Hennepin is a village located on the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

Putnam County, Illinois Putnam County is the least extensive county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 5,637. The county seat is Hennepin. The county was formed in 1825 out of Fulton County and named af ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 757 in 2010, an increase of 50 since the 2000 census. It is the

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 ...

and second largest village in Putnam County. Hennepin is part of the

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The Village of Hennepin was named for the explorer,

Louis Hennepin Louis Hennepin, OFM (born Antoine Hennepin; ; 12 May 1626 – 5 December 1704) was a Belgian Catholic priest and missionary best known for his activities in North America. A member of the Recollects, a minor branch of the Franciscans, he travel ...

. The Putnam County Courthouse, in Hennepin, was built in 1837, and is the oldest county courthouse in

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 ...

still serving its original purpose.

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

visited the courthouse, including when he campaigned for a Congressional seat in September 1845. The Putnam County Courthouse is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Geography

Climate

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 707 people, 304 households, and 206 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 334 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.17%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.13%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 0.14% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.82% of the population. There were 304 households, out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87. In the village, the population was spread out, with 20.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males. The median income for a household in the village was $46,827, and the median income for a family was $56,111. Males had a median income of $48,500 versus $19,231 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $23,981. About 2.6% of families and 2.9% 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 5.6% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

Hennepin's location on the

, along with its proximity to a

Class I railroad Railroad classes are the system by which Rail freight transport, freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportatio ...

(

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

), and multiple inter and intrastate highway routes (

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

Interstate 39 Interstate 39 (I-39) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Illinois and Wisconsin that runs from an interchange at I-55 in Normal, Illinois, to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) approximately south of Wausau, Wisconsin. In to ...

, Illinois Route 180, Illinois Route 89, Illinois Route 71,

Illinois Route 26 Illinois Route 26 (IL 26, Illinois 26) is a north–south state highway in central and north-central Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 116 just north of East Peoria to Highway 69 at the Wisconsin border near Orangeville. This is a d ...

, and Illinois Route 6) has, historically, made it a transportation hub attracting a variety of both small businesses and large industries. J&L Steel, a cold roll steel mill built by Jones and Laughlin Steel Company on Hennepin's northern boundary, began operations in 1967 and employed 600 workers at height of production. The mill was later acquired by

Ling-Temco-Vought Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was a large American conglomerate which existed from 1961 to 2001. At its peak, it was involved in aerospace, airlines, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, meat packing, car rentals, and pharmaceuticals, ...

, at which time it became known as LTV Steel. Ling-Temco-Vought's bankruptcy led to acquisition of the mill by

International Steel Group International Steel Group Inc. (ISG), headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, was one the largest integrated steel producers in North America. It had annual raw steel production capability of 23 million net tons. In April 2005, the company was acquired ...

(ISG). As a result of additional acquisitions followed by a merger, Putnam County's largest employer was absorbed by

ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourg-based multinational steel manufacturing corporation, headquartered in Luxembourg City. It is ranked second on the list of steel producers behind Baowu, and had an annual crude steel production of 58 millio ...

. Long and arduous union lobbying and protests ultimately proved futile and

ceased production at the mill in March 2009. The mill's equipment was dismantled, sold, or shipped and on June 22, 2017, the vast plant was imploded. As of 2020, the 800 acres once occupied by the steel mill remain mostly vacant, though infrastructure has been retained in anticipation that another industry might one day purchase and redevelop the property. Hennepin Power Station, a coal-fired power plant near Donnelley Wildlife Area on the western edge of town, was retired November 1, 2019. There are also

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...

, ADM, and CGB elevators throughout the area. Marquis Energy opened a 100 million gallon/year ICM/Fagen

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

plant just north of town in April 2008.

Landmarks

Edward Pulsifer House, museum and headquarters of the Putnam County Historical Society Putnam County Historical Society's Agriculture Museum Putnam County Courthouse (Illinois) The

Dixon Waterfowl Refuge The Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge is a 3,100-acre riverine wetland in Putnam County, Illinois. Located just south of the county seat of Hennepin, it occupies the former site of ''Hennepin Lake'' and adjacent ''Hopper Lake''. The reclaimed ...

, a privately maintained wetland, is located two miles south of Hennepin.

Education

It is in the Putnam County Community Unit School District 535.
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Notable people

* Albert W. Durley, Wisconsin State Assemblyman and lawyer; was born near Hennepin. *

John Wesley Powell John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He ...

, Civil War era Army second lieutenant, teacher and superintendent of Hennepin schools.

References

{{authority control Villages in Putnam County, Illinois County seats in Illinois Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area Populated places established in 1837 Villages in Illinois