Putnam County is the least extensive

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 ...

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 United States census, it had a population of 5,637. 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 Hennepin. The county was formed in 1825 out of Fulton County and named after Israel Putnam, who was a general in the American Revolution. Putnam County is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (7.0%) is water. It is the smallest county in Illinois by area.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Hennepin 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 June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in August.

Major highways

* Interstate 180 * Illinois Route 18 * Illinois Route 26 * Illinois Route 29 * Illinois Route 71 * Illinois Route 89

Adjacent counties

* Bureau County (northwest) * LaSalle County (east) * Marshall County (south) File:Putnam County Illinois 1825.png, Putnam County at the time of its creation in 1825 File:Putnam County Illinois 1827.png, The county split in two portions, 1827-1831 File:Putnam County Illinois 1831.png, Putnam County between 1831 and 1837 File:Putnam County Illinois 1837.png, Putnam between 1837 and 1839 File:Putnam County Illinois 1839.png, Putnam in 1839, reduced to its present borders

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 6,006 people, 2,509 households, and 1,734 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 3,074 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% white, 0.5% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 1.4% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 46.5% were German, 16.7% were Irish, 16.3% were Italian, 10.9% were Polish, 10.1% were English, 5.1% were Swedish, and 3.5% were American. Of the 2,509 households, 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.9% were non-families, and 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 45.2 years. The median income for a household in the county was $56,458 and the median income for a family was $68,875. Males had a median income of $50,205 versus $31,886 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,004. About 6.2% of families and 10.9% 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 21.8% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Villages

* Granville * Hennepin *

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

* Mark * McNabb * Standard

Unincorporated communities

* Florid * Moronts * Mount Palatine (partially in LaSalle) * Putnam * Walnut Grove

Townships

Putnam County is divided into four townships: * Granville * Hennepin *

* Senachwine

Politics

Prior to 1988, Putnam County was a Republican Party stronghold in presidential elections, backing the Republican candidate in all but three elections from 1892 to 1984. From 1988 to 2012, the county consistently backed Democratic Party presidential candidates, but none fared better than Illinois resident

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 ...

's 56.9% in 2008. However, he failed to win a majority of the county's votes four years later despite winning it overall in his 2012 reelection bid. This foreshadowed what was to come in the 2016 election, as the county swung 21.8 points Republican to back

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

over Illinois-born

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

by a margin of 19.9%.

References

External links

Putnam Information
{{coord, 41.20, -89.28, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties 1825 establishments in Illinois Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area Populated places established in 1825