Winnebago 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 ...
of
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 had a population of 285,350 making it the seventh most populous county in Illinois behind
Cook County
Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...
and its five surrounding
collar counties. 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
Rockford.
Winnebago County is the central county of the
Rockford metropolitan area.
History
Winnebago County was formed on January 16, 1836, out of
Jo Daviess and
LaSalle counties. It was named for the
Winnebago Tribe of
American Indians. At the time the county was founded its inhabitants consisted almost entirely of New Englanders and New England transplants from upstate New York. These were "Yankee" settlers, meaning they were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England during the early 1600s. They made up virtually all of Winnebago County's inhabitants during the first several decades of its history. In this regard the county was similar to most of the northern portion of the state of Illinois, and almost all of the neighboring state of Wisconsin. After the conclusion 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 ...
there was an additional surge of immigration from
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 ...
. As a result of this heritage the inhabitants of Winnebago County considered themselves, and functioned as, a cultural expansion of early New England culture. In the presidential election of 1860,
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 ...
won 3,985 votes in Winnebago County, whereas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...
only won 817 votes.
[History of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois: From the First Settlement in 1834 to the Civil War, pg. 379]
File:Winnebago County Illinois 1836.png, Winnebago County for its first year of existence
File:Winnebago County Illinois 1837.png, Winnebago County in 1837, reduced to its current borders by the creation of Stephenson and Boone Counties
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Rockford have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1982 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.
Major highways
*
Interstate 39
*
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...
*
U.S. Highway 20
*
U.S. Highway 51
*
Illinois Route 2
*
Illinois Route 70
*
Illinois Route 75
*
Illinois Route 173
Illinois Route 173 (IL 173) is a east–west state highway that runs from Illinois Route 251 in the Rockford suburb of Machesney Park east to Illinois Route 137 (Sheridan Road) in Zion near the Illinois-Wisconsin border. Illinois Rou ...
*
Illinois Route 251
Transit
*
Beloit Transit
*
Rockford Mass Transit District
*
List of intercity bus stops in Illinois
Adjacent counties
*
Rock County,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
(north)
*
Boone County (east)
*
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 ...
(southeast)
*
Ogle County (south)
*
Carroll County (southwest)
*
Stephenson County (west)
*
Green County,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
(northwest)
Demographics
As of the
2010 census, there were 295,266 people, 115,501 households, and 76,854 families residing in the county.
The population density was . There were 125,965 housing units at an average density of .
The racial makeup of the county was 77.4% white, 12.2% black or African American, 2.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 4.9% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 10.9% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 25.6% were
German, 13.5% were
Irish, 9.4% were
American, 8.7% were
Swedish, 8.3% were
English, and 7.4% were
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
.
Of the 115,501 households, 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.5% were non-families, and 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.07. The median age was 38.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $47,198 and the median income for a family was $59,814. Males had a median income of $48,358 versus $32,103 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,008. About 11.5% of families and 15.9% 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 25.0% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
*
Loves Park
*
Rockford
*
South Beloit
Villages
*
Cherry Valley
*
Durand
*
Machesney Park
*
New Milford
*
Pecatonica
*
Rockton
*
Roscoe
*
Winnebago
Census-designated place
*
Lake Summerset
Unincorporated communities
*
Alworth
*
Argyle
*
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
*
Harrison
*
Kishwaukee
*
Latham Park
Latham Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Newtown, Wales. It is currently used for football matches and is the home ground of Newtown A.F.C. The stadium holds 5,000 people and is named after Wales international footballer George Latham (1881 ...
*
Seward
*
Shirland
*
Wempletown
*
Westfield Corners
Townships
Winnebago County is divided into these
townships:
*
Burritt
*
Cherry Valley
*
Durand
*
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
*
Harrison
*
Laona
*
Owen
*
Pecatonica
*
Rockford
*
Rockton
*
Roscoe
*
Seward
*
Shirland
*
Winnebago
Former Settlement
*
Camp Grant
Politics
For many years, Winnebago County was rather conservative for an urban county. From the 1850s to 1988, it backed the Republican candidates for president at every election except the national Democratic landslides of 1936 and 1964. In the 1990s, it became a swing county, backing the national winner in every presidential election from 1992 to 2012, though only three did so with a majority and only once by more than six percentage points. In 2016,
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 ...
won the county by only 89 votes over
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 ...
, affected by the relatively large third-party vote that year.
Underlining how Republican Winnebago County once was, only three Democrats have represented a significant portion of the county in Congress since the 1850s.
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Winnebago County, Illinois
*
Winnebago County War Memorial
References
;Specific
;General
*
Further reading
* Includes numerous photos of c. 1904 Winnebago County schools.
*
*
External links
*
Winnebago County GenealogyHistory of Winnebago County
{{Coord, 42, 20, 11, N, 89, 09, 39, W, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:GNIS
1836 establishments in Illinois
Illinois counties
Illinois placenames of Native American origin
Populated places established in 1836
*