Ogle County was formed in 1836 out of Jo Daviess and LaSalle counties, and named in honor of Captain Joseph Ogle, a veteran of the Revolutionary War who settled in Illinois in 1785. Ogle County government was organized in 1837; before that time it remained assigned to Jo Daviess County for legislative, taxation, and judicial matters.[3] In 1839, part of Ogle County was partitioned off to form Lee County.
Ogle County was a New England settlement. The founders of Oregon and Rochelle arrived from New England; they were "Yankees", descendants of EnglishPuritans who had settled New England in the 1600s. They were part of a wave of farmers who migrated into the Northwest Territory in the early 1800s, their trek eased by completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. They found virgin forest and wild prairie, and quickly laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes. They brought a passion for education and strong abolitionism. They were members of the Congregationalist or Episcopalian Church. Culturally Ogle County, like much of northern Illinois would maintain values similar to those of New England.[4][5]
Ogle County between 1836 and 1839
Ogle County after 1839, when Lee County was formed
Geography
According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 763 square miles (1,980km2), of which 759 square miles (1,970km2) is land and 4.4 square miles (11km2) (0.6%) is water.[6]
In recent years, average temperatures in Oregon have ranged from a low of 10°F (−12°C) in January to a high of 82°F (28°C) in July, although a record low of −27°F (−33°C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 110°F (43°C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.43 inches (36mm) in February to 4.88 inches (124mm) in June.[7]
Ogle County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 53,497people, 20,856households, and 14,711families residing in the county.[17] The population density was 70.5 inhabitants per square mile (27.2/km2). There were 22,561 housing units at an average density of 29.7 per square mile (11.5/km2).[6] The racial makeup of the county was 93.2% white, 0.9% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 3.8% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.9% of the population.[17] In terms of ancestry, 38.0% were German, 15.3% were Irish, 10.2% were English, 6.4% were American, 5.3% were Swedish, and 5.3% were Norwegian.[18]
Of the 20,856households, 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.5% were non-families, and 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.01. The median age was 40.7 years.[17]
The median income for a household in the county was $55,733 and the median income for a family was $64,927. Males had a median income of $49,996 versus $32,082 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,959. About 6.6% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.4% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.[19]
Economy
By 2000, 65% of the county labor force was employed as white-collar workers with an increase of 20 points in comparison with 1990 statistics. Manufacturing remains the leading employment sector absorbing more than 21.7% of the labor force though there was a decrease from 30,4% in 1995. However it is expected that services would replace manufacturing starting 2015 as the leading activity.[20]
Agriculture remains important in Ogle county, mainly corn and soybeans. In 2003, the Illinois Department of Agriculture ranked Ogle County 17th in the State for crop cash receipts, and 14th in the state for livestock cash receipts. As for livestock production, hogs and pigs are still leading even though productions decreased from 57,000 units in 1998 to 48,900 in 2002.[20]
The county also got some investment packages such as a $180 million truck-to-train cargo hub in 2006.[21] In August 2006, it was announced that a new ethanol production facility would receive a package of $5.5 million Opportunity Returns grant from the State.[22]
Politics
United States presidential election results for Ogle County, Illinois[23]
The Ogle County Judicial Center, across the street from the Old Ogle County Courthouse in Oregon, Illinois
Along with its neighbor Lee County, Ogle County is one of the most consistently Republican counties in the nation when it comes to presidential elections. Except for the 1912 election when the GOP was divided between Progressive nominee Theodore Roosevelt and incumbent president William Howard Taft, Ogle County has voted Republican in every Presidential election since the Republican Party first participated in 1856. No Democratic candidate has ever won the county, which favored the Whig Party before the Republican Party was formed.[24]
Historically, Republicans have easily carried the county in statewide and national Democratic landslides. Franklin D. Roosevelt never garnered more than 39 percent of the county's vote in any of his four runs for president, and Barry Goldwater won over 60 percent here in 1964–almost identical to Lyndon Johnson's winning margin statewide. Illinois' own Barack Obama is the only Democrat to ever win at least 40 percent of the county's vote.
The Union Pacific line to Omaha (Chicago & North Western), BNSF line to Minneapolis (Burlington Route, later Burlington Northern), Canadian Pacific Kansas City line to Sabula (Milwaukee Road) all run through Ogle County.
↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
↑ White, Jesse. Origin and Evolution of Illinois Counties. State of Illinois, March 2010, 9.
↑ The History of Ogle County, Illinois: Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics, Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men, History of the Northwest, History of Illinois, p. 326
↑ The Early History of Northern Illinois by Charles Knapp Carpenter, Ogle County Federation of Women's Clubs, 1948
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