Woodford 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
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
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 ...
. The
2020 United States census listed its population at 38,467.
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
Eureka. Woodford County is part of the
Peoria metropolitan area. Its name comes from General
William Woodford
William Woodford (October 6, 1734 – November 13, 1780) was a Virginia planter and militia officer who distinguished himself in the French and Indian War before becoming a general of the 2nd Virginia Regiment in the American Revolutionary War ...
, an officer of 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 ...
who served at the brutal military encampment at
Valley Forge
Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...
, Pennsylvania.
History
Establishment
Woodford County is part of what was formerly the homelands of several
Native American peoples, including the
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...
, the
Meskwaki
The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, th ...
, and the
Sauk peoples. It was located just south of the land of the
Illiniwek
The Illinois Confederation, also referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, were made up of a loosely organized group of 12 or 13 tribes who lived in the Mississippi River Valley. Eventually, member tribes occupied an area reaching from Lake Mich ...
. The western portion of the county in particular shows much archeological evidence of having supported extensive First Nations populations.
At the time of 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 ...
, three competing American colonies – Massachusetts, Virginia, and Connecticut – claimed part of what is today the state of Illinois. The matter was solved in 1778 when Virginia amalgamated lands in the region into a massive county called Illinois, borrowing the name of a native people.
Indiana Territory
The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by an organic act that President of the United States, President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an Historic regions of the United States, organized incor ...
was formed in 1800 with
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...
as Governor; the future Illinois was part of this territory. It was not until 1809 that
Illinois Territory
The Territory of Illinois was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Illinois. Its ...
was formally established as an official territory of the United States of America. Statehood followed in December 1818.
The first organized Anglo settlements in the future Woodford County region appeared in the 1820s. First settlement in the county came at
Spring Bay, with pioneers managing to select the same ground occupied by an ancient Indian burial site which ran north-and-south through the entire settlement. The location was chosen due to its proximity to 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 ...
.

In the 1870s, an early historian of Woodford County wrote:
There were a few Indians in the county at the time of settlement by the whites, but the two races did not come into conflict to any extent. The advancing wave of civilization seemed to follow up the retreating wave of barbarism. The first settlers encountered a few Indians ... and in 1832 were involved to some extent in 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 ...
, but the active operations were further north than Woodford County.
The current boundaries of the county were not those originally drawn; moreover, the names of various counties in the region changed frequently The Eastern portion of Woodford County was known as Edwards (1814–16), Crawford (1816–19), Clark (1819–21), and Fayette (1821-25) Counties, while the Western part of today's county was included in Madison (1814–17), Bond (1817–21), and Sangamon (1821–25) Counties.
[
In 1827 new lines were drawn and Tazewell County was established, including all of today's Woodford County.][ Settlers began arriving from neighboring territories during the early 1830s. This led to the formal creation of Woodford County along its current boundaries in February 1841 from a portion of Tazewell County and a portion of McLean County that had been part of Tazewell County before 1830.][Moore 1910, p. 12]
The county was named for Woodford County, Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
, which was in turn named after General William Woodford
William Woodford (October 6, 1734 – November 13, 1780) was a Virginia planter and militia officer who distinguished himself in the French and Indian War before becoming a general of the 2nd Virginia Regiment in the American Revolutionary War ...
, who served with General George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
at Valley Forge
Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...
, Pennsylvania during the brutal winter of 1777–78.
The first post office in today's Woodford County was established in 1836 at Partridge township, named for local tribal leader Black Partridge. Also in 1836, the area's first (private) school was founded, by Miss Betsy Page. The first public school followed shortly thereafter. The first Sunday school
]
A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes.
Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
was established in 1837 in the home of Parker Morse in Cazenovia Township, Woodford County, Illinois, Cazenovia.
Pioneer life
The first settlers of Woodford County occupied crude log cabin
A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...
s. Windows were covered with oiled papers; doors and floors were constructed of rough boards split from trees and held together with wooden pegs. Construction of the cabins was primitive, with the floor plan generally involving a single room heated with a fireplace.
Meat was frequently roasted on a spit; cornbread was generally baked on the fireplace coals. A common staple of pioneer life was waffle
A waffle is a dish made from leavened Batter (cooking), batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron ...
s, baked from batter in a folding iron mold three or four feet long. Modern canning processes were unknown and the wintertime larder consisted primarily of bread and meat. Vegetables were consumed seasonally, with pumpkin, red peppers, corn, and venison dried for later use.
Clothing was made at home, generally of linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...
made from homegrown flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...
. In addition, other heavier compound fabrics known as " linsey," made of linen or cotton with woolen filling, and "jeans," made of an even heavier material and dyed brown with walnut
A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...
bark, were also used.
Prior to 1831 all preparation of wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...
had to be done by hand at home, with the raw fiber "carded" between pairs of thin, metal spiked boards about 4 inches wide and a foot long. The resulting rolls of wool were then spun into thread upon a spinning wheel
A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning frame, ...
and thereby prepared for the loom
A loom is a device used to weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...
.
A sexual division of labor was practiced, with women engaged in home manufactures and food preparation while men were occupied with agriculture, hunting, and construction. Since a great percentage of the land of Woodford County was tillable, farming was the principal occupation of the early settlers. Plowing was by means of wooden plows with iron shares; corn was planted by hand and covered using a hoe. Hay
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...
, often using wild rather than cultivated grass, was cut with a scythe
A scythe (, rhyming with ''writhe'') is an agriculture, agricultural hand-tool for mowing grass or Harvest, harvesting Crop, crops. It was historically used to cut down or reaping, reap edible grain, grains before they underwent the process of ...
and taken up with rakes and pitchforks.
With the advent of timber milling in the area, frame houses became possible. Settlers cooperated in construction, helping one another raise houses and barns. The latter could be 30 feet in length and width with walls perhaps 16 feet high. "It was heavy and dangerous work, and the raising of a large barn required the united energies of a whole community," one settler recalled. Other buildings commonly constructed included stables, corn-cribs, smokehouses, and ash-hoppers. Plank fences began to appear in the 1850s.
Governance by the early settlers was not by secret ballot, but by voice vote.
Antebellum years
By 1850, Woodford County was well settled; county's population topped the 5,000 mark. Illinois settlers were overwhelmingly opposed to the institution of slavery
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
, and with the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was a law passed by the 31st United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers.
The Act was one ...
, popular discontent grew and opponents began to engage in acts of resistance, hiding escaped slaves seeking escape to Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. One branch of the so-called Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...
along which escaped slaves furtively avoided their potential captors ran directly through Woodford County.[Moore 1910, p. 29.]
The "stations" of the Underground Railroad were generally residences where escaping slaves could hide from their pursuers. These stations were located at convenient distances so that those escaping (and their "conductor" guides) could travel from one to the next in a single night.
The journey was dangerous. Wanted posters offering rewards of $50, $100, and sometimes more for specific runaway slaves were placed by slaveowners, attracting bounty hunters. Moreover, those assisting escaping slaves were themselves violators of the Fugitive Slave Law, subject to prosecution and punishment.
Local historian Roy L. Moore wrote:
There was bitter opposition to the enforcement of the fugitive slave law. This condition was not surprising, since the county had men who were strong opponents of slavery and likewise men who would make any sacrifice to have the institution stamped out. Over this branch of the underground road many a runaway slave passed on his way to freedom. There was such a strong sentiment against the lavetraffic that conductors and stations were found in sufficient number to carry on the work successfully.
Church deacons named Mr. Dutton and Parker Morse were credited by Moore as leaders of the local anti-slavery effort. Despite the fact that these and other active conductors in the Underground Railroad were known to the community, popular sentiment against slavery was such that there was "very little molestation for a long time" in Woodford County. Only one instance of an arrest of a Woodford County conductor is recorded by Roy Moore in his 1910 history, and that ultimately resulted in the quash
A motion to quash is a request to a court or other tribunal to render a previous decision or proceeding null or invalid. The exact usage of motions to quash depends on the rules of the particular court or tribunal.
In some cases, motions to qua ...
ing of the indictment
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...
.
Early administrative structure
When it was first established in 1841, the county seat of Woodford County was placed in Versailles for a temporary two-year interval. Competition for the honor (and related business opportunities) was fierce leading up to the June 1843 decision of the county commissioners to tap Metamora (then known as Hanover) as the new seat. A county courthouse was begun in Metamora in 1844 and a county jail in March 1852.
It was during the pre-Civil War years that Woodford County adopted townships – which was met with strong opposition. No fewer than four public elections were held between 1850 and 1854 before the township system gained a majority of votes.
Following the division of the county into townships in early 1855, the system of county government was likewise altered, with a county commission giving way to a board of supervisors. Early county officers, including the sheriff, coroner, school commissioner, surveyor, and treasurer were elected to two-year terms of office, later changed to four-year terms.
Other claimants arose attempting to wrest the county seat from Metamora, including Eureka, El Paso
El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
, and Roanoke. El Paso was nearly awarded the seat in 1867, when it sent a local attorney to make an offer of $30,000 to the town of Metamora to relinquish the county seat. A closely contested vote ended with the apparent result in favor of El Paso reversed by a bare 10 votes in a recount
An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...
.
Another vote in 1869 rejected an appeal to move the county seat to Eureka. A dubious recount in a third election held in November 1873 again overturned an apparent result to move the Woodford County seat to Roanoke. A fourth election in 1884, again proposing relocation to Roanoke, failed miserably. It was only in 1894 when a final election provided a decisive majority in favor of moving the county seat to Eureka that Metamora lost its status as county seat.
An impressive new courthouse building was quickly constructed in Eureka, cementing that town's status as legal and governmental center of Woodford County.
Civil War years
Woodford County's population continued to swell, standing at 13,281 when the 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 ...
started in 1861. Support for the Union Cause was strong throughout the county; by war's end 1,643 county residents had enlisted in the Union forces – 12.4% of the population.
Calls for troops were translated into state quotas, which in Illinois was customarily apportioned to the various counties according to their population. Enlistment bonuses were paid. After 1862 when the number of volunteers ultimately failed to fulfill a state's enlistment quota, a draft
Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...
was begun. Substitutes for those drafted could be sent, with prices paid by the draftee to his substitute generally ranging of $500 to $600, although prices of up to $1,000 were reportedly paid.
Woodford County's volunteers – and later on conscripts – were dispersed among a wide range of units, making a universal summary of their wartime experience impossible. Some units composed largely of residents of Woodford County, including Company G of the 17th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, mustered at Peoria May 25, 1861, and fought at the Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...
in Hardin County, Tennessee
Hardin County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 26,831. The county seat is Savannah, Tennessee, Savannah. Hardin County is located no ...
in April 1862. Several Woodford County men were among the 130 members of the 17th Infantry killed and wounded in the two-day battle. This unit also participated in the last phase of the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg
The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...
in Warren County, Mississippi
Warren County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Its western border is formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 44,722. Its county seat is V ...
, a protracted battle which led to the surrender of over 29,000 Confederate troops.
Another unit containing numerous Woodford County men was the 47th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, especially Companies B and I. Mustered into service at Peoria on August 16, 1861, the unit lost 30 killed and 100 wounded in the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi, in October 1862. The unit also suffered casualties in a May 1863 charge during the Vicksburg Campaign
The Vicksburg campaigns were a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi ...
. After the fall of Vicksburg in July 1863, the unit spent the duration guarding railroad lines, being discharged in October of that year.
The 77th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 77th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Service
77th Regiment Illinois was organized at Peoria, Illinois and mustered into Federal service on Septembe ...
, Companies C, F and H, also had a substantial Woodford County contingent. Serving under Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger
Gordon Granger (November 6, 1821 – January 10, 1876) was a career U.S. Army officer, and a Union (American Civil War), Union general during the American Civil War, where he distinguished himself at the Battle of Chickamauga.
Granger is best re ...
, they participated in the initial phase of the Vicksburg Campaign. The 77th then participated in the Battle of Jackson, Mississippi
The Battle of Jackson was fought on May 14, 1863, in Jackson, Mississippi, as part of the Vicksburg campaign during the American Civil War. After entering the state of Mississippi in late April 1863, Major general (United States), Major Gener ...
(May 1863), and taking the city. Disaster struck in April 1864 near Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat and largest city of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River of the South, Red River ...
, when the unit was isolated and crushed in a cavalry support operation at the Battle of Sabine Cross-roads. 176 men of the 77th Illinois were killed, wounded, or captured, leaving only 125 members of the regiment fit for duty. The unit was mustered out in July 1865, having participated in 16 battles.
Woodford County men served in numbers in Company A, 86th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, suffering losses in Kentucky at the Battle of Perryville
The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the Ame ...
in October 1862, and participating in Sherman's March to the Sea. Others were concentrated in Companies D and E of the 108th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, in which 205 of the 214 fatalities suffered by the regiment were due to disease rather than combat, 134 of whom died in February and March 1863 alone.
Eureka College
A leading community institution of Woodford County for more than 150 years is Eureka College
Eureka College is a private college in Eureka, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1855, it is related by covenant to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The college enrolled approximately 559 students in 2023.
Eureka College was founde ...
, a liberal arts
Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...
school affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...
. Its most noted alumnus is US President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...
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 ...
.
Eureka College traces its roots back to the summer of 1848, when a young collegian named A.S. Fisher appeared in Walnut Grove (original name of Eureka) and expressed his interest in conducting a school that would teach language, science, mathematics, and philosophy. Fisher was employed to teach school for ten months, with a number of local worthies, including many active in the Church of Christ, guaranteeing payment of his salary. This school was formally launched in September 1848. Owing to the presence of a charismatic local religious leader, the Church of Christ showed great growth during this period, adding 100 adherents in 1848, with other supporters in neighboring counties. Demand grew for transformation of the school into a seminary with room and board for students from other localities, with instructional costs to be covered through collection of tuition
Tuition may refer to:
*Formal education, education within a structured institutional framework
*Tutoring, private academic help
*Tuition payments
Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth ...
. In September 1849, the school was rechristened Walnut Grove Seminary and relaunched with A.S. Fisher as principal, assisted by a young woman "of superior ability and tact as a teacher." Fisher would ultimately spend 38 years associated with the college which would emerge.
In December 1849 the school was incorporated as Walnut Grove Academy. Money was collected for an expansion of the facility and a new two-story building constructed. The enterprise continued to expand and planning began for expansion of the academy into a college, with necessary buildings and a library. Appeals were made to the state Missionary Convention of the Church of Christ in 1851 and enthusiasm for establishment of a college within the church laity grew.
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 (2.7%) is water.[ Most of the area is ]prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
land, with some bluffs originally covered with timber.
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Eureka have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1905 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.[
]
Major highways
* 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 ...
* Interstate 74
Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange with I-75 in ...
* U.S. Highway 24
* U.S. Highway 51
* U.S. Highway 150
* 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 ...
* Illinois Route 89
* Illinois Route 116
Illinois Route 116 (IL 116) is a cross-state rural state highway that runs from U.S. Route 34 (US 34) by Gladstone east to the intersection of US 45 (North Front Street) and Old US 45, on the north side of Ashkum.
Route description
Th ...
* Illinois Route 117
* Illinois Route 251
Adjacent counties
* Marshall County (north)
* LaSalle County (northeast)
* Livingston County (east)
* McLean County (southeast)
* Tazewell County (southwest)
* Peoria County (west)
Demographics
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 38,664 people, 14,276 households, and 10,675 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,145 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.4% White, 0.6% Asian, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population.[ In terms of ancestry, 48.7% were ]German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, 14.1% were Irish, 10.9% were English, and 8.8% were American.
Of the 14,276 households, 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.7% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 25.2% were non-families, and 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.07. The median age was 39.6 years.[
The median income for a household in the county was $65,890 and the median income for a family was $75,601. Males had a median income of $55,297 versus $35,435 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,475. About 4.9% of families and 7.0% 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 10.6% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
Governance
Woodford County is governed by a 15-member elected County Board, each member serving a 4-year term. Board members appoint one member to act as chair at two-year intervals. The County Board provides governing ordinances for Woodford County, establishes a budget, levies taxes, and promulgates policies and regulations for the management of government operations. The County Board holds monthly meetings. It also selects five standing committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
s, each with five members, which meet monthly.["County Board Home Page,"](_blank)
Woodford County official website, www.woodford-county.org/
The 15 members of the board are elected from three electoral districts, each electing five board members.[ District 1 includes Clayton, Greene, El Paso, Kansas, Linn, Minonk, Roanoke, Palestine, and Panola Townships; District 2 includes Cazenovia, Partridge, Spring Bay, and Worth Townships; and District 3 includes Cruger, Metamora, Montgomery, and Olio Townships.
]
Education
K-12 education
K-12 school districts include:[ ]
Text list
/ref>
* Deer Creek-Mackinaw Community Unit School District 701
* El Paso-Gridley Community Unit School District 11
El Paso-Gridley Community Unit School District 11 is a unit school district in Woodford County, Illinois, Woodford, Livingston County, Illinois, Livingston, and McLean County, Illinois, McLean counties in Illinois. It was formed in 2004 by the ...
* Eureka Community Unit District 140
* Fieldcrest Community Unit School District 6
* Lowpoint-Washburn Community Unit School District 21
* McLean County Unit School District 5
* Olympia Community Unit School District 16
* Roanoke-Benson Community Unit School District 60
Secondary school districts:[
* Metamora Township High School District 122
Elementary school districts:][
* Germantown Hills School District 69
* Metamora Community Consolidated School District 1
* Riverview Consolidated Community School District 2
;High schools
* El Paso-Gridley High School (El Paso)
* Eureka High School (Eureka)
* Fieldcrest High School (Minonk)
* Lowpoint-Washburn High School (Washburn)
* Metamora Township High School (Metamora)
* (Roanoke)
Since 1949 Eureka has been a part of the Congerville-Eureka-Goodfield Community Unit School District 140. The district's coverage area totals 113 square miles. El Paso is part of the ]El Paso-Gridley Community Unit School District 11
El Paso-Gridley Community Unit School District 11 is a unit school district in Woodford County, Illinois, Woodford, Livingston County, Illinois, Livingston, and McLean County, Illinois, McLean counties in Illinois. It was formed in 2004 by the ...
.
Politics
Woodford County is among the most solidly Republican counties in Illinois when it comes to presidential elections. The last Republican to receive less than 50% of the county's vote was George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
in 1992 who still won the county. In 1964, Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...
won the county despite losing the state by nearly 19%.
Media
Early Woodford County was served by a variety of newspapers. Probably the first was the ''Woodford County Times'' (1854). By 1880 there were five weekly papers in the county: ''Woodford Sentinel,'' ''El Paso Journal,'' ''Eureka Journal,'' ''Minonk Blade,'' ''Washburn News''. The Eureka College also produced a monthly periodical, the ''Eureka College Messenger.''
Notable people of Woodford County
* Donald Attig (b. 1936), boat designer and yachtsman, graduated from Eureka College
* Emik Avakian (1923-2013), inventor and owner of numerous patents, graduated from Eureka College in 1948
* Emma Smith DeVoe (1848-1927), suffragist and political activist, taught at Eureka College
* J. Frank Duryea
James Frank Duryea (October 8, 1869 – February 15, 1967) was an American engineer and inventor who, with his brother Charles Duryea, Charles (1861–1938), invented the first American gasoline-powered automobile.
Biography
The brothers were bo ...
(1869-1967), a co-inventor of the gas-powered automobile, born in Washburn
* Frank Frantz (1872-1941), Rough Rider and the final Governor of Oklahoma Territory, attended Eureka College for two years in the 1880s
* Glen Gray
Glenn Gray Knoblauch (June 7, 1900 – August 23, 1963), known professionally as Glen Gray, was an American jazz saxophonist and leader of the Casa Loma Orchestra.'' The Mississippi Rag'', "Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra," George A. ...
(1900-1963), jazz saxophonist and orchestra leader, born in Roanoke, graduated from Roanoke High School (1917)0
* Oliver Perry Hay
Oliver Perry Hay (May 22, 1846 – November 2, 1930) was an American herpetologist, ichthyologist, and paleontologist.
Hay was born in Jefferson County, Indiana, to Robert and Margaret Hay. In 1870, Hay graduated with a bachelor of arts from ...
(1846-1930), professor and expert on vertebrate paleontology, graduated from Eureka College (1870).
* John S. Kyser (1900-1975), President of Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport, Louisiana, Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville, Louisiana, Leesville/Fort Jo ...
from 1954 to 1967, born in El Paso
* Dan McCoy (b. 1978), comedian and television writer, graduate of Eureka High School (1996)
* Ralph "Mac" McKinzie (1894-1990) coached football at Eureka College for 17 seasons
* Mary Frances Winston Newson (1869-1959), mathematician and academic, taught at Eureka College
* William A. Poynter (1848-1909), 10th Governor of Nebraska, born in Eureka, graduated from Eureka College (1867)
* Neil Reagan
John Neil Reagan (September 16, 1908 – December 11, 1996) was an American radio station manager, CBS senior producer, and senior vice president of McCann Erickson. He was the older brother of the Hollywood star and United States President R ...
(1908-1996), advertising executive and brother of 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 ...
, graduated from Eureka College (1933)
* 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 ...
(1911-2004), 40th President of the United States, graduated from Eureka College (1932)
* Junius P. Rodriguez (b. 1957), historian, Eureka College professor (1992– )
* Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979), Catholic archbishop and televangelist, born in El Paso
* Andy Studebaker (b. 1985) NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
, Eureka High School graduate (2004)
* Caleb TerBush (b. 1990), collegiate football quarterback at Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
, Metamora Township High School graduate
* Ben Zobrist
Benjamin Thomas Zobrist (; born May 26, 1981) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Chica ...
(b. 1981), All-Star Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
infielder for the Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
, born and raised in Eureka[Marc Topkin]
"Tampa Bay Rays' Ben Zobrist has taken a surprising path to today's All-Star game,"
''Tampa Bay Times,'' July 13, 2009.
Townships
* Cazenovia Township
* Clayton Township
* Cruger Township
* El Paso Township
* Greene Township
* Kansas Township
* Linn Township
* Metamora Township
* Minonk Township
* Montgomery Township
* Olio Township
* Palestine Township
* Panola Township
* Partridge Township
* Roanoke Township
* Spring Bay Township
* Worth Township
Communities
Cities
* El Paso
El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
(partly in McLean County)
* Eureka (Seat)
* Minonk
Villages
* Bay View Gardens
* Benson
* Congerville
* Deer Creek (partly in Tazewell County)
* Germantown Hills
* Goodfield (partly in Tazewell County)
* Kappa
Kappa (; uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; , ''káppa'') is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value of 20. It was d ...
* Metamora
* Panola
* Peoria Heights (mostly in Peoria County)
* Roanoke
* Secor
* Spring Bay
* Washburn (partly in Marshall County)
Unincorporated communities
* Cazenovia
* Cruger
* Lowpoint
* Woodford
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Woodford County, Illinois
Footnotes
Further reading
* Harold Adams, ''History of Eureka College, 1855-1982.'' Eureka, IL: Board of Trustees of Eureka College, 1982.
* John Drury, ''This is Woodford County, Illinois.'' Chicago: Loree Co., 1955.
* Eureka College
''Eureka College, Eureka, Illinois, 1855-1955: A Community of Learning in Search of Truth, Human and Divine.''
Eureka, IL: Eureka College, 955
Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also known as Magyars) near Augsburg (Germa ...
* Jephthah Hobbs
''About Eureka College.''
Garrettsville, OH: Peirce-Sherwood Printing Co. 1894.
* William Henry Perrin and William LeBaron Jr.
''The Past and Present of Woodford County, Illinois: Containing a History of the County ... A Directory of Its Taxpayers; War Records of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics; Map of Woodford County; History of Illinois... etc.''
Chicago: W. Le Baron Jr. & Co., 1878.
* B.J. Radford, ''Autobiography of Benjamin Johnson Radford: And an Address: The Making of Woodford County.'' Eureka, IL: Woodford County Journal, 1977.
* Woodford County Historical Society, ''Woodford County Veterans: Respect and Remember.'' Evansville, IN: M.T. Publishing Company, 2012.
* Woodford County Sesquicentennial Committee, ''Souvenir History of Woodford County 1841-1991.'' Marceline, MO: Heritage House Publishing, 1991.
External links
County website
''Woodford County Journal''
''Woodford Times''
{{Coord, 40.79, -89.21, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990
Illinois counties
1841 establishments in Illinois
Populated places established in 1841
Peoria metropolitan area, Illinois