Carroll County | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofIllinois | |
 Illinois's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:42°04′N89°55′W / 42.06°N 89.92°W /42.06; -89.92 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Illinois |
| Founded | 1839 |
| Named after | Charles Carroll |
| Seat | Mount Carroll |
| Largest city | Savanna |
| Area | |
• Total | 466 sq mi (1,210 km2) |
| • Land | 445 sq mi (1,150 km2) |
| • Water | 22 sq mi (60 km2) 4.6% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 15,702 |
• Estimate (2023) | 15,526 |
| • Density | 34/sq mi (13/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 17th |
| Website | www |
Carroll County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofIllinois. As of the2020 census, the population was 15,702.[1] Itscounty seat isMount Carroll.[2]
Carroll County was formed in 1839 out ofJo Daviess County. The county is named forCharles Carroll who signed theDeclaration of Independence.[3] Carroll, who died in 1832, was the last signer to die.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 466 square miles (1,210 km2), of which 445 square miles (1,150 km2) is land and 22 square miles (57 km2) (4.6%) is water.[4] TheMississippi Palisades State Park is in this county, just north of the city of Savanna. TheSavanna Army Depot is located partly in this county.
US Route 52
Illinois Route 40
Illinois Route 64
Illinois Route 72
Illinois Route 73
Illinois Route 78
Illinois Route 84| Mount Carroll, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Mount Carroll have ranged from a low of 7 °F (−14 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −31 °F (−35 °C) was recorded in January 1910 and a record high of 108 °F (42 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.43 inches (36 mm) in January to 4.77 inches (121 mm) in June.[5]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 | 1,023 | — | |
| 1850 | 4,586 | 348.3% | |
| 1860 | 11,733 | 155.8% | |
| 1870 | 16,705 | 42.4% | |
| 1880 | 16,976 | 1.6% | |
| 1890 | 18,320 | 7.9% | |
| 1900 | 18,963 | 3.5% | |
| 1910 | 18,035 | −4.9% | |
| 1920 | 19,345 | 7.3% | |
| 1930 | 18,433 | −4.7% | |
| 1940 | 17,987 | −2.4% | |
| 1950 | 18,976 | 5.5% | |
| 1960 | 19,507 | 2.8% | |
| 1970 | 19,276 | −1.2% | |
| 1980 | 18,779 | −2.6% | |
| 1990 | 16,805 | −10.5% | |
| 2000 | 16,674 | −0.8% | |
| 2010 | 15,387 | −7.7% | |
| 2020 | 15,702 | 2.0% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 15,526 | [6] | −1.1% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9] 1990-2000[10] 2010[11] | |||
As of the2010 United States census, there were 15,387 people, 6,622 households, and 4,343 families residing in the county.[12] The population density was 34.6 inhabitants per square mile (13.4/km2). There were 8,437 housing units at an average density of 19.0 per square mile (7.3/km2).[4] The racial makeup of the county was 96.9% white, 0.8% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.8% of the population.[12] In terms of ancestry, 40.4% wereGerman, 14.0% wereIrish, 11.2% wereEnglish, and 10.6% wereAmerican.[13]
Of the 6,622 households, 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.4% were non-families, and 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age was 46.5 years.[12]
The median income for a household in the county was $44,805 and the median income for a family was $55,341. Males had a median income of $42,421 versus $27,552 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,914. About 7.8% of families and 11.7% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.[14]
| Community | Community type | Population | Total Area | Water Area | Land Area | Pop. Density | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chadwick | village | 481 | 0.31 | 0.00 | 0.31 | 1,546.62 | |
| Lanark | city | 1,504 | 1.12 | 0.00 | 1.12 | 1,341.66 | |
| Milledgeville | village | 1,026 | 0.69 | 0.00 | 0.69 | 1,486.96 | |
| Mount Carroll (seat) | city | 1,479 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 738.39 | |
| Savanna | city | 2,783 | 2.71 | 0.09 | 2.62 | 1,063.84 | |
| Shannon | village | 801 | 0.48 | 0.00 | 0.48 | 1,661.83 | |
| Thomson | village | 1,610 | 2.22 | 0.00 | 2.22 | 725.55 | |
| Carroll County | county | 15,702 | 466 | 22 | 445 | 34 |
Carroll County is divided into these twelvetownships:
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 5,082 | 64.68% | 2,600 | 33.09% | 175 | 2.23% |
| 2020 | 5,105 | 63.52% | 2,748 | 34.19% | 184 | 2.29% |
| 2016 | 4,434 | 59.56% | 2,447 | 32.87% | 564 | 7.58% |
| 2012 | 3,555 | 48.00% | 3,665 | 49.49% | 186 | 2.51% |
| 2008 | 3,596 | 46.74% | 3,965 | 51.54% | 132 | 1.72% |
| 2004 | 4,534 | 55.73% | 3,537 | 43.48% | 64 | 0.79% |
| 2000 | 3,835 | 53.43% | 3,113 | 43.37% | 229 | 3.19% |
| 1996 | 3,029 | 44.55% | 2,926 | 43.04% | 844 | 12.41% |
| 1992 | 3,297 | 42.94% | 2,854 | 37.17% | 1,528 | 19.90% |
| 1988 | 4,464 | 59.42% | 2,990 | 39.80% | 58 | 0.77% |
| 1984 | 5,237 | 68.39% | 2,398 | 31.31% | 23 | 0.30% |
| 1980 | 5,084 | 63.37% | 2,154 | 26.85% | 785 | 9.78% |
| 1976 | 5,059 | 59.34% | 3,372 | 39.55% | 95 | 1.11% |
| 1972 | 6,041 | 69.99% | 2,571 | 29.79% | 19 | 0.22% |
| 1968 | 5,275 | 63.69% | 2,558 | 30.89% | 449 | 5.42% |
| 1964 | 4,487 | 52.49% | 4,062 | 47.51% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 6,282 | 66.70% | 3,097 | 32.88% | 39 | 0.41% |
| 1956 | 6,503 | 70.60% | 2,693 | 29.24% | 15 | 0.16% |
| 1952 | 6,978 | 72.87% | 2,584 | 26.98% | 14 | 0.15% |
| 1948 | 5,318 | 64.94% | 2,809 | 34.30% | 62 | 0.76% |
| 1944 | 6,101 | 68.08% | 2,843 | 31.72% | 18 | 0.20% |
| 1940 | 6,398 | 63.90% | 3,592 | 35.87% | 23 | 0.23% |
| 1936 | 4,886 | 52.38% | 4,368 | 46.83% | 74 | 0.79% |
| 1932 | 4,571 | 53.81% | 3,812 | 44.87% | 112 | 1.32% |
| 1928 | 6,197 | 76.34% | 1,876 | 23.11% | 45 | 0.55% |
| 1924 | 4,559 | 60.93% | 603 | 8.06% | 2,320 | 31.01% |
| 1920 | 5,194 | 86.65% | 606 | 10.11% | 194 | 3.24% |
| 1916 | 4,496 | 67.00% | 1,980 | 29.51% | 234 | 3.49% |
| 1912 | 1,577 | 38.36% | 1,098 | 26.71% | 1,436 | 34.93% |
| 1908 | 2,875 | 66.71% | 1,129 | 26.19% | 306 | 7.10% |
| 1904 | 3,128 | 76.44% | 691 | 16.89% | 273 | 6.67% |
| 1900 | 3,425 | 71.53% | 1,266 | 26.44% | 97 | 2.03% |
| 1896 | 3,314 | 67.91% | 1,480 | 30.33% | 86 | 1.76% |
| 1892 | 2,456 | 58.80% | 1,444 | 34.57% | 277 | 6.63% |
As a part ofYankee-settledNorthern Illinois, Carroll County became solidly Republican upon that party's formation in the 1850s. Of all the counties won by inaugural Republican Party presidential nomineeJohn Charles Frémontin 1856, Carroll County was to maintain the longest unbroken string of supporting the GOP in subsequent elections. It would give a plurality to every subsequent Republican Presidential nominee up toGeorge W. Bush in 2004, beating by three elections the second longest run of Indiana'sPorter County which was to give a plurality toBill Clintonin 1996.
In that 1996 electionBob Dole won Carroll County by only 1.51 percentage points – the smallest margin by a Republican to that point – and in 2008 Illinois nativeBarack Obama broke this last remaining GOP streak stretching back to Frémont by carrying the county by 4.80 percentage points. Obama was to repeat his win in 2012 by 1.49 percent, but a dramatic swing to Republican Donald Trump in 2016 saw him win by the largest margin sinceRonald Reagan’s 1984 landslide by gaining 59.6% of the vote in Carroll County, scoring slightly higher than George H.W. Bush's victory in 1988 in which Bush won 59.4% of the vote in Carroll County.
The largest margin of victory ever in Carroll County was achieved byWarren G. Harding who won 86.7% of votes in the county during the1920 United States presidential election.
Places adjacent to Carroll County, Illinois | |
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Municipalities and communities ofCarroll County, Illinois,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Villages | ||
| Townships | ||
| CDP | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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