Lee 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 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 census, it has a population of 34,145. 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 Dixon. The Dixon, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Lee County.

History

The area's first non-native settlers were mostly from the six

New England New England is a region consisting of 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 ...

states. The early nineteenth century saw a wave of westward movement from New England, due largely to 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 navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

and the end of the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

. The area that included present-day Lee County was delineated as St. Clair County in 1809. In 1823, a large section of northern St. Clair County was partitioned off as Fulton County. In 1825, the northwestern portion of that county was partitioned off as Putnam County. In 1831, the area was further partitioned into Jo Daviess County. A section of that county was partitioned off in 1836 as Ogle County, and in 1839 the bottom half of Ogle County was split off as Lee County. It is largely understood that the county's name honors "Lighthorse Harry" Lee, an officer in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. An alternative theory suggests the name honors

Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence fr ...

, a member of the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

(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 ...

was adopted pursuant to the

Lee Resolution The Lee Resolution, also known as "The Resolution for Independence", was the formal assertion passed by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776, resolving that the Thirteen Colonies (then referred to as the United Colonies) were "free a ...

). President

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 ...

lived in Dixon as a boy and attended Dixon High School. File:Lee County Illinois 1839.png, Lee County's boundaries have remained unchanged since its creation in 1839.

Geography

According to the

US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Ogle County – north *

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...

– east * LaSalle County - southeast, south * Bureau County – south, southwest * Whiteside County – west

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Dixon 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 July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranges from in February to in June.

Major highways

* Interstate 39 * Interstate 88 * U.S. Highway 30 * U.S. Highway 51 * U.S. Highway 52 * Illinois Route 2 * Illinois Route 26 * Illinois Route 38 * Illinois Route 110 * Illinois Route 251

Other features

* Green River Ordnance Plant *

Mendota Hills Wind Farm The Mendota Hills Wind Farm is a wind farm in Lee County, Illinois near the village of Paw Paw. It operates 29 wind turbines. Each wind turbine stands 214 ft (65.23 m) tall and has three 85 ft (35.91 m) long blades. The wind farm was construc ...

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 36,031 people, 13,758 households, and 9,064 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,049 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.9% white, 4.8% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.9% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 38.0% were German, 18.8% were Irish, 8.4% were English, and 8.2% were American. Of the 13,758 households, 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.1% were non-families, and 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 42.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $48,502 and the median income for a family was $60,759. Males had a median income of $42,114 versus $30,920 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,440. About 7.6% of families and 9.6% 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 11.8% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Amboy * Dixon (county seat)

Villages

* Ashton * Compton * Franklin Grove * Harmon * Lee * Nelson * Paw Paw * Steward * Sublette * West Brooklyn

Unincorporated communities

* Binghampton * The Burg

Townships

Alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

* Amboy * Ashton *

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

* Dixon * East Grove * Franklin Grove *

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

* Harmon * Lee Center * Marion *

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...

* Nachusa * Nelson *

Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

* Reynolds * South Dixon * Sublette *

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

* Willow Creek *

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Politics

Lee County is, together with neighboring Ogle County, the most consistently Republican county in Illinois. It is one of very few counties in the United States to have never supported a Democrat for President since the Civil War. The only occasion when the Republican candidate did not win the county in this time was in 1912, when

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

carried it while running as a member of the Progressive Party, unofficially known as the "Bull Moose" party. As of 2018, Lee County is in the 16th congressional district, the 45th legislative district, and the 74th and 90th representative districts.2018 Election Results - Lee County IL
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Education

K-12 school districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Amboy Community Unit School District 272 * Ashton Community Unit School District 275 * Bureau Valley Community Unit School District 340 * Dixon Unit School District 170 * Earlville Community Unit School District 9 * Indian Creek Community Unit District 425 * La Moille Community Unit School District 303 * Lee Center Community Unit School District 271 * Polo Community Unit School District 222 * Sterling Community Unit District 5 Secondary school districts include: * Mendota Township High School District 280 * Ohio Community High School District 505 * Rochelle Township High School District 212 * Rock Falls Township High School District 301 Elementary school districts include: * ;Creston Community Consolidated School District 161 * East Coloma-Nelson Consolidated Elementary School District 20 * Mendota Community Consolidated School District 289 * Montmorency Community Consolidated School District 145 * Ohio Community Consolidated School District 17 * Rochelle Community Consolidated District 231 * Steward Elementary School District 220

Notes

References

External links

County Name

{{Coord, 41, 45, N, 89, 18, W, region:US-IL_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title Illinois counties 1839 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1839