Bureau County, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bureau County
U.S. county
Red Covered Bridge (1863)
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
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  (2023)	32,729
• Density	38.037/sq mi (14.686/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	14th, 16th

Bureau County is a county in the state of Illinois, USA. It's like a smaller region within the state. In 2020, about 33,244 people lived here. The main town, or county seat, is Princeton. Bureau County is also part of a larger area called the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. You can find part of the Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park in this county too!

History of Bureau County

Bureau County was created in 1837 from a part of Putnam County. It's named after two French-Canadian brothers, Michel and Pierre Bureau. They ran a trading post here from the late 1700s. They traded goods near where Big Bureau Creek meets the Illinois River. People think their real last name was Belleau, but local Native Americans found it hard to say.

An early settler was a man named Bulbona. He was part French and part Native American. Unlike most Native Americans, he stayed in the area after European settlers arrived. He also ran a trading post, selling things like whiskey.

The first settlers in Princeton, the oldest town in the area, came from New England. They were descendants of the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s. Many of them moved to the Northwest Territory in the early 1800s. This happened after the Erie Canal was finished, making travel easier.

When they arrived, they found wild forests and prairies. These New Englanders set up farms, built roads, and created government buildings. They also started mail routes. They brought their values with them, like a strong belief in education. They built many schools. They were also very strong supporters of ending slavery. Most of them belonged to the Congregationalist Church or the Episcopal Church. So, early Bureau County felt a lot like early New England.

Like many places in the Midwest, Bureau County was part of the "Underground Railroad". This was a secret network that helped enslaved people escape to freedom. There was a "station" at the home of Owen Lovejoy in Princeton. There were also other safe places in the county.

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  Bureau County's borders haven't changed since it was created in 1837.

Geography of Bureau County

The US Census Bureau says Bureau County covers about 874 square miles. Most of this area, about 869 square miles, is land. The rest, about 4.5 square miles, is water. The main waterway in the county is Big Bureau Creek.

Neighboring Counties

Bureau County shares borders with these other counties:

Main Roads

Several important highways pass through Bureau County:

Climate and Weather in Bureau County

In Princeton, the county seat, temperatures usually range from 14°F (about -10°C) in January to 85°F (about 29°C) in July. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -22°F (about -30°C) in February 1996. The hottest was 102°F (about 39°C) in June 1988. The county gets the most rain in August and the least in February.

People of Bureau County

This chart shows the age groups of people in Bureau County in 2000.

In 2010, there were about 34,978 people living in Bureau County. There were over 14,200 households, which are groups of people living together. The population density was about 40 people per square mile. This means for every square mile, there were about 40 people.

Most people in the county (94.2%) were white. Other groups included Asian (0.7%), Black or African American (0.6%), and American Indian (0.3%). About 7.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino background. Many people have ancestors from Germany (32.8%), Ireland (13.8%), England (12.1%), Italy (8.8%), Sweden (7.6%), and Poland (5.8%).

About 29.8% of households had children under 18 living with them. The average household had 2.42 people. The average age of people in the county was 42.5 years old.

The average income for a household was about $45,692 per year. For families, it was about $55,217. About 11.1% of all people in the county lived below the poverty line. This included 15.3% of those under age 18.

Towns and Villages

Here are some of the communities in Bureau County:

Other Small Communities

These are smaller, unincorporated communities in Bureau County:

Townships in Bureau County

Bureau County is also divided into smaller areas called townships:

Famous People from Bureau County

Many notable people have connections to Bureau County:

• Charles W. Brooks – A U.S. Senator.
• Warren Giles – An executive in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Virgil Fox – A famous concert organist.
• Kathryn Hays – An actress.
• Owen Lovejoy – A minister who fought against slavery and was a U.S. congressman.
• Rufus Lumry – A preacher and strong supporter of ending slavery.
• Joseph R. Peterson – An Illinois state lawmaker and lawyer.
• Robert Petkoff – An actor.
• Eliza Suggs – An author and activist who promoted temperance (avoiding alcohol).

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Bureau para niños