Bureau County, Illinois

Bureau County
County
Red Covered Bridge (1863)
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°25′N89°32′W / 41.41°N 89.53°W / 41.41; -89.53
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1837
Seat	Princeton
Largest city	Princeton
Area
• Total	874 sq mi (2,260 km2)
• Land	869 sq mi (2,250 km2)
• Water	4.5 sq mi (12 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	33,244
• Estimate  (2021)	32,883
• Density	38/sq mi (15/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	14th, 16th
Website	bureaucounty-il.gov

Bureau County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 33,244. ^[1] Its county seat is Princeton. ^[2]

Bureau County is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, and the Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park is located partly in this county.

History

Bureau County was created from a portion of Putnam County in 1837. It is named for brothers Michel and Pierre Bureau, French Canadians who ran a trading post from 1776 until the 1780s near the conjunction of Big Bureau Creek with Illinois River. Their actual surname most likely was Belleau, but the local American Indians had difficulty pronouncing the "l" sound, which was not found in some local languages. ^{[3] [4]} An early settler of this area was Bulbona, a man of mixed French and Native American descent with a Native American wife. Unlike most of the other Native Americans in the area, Bulbona remained after the area was settled by Euro-Americans and ran a trading post, where he sold whiskey among other necessities. ^[5]

The founders of Princeton, the area's oldest town, were settlers from New England, descendants of the English Puritans who settled New England in the 17th century. They were part of a wave of New England farmers who moved to the Northwest Territory in the early 19th century. Most of them came soon after of the completion of the Erie Canal. ^[5] When they arrived, they faced virgin forest and wild prairie. These New Englanders laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes. They brought with them many of their Yankee New England values, such as a passion for education, establishing many schools, and were staunch abolitionists. They were mostly members of the Congregationalist Church or Episcopalians. Early Bureau County, like much of northern Illinois, was culturally very continuous with early New England culture. ^{[6] [7] [5]}

Like so many other areas in the Midwest, this county was on a "line" of the Underground Railroad. There was a "station" at the home of Owen Lovejoy in Princeton, and several other locations in the county.

• 
  Bureau County's boundaries have remained unchanged since its creation in 1837.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 874 square miles (2,260 km²), of which 869 square miles (2,250 km²) is land and 4.5 square miles (12 km²) (0.5%) is water. ^[8] Big Bureau Creek is the main body of water.

Adjacent counties

• Whiteside County - northwest
• Lee County - north
• LaSalle County - east
• Putnam County - southeast
• Marshall County - south
• Stark County - southwest
• Henry County - west

Major highways

• Interstate 80
• Interstate 180
• U.S. Route 6
• U.S. Route 34
• Illinois Route 26
• Illinois Route 29
• Illinois Route 40
• Illinois Route 89
• Illinois Route 92

Climate and weather

Princeton, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.7     29 14     1.5     35 20     2.5     47 30     3.8     61 40     4.1     73 51     4.4     82 61     3.3     85 65     4.8     82 63     3.7     75 55     2.9     63 43     2.9     47 31     2.5     33 19 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel [9]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     42     −2 −10     38     2 −7     62     8 −1     96     16 4     104     23 11     111     28 16     85     29 18     121     28 17     93     24 13     75     17 6     74     8 −1     62     1 −7 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Princeton have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −22 °F (−30 °C) was recorded in February 1996 and a record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.48 inches (38 mm) in February to 4.76 inches (121 mm) in August. ^[9]

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Bureau County

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	3,067		—
1850	8,841		188.3%
1860	26,426		198.9%
1870	32,415		22.7%
1880	33,172		2.3%
1890	35,014		5.6%
1900	41,112		17.4%
1910	43,975		7.0%
1920	42,648		−3.0%
1930	38,845		−8.9%
1940	37,600		−3.2%
1950	37,711		0.3%
1960	37,594		−0.3%
1970	38,541		2.5%
1980	39,114		1.5%
1990	35,688		−8.8%
2000	35,503		−0.5%
2010	34,978		−1.5%
2020	33,244		−5.0%
2023 (est.)	32,729	[10]	−1.5%
US Decennial Census [11] 1790-1960 [12] 1900-1990 [13] 1990-2000 [14] 2010-2013 [1]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 34,978 people, 14,262 households, and 9,605 families residing in the county. ^[15] The population density was 40.2 inhabitants per square mile (15.5/km²). There were 15,720 housing units at an average density of 18.1 per square mile (7.0/km²). ^[8] The racial makeup of the county was 94.2% white, 0.7% Asian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian, 3.0% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 7.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.8% were German, 13.8% were Irish, 12.1% were English, 9.2% were American, 8.8% were Italian, 7.6% were Swedish, and 5.8% were Polish. ^[16]

Of the 14,262 households, 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.7% were non-families, and 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 42.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,692 and the median income for a family was $55,217. Males had a median income of $42,327 versus $29,210 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,103. About 8.6% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over. ^[17]

Communities

Cities

• Princeton
• Spring Valley

Villages

• Arlington
• Buda
• Bureau Junction
• Cherry
• Dalzell (part)
• DePue
• Dover
• Hollowayville
• La Moille
• Ladd
• Malden
• Manlius
• Mineral
• Neponset
• New Bedford
• Ohio
• Seatonville
• Sheffield
• Tiskilwa
• Walnut
• Wyanet

Unincorporated communities

• Coal Hollow
• Clarion
• Greenoak
• Kasbeer
• Langley
• Limerick
• Lone Tree
• Marquette
• Milo
• Normandy
• Ottville
• Providence
• Thomas
• Van Orin
• Webster Park
• Wendel
• Whitefield
• Yorktown
• Zearing

Townships

• Arispie
• Berlin
• Bureau
• Clarion
• Concord
• Dover
• Fairfield
• Gold
• Greenville
• Hall
• Indiantown
• Lamoille
• Leepertown
• Macon
• Manlius
• Milo
• Mineral
• Neponset
• Ohio
• Princeton
• Selby
• Walnut
• Westfield
• Wheatland
• Wyanet

Notable people

• Charles W. Brooks, U.S. Senator
• Warren Giles, executive in Baseball Hall of Fame
• Virgil Fox, concert organist
• Kathryn Hays, actress
• Owen Lovejoy, abolitionist minister and U.S. congressman
• Rufus Lumry, circuit preacher, outspoken abolitionist, and early Illinois organizer of the Wesleyan Methodist Church
• Joseph R. Peterson, Illinois state legislator and lawyer
• Robert Petkoff, actor
• Eliza Suggs, author and temperance activist
• Richard Widmark, actor

Politics

As part of Yankee-settled Northern Illinois, Bureau County became powerfully Republican for the century following the Civil War. The only Democrat to carry the county between 1856 and 1988 was Franklin D. Roosevelt during his landslide 1932 victory, although Progressive Theodore Roosevelt did carry the county during the 1912 election. Between 1988 and 2012, the county trended Democratic – Bill Clinton won pluralities in both his elections and Barack Obama won an absolute majority in 2008 and nearly did so in 2012 – however concern with lack of employment opportunities in the Rust Belt led to a powerful swing toward Donald Trump in 2016 for the best GOP result since Ronald Reagan’s 1984 landslide.

United States presidential election results for Bureau County, Illinois ^[18]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	10,411	59.51%	6,669	38.12%	414	2.37%
2016	9,281	56.01%	6,029	36.38%	1,261	7.61%
2012	8,164	48.93%	8,134	48.75%	388	2.33%
2008	7,911	46.12%	8,889	51.82%	353	2.06%
2004	9,822	54.87%	7,961	44.47%	119	0.66%
2000	8,526	50.68%	7,754	46.09%	543	3.23%
1996	6,528	40.61%	7,651	47.60%	1,894	11.78%
1992	6,836	38.18%	7,551	42.17%	3,520	19.66%
1988	8,896	54.41%	7,354	44.98%	101	0.62%
1984	11,741	62.57%	6,925	36.90%	99	0.53%
1980	11,484	61.79%	5,753	30.95%	1,350	7.26%
1976	10,854	58.20%	7,566	40.57%	228	1.22%
1972	12,786	67.47%	6,133	32.36%	33	0.17%
1968	11,216	59.97%	6,304	33.71%	1,183	6.33%
1964	9,552	51.25%	9,086	48.75%	0	0.00%
1960	12,597	61.73%	7,786	38.15%	24	0.12%
1956	13,909	70.56%	5,781	29.33%	21	0.11%
1952	14,300	69.76%	6,173	30.12%	25	0.12%
1948	11,207	63.15%	6,463	36.42%	78	0.44%
1944	11,802	62.68%	6,976	37.05%	51	0.27%
1940	13,258	61.36%	8,274	38.29%	75	0.35%
1936	10,462	51.48%	9,516	46.83%	344	1.69%
1932	8,721	45.23%	10,309	53.47%	250	1.30%
1928	11,557	63.73%	6,486	35.77%	90	0.50%
1924	9,457	60.38%	1,995	12.74%	4,211	26.89%
1920	9,968	74.94%	2,354	17.70%	980	7.37%
1916	8,213	56.20%	5,793	39.64%	608	4.16%
1912	1,816	19.84%	2,800	30.59%	4,537	49.57%
1908	5,280	57.48%	2,871	31.25%	1,035	11.27%
1904	5,624	64.31%	1,917	21.92%	1,204	13.77%
1900	5,478	56.90%	3,523	36.59%	626	6.50%
1896	5,474	56.31%	3,961	40.74%	287	2.95%
1892	3,924	47.96%	3,555	43.45%	702	8.58%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Bureau County, Illinois

References

Specific

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 23, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Pierre de Beuro, an Indian trader Pioneers of Illinois by Nehemiah Matson, 1882, p. 229
4. Jean Baptiste Point de Sable : the founder of modern Chicago Archived January 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine by John F. Swenson, 1999- . Retrieved November 11, 2010.
5. Bradsby, Henry C. (May 11, 1885). "History of Bureau County, Illinois". Chicago : World Pub. Co. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010 – via Internet Archive.
6. Nehemiah Matson (1872). Reminiscences of Bureau County [Illinois] in Two Parts. Republican book and job office. pp.  265–.
7. Harrington, George B. (May 11, 2018). Past and Present of Bureau County, Illinois: Together with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Prominent and Leading Citizens and Illustrious Dead. Pioneer Publishing Co. ISBN   9780608368887 – via Google Books.
8. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
9. "Monthly Averages for Princeton IL". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
10. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
11. "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
13. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
14. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
15. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
16. "Selected Social Characteristics in the United States – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
17. "Selected Economic Characteristics – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
18. Leip, David. "Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018.

General

• US Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
• US Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
• US National Atlas

External links

• Official website

41°25′N89°32′W / 41.41°N 89.53°W / 41.41; -89.53