the time of its creation to 1831 (Wisconsin border adjustment not shown) File:Jo Daviess County Illinois 1831.png, Jo Daviess between 1831 and 1836 File:Jo Daviess County Illinois 1836.png, Jo Daviess between 1836 and 1837. Whiteside and Ogle Counties remained temporarily attached to Jo Daviess until county governments could be organized. File:Jo Daviess County Illinois 1837.png, Jo Daviess between 1837 and 1839 File:Jo Daviess Counry Illinois 1839.png, Jo Daviess reduced to its current size in 1839 by the creation of Carroll County and the organization of a government in Whiteside County

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.9%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Galena have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1996 and a record high of was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in June.

Major highways

In Illinois, US 20 is designated the General Ulysses S. Grant Highway (often abbreviated the U.S. Grant Memorial Highway) and is the longest route in the United States. In eastern Jo Daviess County US 20 is one of the few areas that remain two-lane across the entire stretch of US 20. The road between Dubuque and Stockton was once known as the most dangerous stretch of road because of the hills and curves flanked by cliffs and valleys. Travelers were greeted with signs reminding them to drive carefully as they entered this stretch of road. *

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

Illinois Route 35 Illinois Route 35 (IL 35) is a connector road between U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in East Dubuque and Highway 35 at the Wisconsin state line. It is currently the shortest state highway in Illinois, a stark contrast to the highway north of the state l ...

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 description J ...

Illinois Route 84 Illinois Route 84 (Route 84 or IL 84) is a long state highway that runs along the Mississippi River in northwestern Illinois. Illinois 84 runs from south of Green Rock (now Colona) at U.S. Route 6 to the Wisconsin state line at Highway 80 by H ...

Adjacent counties

* Lafayette County,

- north * Stephenson County - east * Carroll County - south * Jackson County,

- southwest * Dubuque County,

- west *

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States *Grant County, Arkansas *Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky *Grant County, Minnesota *Grant County, Nebraska *Grant C ...

- northwest

National protected area

Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge is a ,Apple River Canyon State Park Apple River Canyon State Park is an Illinois state park on in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The park was begun with land purchased by the state in 1932, as a result of a prolonged campaign led by botanist Herman Silas Pepoon; wi ...

Locally protected area

Several areas are protected by the

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ...

Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation: * Buehler Preserve * Casper Bluff Land & Water Reserve * Horseshoe Mound * Schurmeier Teaching Forest * Valley of Eden Bird Sanctuary * Wapello Land & Water Reserve

Demographics

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, there were 22,678 people, 9,753 households, and 6,514 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 13,574 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.2% white, 0.5% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.9% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 49.4% were

, 19.7% were

, 11.1% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and 8.5% were American. Of the 9,753 households, 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.2% were non-families, and 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.81. The median age was 47.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $50,279 and the median income for a family was $60,381. Males had a median income of $38,372 versus $29,412 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,819. About 5.6% of families and 8.4% 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 t ...

, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* East Dubuque * Galena

Villages

* Apple River *

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

Menominee The Menominee (; mez, omǣqnomenēwak meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recog ...

Nora Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian Places Australia * Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...

* Scales Mound * Stockton *

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

Census-designated places

* Apple Canyon Lake * The Galena Territory

Townships

Jo Daviess County is divided into twenty-three

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

: * Apple River * Berreman * Council Hill * Derinda * Dunleith * East Galena *

* Guilford *

* Pleasant Valley * Rawlins *

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

* Rush * Scales Mound * Stockton * Thompson *

Vinegar Hill Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ...

* Wards Grove *

* West Galena * Woodbine

Unincorporated communities

* Aiken * Blanding * Bremen * Council Hill * Elmoville * Guilford * Massbach * Morseville * Pleasant Valley *

Rodden Rodden is a village and a former municipality in the district Saalekreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 31 December 2009, it is part of the town Leuna Leuna is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, eastern Germany, south of Merseburg and Halle, on th ...

* Schapville * Whitton *

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

* Woodbine

Historic site

Apple River Fort Apple River Fort, today known as the Apple River Fort State Historic Site, was one of many frontier forts hastily completed by settlers in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin following the onset of the 1832 Black Hawk War. Located in presen ...

Government and politics

Jo Daviess County has a fairly typical

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by t ...

political history, although it has generally voted more Democratic than nearby rural counties. It voted Democratic only four times between 1856 and 1992: for

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

in 1892,

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

in 1912,

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

in 1932, and

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

in 1964. Between 1996 and 2016 Jo Daviess was a swing county, voting for the national winner each time. The 2020 results were: Donald Trump, 7,166 (57.3%), Joe Biden 5,109 (40.9%); Jo Jorgensen, 125 (1%), others 96 (0.8%).

Political culture

Councillors

* Ron Smith (R), District 9 (Council Hill & East Galena), Chairman * Brandon Behlke (R), District 11 (West Galena II & Rawlins) * Gerald Bennett (D), District 6 (Apple River & Warren I) * Merri Belage (R), District 13 (Elizabeth & Rice), Vice-Chair * Bill Bingham (R), District 4 (Vinegar Hill & Menominee) * Jody Covert (R), District 14 (Hanover & Rice) * Rick Dittmar (R), District 15 (Berreman, Derinda, Pleasant Valley, & Woodbine) * Robert Heuerman (R), District 16 (Stockton I & Wards Grove) * Dan Hughes (R), District 7 (Nora, Warren II, & Rush) * Randy Jobgen (D), District 10 (West Galena I) * Steve McIntyre (R), District 8 (Thompson & Guilford) * Margie Montelius (D), District 1 (Dunlieth I) * John O'Boyle (R), District 17 (Stockton II & Rush) * Steve Rutz (R), District 3 (Dunlieth III) * Terry Stoffregen (R), District 12 (West Galena III & Rawlins) * R.J. Winkelhake (R), District 5 (Scales Mound & Guilford) * Don Zillig (D), District 2 (Dunlieth II)

References

External links

Jo Daviess County, IL official website

Galena/Jo Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau

{{Coord, 42.36, -90.21, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 1827 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1827 Driftless Area Illinois counties Illinois counties on the Mississippi River