Iroquois 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 northeast part of 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 so ...

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 ...

. According to the 2020 United States Census, it has a population of 27,077. It is the only county in the United States named

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

. 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 ...

is Watseka. The county is located along the border with

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

History

Iroquois County was created on February 26, 1833, out of a portion of Vermilion County. It was named for the Iroquois River, which was itself named for the Iroquois people. The first county seat was established at the town of Iroquois in 1837, though no official buildings were constructed there and offices were rented. Several other sites for the county seat were examined, and in 1839 it was moved to Middleport; a court house and jail were built there. There was a long battle between Middleport and Watseka (also known as South Middleport) as to which should be the county seat; in 1865, it was finally moved to Watseka. The town of Middleport no longer exists, but there is a township of that name. A courthouse was built in Watseka in 1866 at a cost of $28,000 and included a jail in the basement; this building was expanded in 1881, and a new jail was built in 1893 just east of the courthouse. File:Iroquois County Illinois 1833.png, Iroquois County from the time of its creation to 1836 File:Iroquois County Illinois 1836.png, Iroquois County between 1836 and 1853 File:Iroquois County Illinois 1853.png, Iroquois County in 1853, when the creation of Kankakee County reduced it to its current size.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Illinois by land areaDowling 1968, p. 9. and the fifth-largest by total area. The northern border of the county is about south of the city of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The county is bordered on the east by the state of Indiana and its counties of Benton and Newton. To the north lies Kankakee County. Vermilion County, out of which Iroquois County was originally formed, lies to the south. To the west is Ford County. The Iroquois River enters the county from Indiana and flows westward along the south side of the village of Iroquois, then along the north side of the city of Watseka, whereupon it veers to the north and joins the larger

Kankakee River The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in the Corn Belt, Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest we ...

near the city of Kankakee in the county of the same name; the Kankakee River then flows into 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 ...

further to the northwest in Will County. Sugar Creek, further to the south, also flows from the east to the west, entering from Indiana east of Stockland; it passes through the south edge of Milford, is joined by Mud Creek coming up from the south, and winds to the north past the village of Woodland and meets the Iroquois River near Watseka. The Iroquois County State Wildlife Area, a state park, is located in the northeast corner of the county. There are also three nature preserves: Bonnie's Prairie, Hooper Branch Savanna, and Loda Cemetery Prairie.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Watseka have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in June.

Adjacent counties

* Kankakee County - north *

Newton County, Indiana Newton County is a county located near the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 13,830. This county is part of Northwest Indiana as well as the Chicago metropolitan area. The county seat is Kentl ...

- east * Benton County, Indiana - east * Vermilion County - south * Ford County - west

Transportation

Transit service in the county is provided by SHOW Bus, which operates a local bus route within Watseka.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

provides intercity passenger rail service on the Illini and Saluki at Gilman station. Interstate 57 passes through the west part of the county on its route between Champaign and

. From north to south, it passes through or near Chebanse, Clifton, Ashkum, Danforth, Gilman, Onarga, Buckley, and Loda. The county is bisected by the east–west

U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most of its routing. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Misso ...

, which passes through Gilman, Crescent City, the county seat of Watseka, and Sheldon. * I-57

Interstate 57 * US 45

U.S. Highway 45 * US 52

U.S. Highway 52 * Illinois 1

Illinois Route 1 * Illinois 49

Illinois Route 49 * Illinois 54

Illinois Route 54 * Illinois 116

Illinois Route 116 Several railroad lines pass through the county. The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway operates a line that begins in Peoria and runs from east to west through Iroquois County, passing through Gilman and Watseka and continuing into Indiana. A

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

line runs nearly parallel with Interstate 57 on its way to Chicago. A

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

line passes from north to south through the eastern part of the county; a

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

line joins it south of Woodland. Further east, the Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad operates a north–south line.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 29,718 people, 11,956 households, and 8,175 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 13,452 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.7% white, 0.8% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 2.6% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 36.5% were German, 14.1% were Irish, 12.2% were American, and 10.1% were English. Of the 11,956 households, 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.6% were non-families, and 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 43.4 years. The median income for a household in the county was $47,323 and the median income for a family was $56,541. Males had a median income of $43,416 versus $27,908 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,400. About 8.2% of families and 10.0% 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 14.1% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Gilman * Watseka

Villages

* Ashkum * Beaverville * Buckley * Chebanse * Cissna Park * Clifton * Crescent City * Danforth *

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

* Loda * Martinton * Milford * Onarga * Papineau * Sheldon * Thawville *

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

Townships

In 1855, a popular vote resulted in the adoption of township government, which was implemented in 1856. At that time, eleven townships were created; they are listed below. * Ash Grove *

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

* Belmont * Chebanse * Concord * Loda * Middleport * Milford * Onarga * Papineau * Stockland Over the next several decades, more townships were created from the existing ones, for a final total of twenty-six. The newer townships are listed below in order of creation. * Martinton (1857) *

(1858) * Prairie Green (1858) * Ashkum (1861) * Douglas (1861) * Artesia (1864) * Fountain Creek (1868) *

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery fiction, mystery series, based on the Lovejoy (novel series), novels by John Grant (Lovejoy), John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six ser ...

(1868) * Sheldon (1868) * Milks Grove (1872) * Pigeon Grove (1876) *

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

(1877) * Danforth (1877) * Ridgeland (1878) * Beaverville (1916)

Unincorporated Communities

* Bryce * Claytonville * Delrey * Eastburn * Effner * Goodwine * L'Erable * La Hogue * Pittwood * Stockland

Notable people

* Fern Andra, movie actress and director from 1913 to 1930, born in Watseka in 1893 * John Moisant, pioneering aviator and aeronautical engineer, born in L'Erable in 1868 * John S. Darrough, recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, lived in the county from age 14. * Henry Bacon, architect, born in Wateska in 1866 * Rex Everhart, Broadway actor who voiced the role of Maurice in the Disney Film "Beauty & The Beast," born in Watseka in 1920 * Scott Garrelts, Pitcher, San Francisco Giants, 1st round draft pick in 1979 amateur draft, grew up in Buckley, graduated from Buckley-Loda High School * Ray A. Laird, president of Laredo Community College in Laredo,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, 1960 to 1974; born in Milford in 1907 *

Ole Rynning Ole Rynning (April 4, 1809 – September 1838) was a Norwegians, Norwegian emigrant pioneer and author. Rynning was born in Ringsaker in Hedmark county, Norway. He was the son of the priest Jens Rynning (1778–1857) and the uncle of Bernt Julius ...

(1809–1838), Norwegian immigrant author * Fred J. Schraeder (1923-2016), Illinois state representative and businessman, born in Clifton

Politics

Throughout the rest of its history, Iroquois County has been among the most solidly Republican counties in Illinois. Since 1940 only Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide has garnered forty percent of the county's vote for the Democratic Party, and only Bill Clinton in 1996 has topped 35 percent since 1968. As of February 2025, the county is one of 7 that voted to join the state of Indiana.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Illinois State Archives

{{Coord, 40.74, -87.82, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties Illinois placenames of Native American origin 1833 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1833