Kendall County, Illinois

Kendall County
County
Kendall County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°35′N88°26′W / 41.59°N 88.43°W / 41.59; -88.43
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1841
Named for	Amos Kendall
Seat	Yorkville
Largest village	Oswego
Area
• Total	322 sq mi (830 km2)
• Land	320 sq mi (800 km2)
• Water	2.0 sq mi (5 km2)  0.61%
Population  (2020)
• Total	131,869
• Density	412/sq mi (159/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	14th
Website	www.co.kendall.il.us

Terminal moraines, such as this one in central Kendall County, rise dramatically from the surrounding plain.

Kendall County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, within the Chicago metropolitan area. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 131,869. ^[1] Its county seat is Yorkville, ^[2] and its most populous municipality is Oswego.

Kendall County is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and was the fastest-growing county in the United States between 2000 and 2010. ^[3]

History

Kendall County was formed in 1841 out of LaSalle and Kane Counties.

The county is named after Amos Kendall, ^[4] who was the editor of the Frankfort, Kentucky, newspaper, and went on to be an important advisor to President Andrew Jackson. Kendall became the U.S. Postmaster General in 1835.

Early Settlement and Native American Presence

Before European settlers arrived, the land that would become Kendall County was inhabited by several Native American tribes, including the Potawatomi, Fox, and Kickapoo. These tribes lived in semi-permanent villages along the Fox River and relied on hunting, fishing, and agriculture for their sustenance. The presence of these indigenous peoples influenced the early European settlers' interactions and land use practices.

Pioneer Life and Establishment of Towns

The first European-American settlers arrived in the 1820s, primarily from New England and New York. They were attracted to the region's fertile soil and abundant waterways. These pioneers faced numerous challenges, including harsh winters, prairie fires, and conflicts with Native American tribes. Despite these obstacles, they established homesteads, farms, and small communities. Towns like Newark, Lisbon, and Plattville began to take shape, serving as centers of commerce and social activity for the burgeoning population.

Role in the Underground Railroad

Kendall County played a significant role in the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans to escape to free states and Canada. Abolitionist sentiments ran strong in the area, and many residents actively participated in assisting runaway slaves. Notable figures like the Lewis and Sackett families in Oswego provided shelter and support to freedom seekers, risking their own safety in the process.

Civil War and Military Contributions

During the American Civil War, Kendall County made substantial contributions to the Union cause. Hundreds of local men enlisted in the Union Army, serving in regiments such as the 36th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and the 104th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Additionally, Kendall County residents organized relief efforts, raised funds, and supported families of soldiers serving on the front lines.

Industrialization and Economic Growth

The late 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed the rapid industrialization of Kendall County. The construction of railroads, particularly the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, spurred economic development by facilitating the transportation of goods and materials. Industrial centers emerged in towns like Yorkville, Plano, and Sandwich, where factories, mills, and foundries produced agricultural implements, machinery, and other goods.

Impact of Agriculture

Agriculture remained the backbone of Kendall County's economy well into the 20th century. The county's rich soil and favorable climate made it ideal for farming, especially for corn, soybeans, and dairy products. Family-owned farms and agricultural cooperatives played a crucial role in sustaining rural communities and providing food and commodities to urban markets.

Suburbanization and Population Growth

Following World War II, Kendall County experienced a population boom as suburbanization swept across the United States. Improved transportation infrastructure, including the construction of Interstate 88 and Interstate 55, facilitated commuting to nearby urban centers like Chicago. Subdivisions and housing developments sprang up throughout the county, catering to the needs of a growing population seeking the tranquility of suburban life.

• 
  Kendall County at the time of its creation in 1841

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 322 square miles (830 km²), of which 320 square miles (830 km²) are land and 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²) (0.6%) are covered by water. ^[5]

Kendall County is a small but rapidly growing county that has the majority of its population in the northeast and along the Fox River (the only river in the county), which runs through the county's northwestern section. Many new subdivisions have been constructed in this county, which has produced considerable population growth. Southern Kendall still remains largely agricultural. Kendall County has two primary ranges of low-lying hills formed by what is known as an end moraine. Ransom, the more predominant of the two moraines, runs through the west and north-central part of the county. This moraine has created elevations over 800 feet (240 m), in contrast to elevations in southern Kendall County that drop to the lower 500-foot (150 m) range. Minooka, the other major end moraine ridge in Kendall County, runs along its entire eastern border with Will County. The two moraines intersect at almost a right angle in the township of Oswego. The county's only designated state park is Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area.

Climate and weather

Yorkville, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.6     29 10     1.5     35 16     2.6     46 26     3.9     59 36     3.9     71 46     4.3     81 56     4.4     84 61     4.4     82 58     3.5     75 50     2.7     63 38     3.2     47 28     2.4     34 16 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel [6]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     41     −2 −12     39     2 −9     65     8 −3     99     15 2     99     22 8     110     27 13     112     29 16     111     28 14     89     24 10     69     17 3     81     8 −2     61     1 −9 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Yorkville have ranged from a low of 10 °F (−12 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 111 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.52 inches (39 mm) in February to 4.39 inches (112 mm) in July. ^[6]

Major highways

• Interstate 80
• U.S. Highway 30
• U.S. Highway 34
• U.S. Highway 52
• Illinois Route 25
• Illinois Route 31
• Illinois Route 47
• Illinois Route 71
• Illinois Route 126

Adjacent counties

• DeKalb County - northwest
• Kane County - north
• DuPage County - northeast
• Will County - east
• Grundy County - south
• LaSalle County - west

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	7,730		—
1860	13,074		69.1%
1870	12,399		−5.2%
1880	13,083		5.5%
1890	12,106		−7.5%
1900	11,467		−5.3%
1910	10,777		−6.0%
1920	10,074		−6.5%
1930	10,555		4.8%
1940	11,105		5.2%
1950	12,115		9.1%
1960	17,540		44.8%
1970	26,374		50.4%
1980	37,202		41.1%
1990	39,413		5.9%
2000	54,544		38.4%
2010	114,736		110.4%
2020	131,869		14.9%
2023 (est.)	139,976	[7]	6.1%
U.S. Decennial Census [8] 1790-1960 [9] 1900-1990 [10] 1990-2000 [11] 2010 [12] 2020 [1]

2000 census age pyramid for Kendall County

As of the 2010 United States census, 114,736 people, 38,022 households, and 30,067 families were residing in the county. ^[13] The population density was 358.2 inhabitants per square mile (138.3/km²). The 40,321 housing units averaged 125.9 per square mile (48.6/km²). ^[5] The racial makeup of the county was 83.6% White, 5.7% African American, 3.0% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 5.0% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 15.6% of the population. ^[13] In terms of ancestry, 28.0% were German, 16.0% were Irish, 9.5% were Polish, 9.4% were Italian, 7.5% were English, and 3.2% were American. ^[14]

Of the 38,022 households, 47.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.8% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 20.9% were not families, and 16.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.01, and the average family size was 3.41. The median age was 32.9 years. ^[13]

The county's median household income was $79,897, and its median family income was $87,309. Males had a median income of $64,048 versus $42,679 for females. The county's per capita income was $30,565. About 2.9% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over. ^[15]

Kendall County was listed as the fastest-growing county in the US from 2000 to 2009, experiencing a population growth rate of 110.4% in this period. ^[16] The reason for this growth is heavy suburbanization from the metropolitan Chicago area.

Communities

Cities

• Aurora (part)
• Joliet (part)
• Plano
• Sandwich (part)
• Yorkville (mostly)

Villages

• Lisbon
• Millbrook
• Millington (mostly)
• Minooka (mostly)
• Montgomery (part)
• Newark
• Oswego (mostly)
• Plainfield (part)
• Plattville

Census-designated place

• Boulder Hill

Other unincorporated communities

• Ament Corners
• Bristol
• Fox
• Helmar
• Little Rock

Townships

The county is an 18-mile (29 km) square, which is divided up into 9 townships. Each township is divided into 36 one-mile-square sections, except that the Fox River is used as a township border, resulting in Bristol being the smallest township with the extra area being assigned to Oswego and Kendall Townships. Two exceptions to the section grid reflect Indian land grants under the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1829: the Mo-Ah-Way Reservation in Oswego Township and the Waish-Kee-shaw Reservation in Na-Au-Say Township. These areas were eventually sold to European settlers. ^[17]

• Big Grove Township
• Bristol Township
• Fox Township
• Kendall Township
• Lisbon Township
• Little Rock Township
• Na-au-say Township
• Oswego Township
• Seward Township

Government

County board members run in two districts. All other officers run county-wide:

• County Board Members (District 1): Ruben Rodriguez, Scott Gengler, Brian DeBolt, Seth Wormley, Jason Peterson;
• County Board Members (District 2): Elizabeth Flowers, Brooke Shanley, Zach Bachman, Matt Kellogg, Dan Koukol;
• County Board Chairman – Matt Kellogg
• Forest Preserve President – Brian DeBolt
• Clerk of the Circuit Court – Matthew G. Prochaska
• Coroner – Jacquie Purcell
• County Clerk and Recorder – Debbie Gillette
• Sheriff – Dwight Baird
• State's Attorney – Eric Weis
• Treasurer – Jill Ferko

Politics

For years, Kendall County was one of the most Republican counties in Illinois. Between the 1856 and 2004 elections, the only time Kendall County did not give a plurality to the GOP presidential nominee was in 1912, when the Republican Party was mortally divided and Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt won 57.56% of the county's vote against conservative incumbent president William Howard Taft. Moreover, only one Democratic presidential candidate – Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 – ever cracked 40% of Kendall County's vote during this span of 38 presidential elections.

In 2008, Illinois native Barack Obama became the first Democrat to carry the county since Franklin Pierce in 1852. Obama did not repeat this feat against Mitt Romney in 2012, nor did Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Joe Biden won the county with a majority in 2020. Kamala Harris in 2024 became the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry the county despite losing the presidential election.

Kendall County is one of only thirteen counties to have voted for Obama in 2008, Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2020. ^[a]

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

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	31,970	48.04%	32,977	49.55%	1,602	2.41%
2020	29,492	45.93%	33,168	51.66%	1,545	2.41%
2016	24,961	46.18%	24,884	46.03%	4,210	7.79%
2012	24,047	50.71%	22,471	47.39%	900	1.90%
2008	21,380	45.75%	24,742	52.95%	609	1.30%
2004	19,776	60.80%	12,497	38.42%	254	0.78%
2000	13,688	60.12%	8,444	37.09%	637	2.80%
1996	8,958	50.69%	6,499	36.78%	2,215	12.53%
1992	8,521	46.29%	5,423	29.46%	4,462	24.24%
1988	10,653	70.62%	4,347	28.82%	84	0.56%
1984	10,872	73.81%	3,789	25.72%	69	0.47%
1980	10,028	69.99%	3,143	21.94%	1,156	8.07%
1976	9,011	67.50%	4,202	31.48%	136	1.02%
1972	9,373	78.65%	2,525	21.19%	19	0.16%
1968	7,184	70.45%	2,228	21.85%	786	7.71%
1964	5,710	62.47%	3,430	37.53%	0	0.00%
1960	5,975	72.62%	2,242	27.25%	11	0.13%
1956	5,057	78.15%	1,407	21.74%	7	0.11%
1952	4,982	77.11%	1,476	22.84%	3	0.05%
1948	3,925	71.77%	1,517	27.74%	27	0.49%
1944	4,022	70.55%	1,673	29.35%	6	0.11%
1940	4,200	67.79%	1,978	31.92%	18	0.29%
1936	3,138	54.86%	2,374	41.50%	208	3.64%
1932	2,749	52.77%	2,398	46.04%	62	1.19%
1928	3,589	75.53%	1,154	24.28%	9	0.19%
1924	3,513	79.68%	432	9.80%	464	10.52%
1920	3,459	87.99%	439	11.17%	33	0.84%
1916	3,316	75.38%	1,008	22.91%	75	1.70%
1912	534	20.14%	531	20.03%	1,586	59.83%
1908	1,948	73.87%	556	21.08%	133	5.04%
1904	2,120	78.84%	423	15.73%	146	5.43%
1900	2,121	72.04%	713	24.22%	110	3.74%
1896	2,128	71.51%	774	26.01%	74	2.49%
1892	1,691	59.46%	848	29.82%	305	10.72%

Property values

Kendall County was the fastest growing county in the US, more than doubling in population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses. ^[19]

All five Kendall County communities analyzed saw their real home prices fall dramatically from 2007 to 2015, from a low of 17 percent in Montgomery to a high of 44 percent in Plano. Minooka and Oswego both saw their home values fall 34 percent. In Yorkville, they fell 36 percent. ^[19]

Education

• Lisbon Community Consolidated School District 90
• Newark Community Consolidated School District 66
• Newark Community High School District 18
• Oswego Community Unit School District 308
• Plano Community Unit School District 88
• Yorkville Community Unit School District 115
• School District #101
• School District #201
• School District #202
• School District #429
• School District #430 (Sandwich Community School District #430)

The northern half of the county is in Community College District 516 and is served by Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Aurora, and Plano. The southern half is in Community College District 525 and is served by Joliet Junior College in Joliet. ^[20]

In popular culture

Locations within and around the City of Plano were stand-ins for Clark Kent's hometown of Smallville, Kansas, in the 2013 film Man of Steel as well as the 2016 film Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice . Plano has also been used in the film Witless Protection , with both films having been filmed in Plano's historic downtown area. Filming has also taken place south of Plano at the Farnsworth House, a modern architectural landmark for documentaries and commercials.

See also

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

Notes

1. The other twelve are Butte County, California; Teton County, Idaho; Kent County, Maryland; McLean County, Illinois; Tippecanoe County, Indiana; Kent County, Michigan; Leelanau County, Michigan; Carroll County, New Hampshire; Rockingham County, New Hampshire; Marion County, Oregon; Grand County, Utah; and Albany County, Wyoming.

References

Specific

1. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Kendall County, Illinois". www.census.gov. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Population Distribution and Change: 2000 to 2010" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. March 2011. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 28, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  173.
5. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
6. "Monthly Averages for Yorkville, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
7. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
9. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
10. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
11. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
12. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
13. "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
14. "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
15. "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
16. "2010 US Census Brief" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 28, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
17. "Place Names & Geographical Features of Kendall County - Kendall County ILGenWeb". kendallkin.org. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013.
18. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018.
19. "Analysis: Kendall County home prices wilt under growing property tax bills". Will County Gazette. April 9, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
20. retrieved 2007-02-13 Archived December 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

General

• Forstall, Richard L. (editor) (1996). Population of states and counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 : from the twenty-one decennial censuses. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division. ISBN   0-934213-48-8.{{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)

External links

• Official website

41°35′N88°26′W / 41.59°N 88.43°W / 41.59; -88.43