Boone County, Illinois Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Boone County
U.S. county
Floyd Hopkins Block in the Belvidere North State Street Historic District
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1837
Named for	Daniel Boone
Seat	Belvidere
Largest city	Belvidere
Area
• Total	288 sq mi (750 km²)
• Land	286 sq mi (740 km²)
• Water	2.3 sq mi (6 km²) 0.5%
Population (2010)
• Total	54,165
• Estimate (2019)	53,544
• Density	188.1/sq mi (72.62/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	16th

Boone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,165. Its county seat is Belvidere.

Boone County is included in the Rockford, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Geography
Demographics
Communities
Education
See also

History

Boone County was formed in 1837 out of Winnebago County. It was named for Kentucky frontiersman Daniel Boone. The first non-Native American settlers arrived in what is now Boone County in 1835. They arrived as a result of the end of the Black Hawk War as well as the completion of the Erie Canal. They consisted entirely of settlers from New England. These were "Yankee" settlers, that is to say they were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the colonial era. They were primarily members of the Congregational Church though due to the Second Great Awakening many of them had converted to Methodism and some had become Baptists before coming to what is now Boone County. When the New England settlers arrived in what is now Boone County there was nothing but a dense virgin forest and wild prairie. In the late 1870s immigrants began arriving from Germany and Ireland.

Boone County at the time of its creation in 1837

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 282 square miles (730 km²), of which 281 square miles (730 km²) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²) (0.5%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Rock County, Wisconsin - north
Walworth County, Wisconsin - northeast
McHenry County - east
DeKalb County - south
Ogle County - southwest
Winnebago County - west

Major highways

Interstate 90
US Route 20
Illinois Route 76
Illinois Route 173

Logan Avenue county route 40 Genoa Road (T-40) Garden Prairie Road county route 41 Poplar Grove Road county route 32 Capron Road (T-41)

Climate and weather

Weather chart for Belvidere, Illinois

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temperatures in °F
precipitation totals in inches
source: The Weather Channel

Metric conversion

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
38 -2 -12	33 1 -9	61 7 -3	94 15 3	104 22 8	116 27 14	98 29 17	114 28 16	84 24 11	66 17 4	68 8 -2	50 1 -8
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Belvidere have ranged from a low of 11 °F (−12 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −29 °F (−34 °C) was recorded in January 1979 and a record high of 109 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.29 inches (33 mm) in February to 4.56 inches (116 mm) in June.

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Boone County.

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1840	1,705	—
1850	7,624	347.2%
1860	11,678	53.2%
1870	12,942	10.8%
1880	11,508	−11.1%
1890	12,203	6.0%
1900	15,791	29.4%
1910	15,481	−2.0%
1920	15,322	−1.0%
1930	15,078	−1.6%
1940	15,202	0.8%
1950	17,070	12.3%
1960	20,326	19.1%
1970	25,440	25.2%
1980	28,630	12.5%
1990	30,806	7.6%
2000	41,786	35.6%
2010	54,165	29.6%
2019 (est.)	53,544	−1.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 54,165 people, 18,505 households, and 14,273 families residing in the county. The population density was 193.0 inhabitants per square mile (74.5/km²). There were 19,970 housing units at an average density of 71.1 per square mile (27.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.4% white, 2.0% black or African American, 1.3% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 9.3% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 20.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.6% were German, 13.7% were Irish, 9.2% were English, 8.6% were American, 7.7% were Italian, 7.1% were Swedish, and 5.0% were Polish.

Of the 18,505 households, 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 22.9% were non-families, and 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.32. The median age was 36.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $61,210 and the median income for a family was $69,380. Males had a median income of $53,581 versus $34,651 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,105. About 7.9% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Belvidere

Villages

Census-designated places

Candlewick Lake
Garden Prairie

Townships

Boone County is divided into these nine townships:

Belvidere
Bonus
Boone
Caledonia
Flora
Leroy
Manchester
Poplar Grove
Spring

Education

Belvidere Community Unit School District 100
Harvard Community Unit School District 50
Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426
North Boone Community Unit School District 200
Rockford School District 205

Boone County, Illinois facts for kids

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