Hancock County is a county in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...

of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,620. Its county seat is

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

, and its largest city is Hamilton. The county is made up of rural towns with many farmers. Hancock County is part of the

Fort Madison Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along th ...

- Keokuk, IA-IL- MO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Hancock County was part of the "Military Tract" set aside by Congress to reward veterans of the War of 1812. Actual settlement of the interior of the county was delayed by concerns about hostile American Indians. After their defeat in the

Blackhawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...

in 1832, settlement proceeded quickly. Hancock County was formed, on January 13, 1825, out of Pike County. It was named in honor of John Hancock, who signed the Declaration of Independence. For a brief period in the 1840s Hancock had one of Illinois' most populous cities: Nauvoo, which was then headquarters for the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

. The movement's founder Joseph Smith was killed in the county seat of Carthage in 1844. Most Mormons left Hancock County in the 1840s. Today, Latter Day Saints come in increasing numbers to important Latter Day Saint sites in Hancock County, partly for vacation and partly for religious pilgrimage. The original courthouse was at Montebello. Montebello no longer exists but was between Nauvoo and Hamilton. In 1833 the state commissioned the formation of the county seat at Carthage, which was centrally located but not well developed. A log cabin was built to serve as the courthouse and served that purpose until 1839 when the second Carthage Courthouse was built. The original log cabin continued to serve as a school and other purposes until 1945 when it was removed. The second courthouse cost $3,700 to build and served from 1839 until 1906. It served as a location for Stephen A. Douglas (October 11, 1858) and

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

(October 22, 1858) to speak to residents as they were running against each other for the US Senate. In 1906 it was removed to make room for the current courthouse. The current courthouse was dedicated October 21, 1908.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.5%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Carthage have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1905 and a record high of was recorded in August 1934. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 136 *

Illinois Route 9 Illinois Route 9 (IL 9) is a cross-state, east–west rural state highway in the central part of the U.S. state of Illinois. It travels from Niota at the Fort Madison Toll Bridge, that crosses the Mississippi River into Iowa, eastward across ce ...

* Illinois Route 61 * Illinois Route 94 *

Illinois Route 96 Illinois Route 96 (IL 96) is a north–south state highway in far western Illinois. It runs from IL 100 in Kampsville, not far from a ferry crossing across the Illinois River, to IL 94 north of Terre Haute. Route description Illinois ...

Illinois Route 336 Illinois Route 336 (IL 336, also known as the Thomas A. Oakley Memorial Highway) is a four-lane freeway/ expressway combination that serves western Illinois. It is also used by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) as a part of Fe ...

Adjacent counties

* Lee County, Iowa - northwest * Henderson County - northeast * McDonough County - east * Schuyler County - southeast * Adams County - south * Lewis County, Missouri - southwest * Clark County, Missouri - west

Demographics

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, there were 19,104 people, 8,040 households, and 5,427 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,274 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.0% white, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.3% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 34.7% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 13.8% were English, 13.2% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, and 12.1% were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

. Of the 8,040 households, 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.5% were non-families, and 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 44.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $42,857 and the median income for a family was $55,162. Males had a median income of $41,609 versus $27,648 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,885. About 8.9% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.8% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Hancock County is in

Illinois's 18th Congressional District The 18th congressional district of Illinois covered central and western Illinois, including all of Jacksonville and Quincy and parts of Bloomington, Peoria, and Springfield. It was last represented by Republican Darin LaHood, who took off ...

and is currently represented by Republican

Darin LaHood Darin McKay LaHood (; born July 5, 1968) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 18th congressional district since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he was the member of the Illinois Senate ...

. For the Illinois House of Representatives, the county is in the 94th district and is represented by Republican Randy Frese. The county is in the 47th district of the Illinois Senate, and is represented by Republican

Jil Tracy Jil Tracy is a Republican member of the Illinois State Senate, representing the 47th District since January 11, 2017. The district covers a large swath of west-central Illinois, including all of Adams, Brown, Cass, Hancock, Henderson, Mason, ...

. In presidential elections, Hancock County usually favors Republican candidates, having voted for Democratic presidential candidates only four times during the period of 1940 to 2020 (in 1964, 1988, 1992, and 1996).

Communities

Cities

(seat) * Dallas City (partly in Henderson County) * Hamilton * La Harpe * Nauvoo * Warsaw

Town

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

Villages

* Augusta * Basco * Bowen * Elvaston * Ferris * Plymouth * Pontoosuc *

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

Unincorporated communities

* Adrian * Breckenridge * Burnside * Chili * Colusa * Denver *

Disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pi ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham * County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

* Elderville * Fountain Green * Joetta *

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census ...

McCall McCall is a Gaelic surname, of Irish and Scottish origin. Notable people with this surname include: * Andy McCall (footballer, born 1911) (1911–1979), Scottish footballer and manager * Andy McCall (footballer, born 1925) (1925–2014), Scottish ...

* Middle Creek * Niota * Old Niota * Powellton * Saint Mary * Stillwell * Sutter * Tioga *

Webster Webster may refer to: People *Webster (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Webster (given name), including a list of people with the given name Places Canada *Webster, Alberta * Webster's Falls, Hamilton, Ontario United Stat ...

Forts

Fort Johnson Fort Johnson was a U.S. Army post built on bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River in modern-day Warsaw, Illinois, during the War of 1812. The fort was established in September 1814 by Major Zachary Taylor, future 12th President of the United Stat ...

Townships

Hancock County is divided into twenty-four townships: *

Appanoose Appanoose was a 19th-century Meskwaki chief who lived in Iowa; he was son of Taimah (Chief Tama) and probably a grandson of Quashquame Quashquame (alt: "Quawsquawma, Quashquami, Quashquammee, Quash-Qua-Mie, Quash-kaume, Quash-quam-ma", meaning ...

* Augusta * Bear Creek *

* Chili * Dallas City *

* Fountain Green *

Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampsh ...

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring Audio frequency, frequencies, pitch (music), pitches (timb ...

* La Harpe * Montebello * Nauvoo * Pilot Grove * Pontoosuc *

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

* Rock Creek * Rocky Run-Wilcox *

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...

* St. Mary's * Sonora *

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) * Walker (surname) * Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States * Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County * Walker, Mono County, Californ ...

* Warsaw * Wythe

Education

The following is a list of all school districts with any territory in Hancock County, no matter how slight, even if the schools and/or administrative headquarters are in other counties.
Text list
/ref> K-12: * Community Unit School District 4 * Hamilton Community Consolidated School District 328 * Nauvoo-Colusa Community Unit School District 325 - A K-12 district, but it has an arrangement with Warsaw district where Nauvoo-Colusa sends its high schoolers to Warsaw while Warsaw sends its junior high school students to Nauvoo-Colusa * Southeastern Community Unit School District 337 * Warsaw Community Unit School District 316 - A K-12 district, but it has an arrangement with Warsaw district where Warsaw sends its junior high school students to Nauvoo-Colusa while Nauvoo-Colusa sends its high schoolers to Warsaw * West Prairie Community Unit School District 103 Secondary: * Illini West High School District 307 Elementary: * Carthage Elementary School District 317 * Dallas Elementary School District 327 * La Harpe Community School District 347

References

External links

Center for Hancock County History

Hancock County, Illinois, USA
{{Coord, 40.40, -91.17, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties 1825 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1825 Significant places in Mormonism Illinois counties on the Mississippi River Fort Madison–Keokuk, IA-IL-MO Micropolitan Statistical Area