McDonough County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 sove ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 32,612. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Macomb. The Macomb, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of McDonough County.

History

McDonough County is named in honor of Thomas Macdonough who defeated a British squadron in the decisive naval

Battle of Lake Champlain The Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain, ended the final British invasion of the northern states of the United States during the War of 1812. An army under Lieutenant General Sir George Prévost and a naval squadr ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. McDonough County was part of the "Military Tract" set aside by Congress for veterans of the War of 1812. File:McDonough County Illinois 1826.png, McDonough County at the time of its creation in 1826

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 (0.1%) is water. The county has the unusual distinction of forming a perfect square by Mercator map projection. The county seat, Macomb, is in the center of the county, and the courthouse is almost precisely in the center of the county.

Public transit

* Go West Transit * Macomb station

Major highways

* U.S. Route 67 *

U.S. Route 136 U.S. Route 136 is an east-west U.S. highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 36. It runs from Edison, Nebraska, at U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 34 to the Interstate 74/Interstate 465 interchange in Speedway, Indiana. This is a distance of . U ...

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 41 * Illinois Route 61 *

Illinois Route 95 Illinois Route 95 is a minor east–west state route in west central Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 41 just west of New Philadelphia east to Illinois Route 97 just south of Cuba. This is a distance of . Route description Illinoi ...

Illinois Route 110 110 may refer to: *110 (number), natural number *AD 110, a year *110 BC, a year *110 film, a cartridge-based film format used in still photography *110 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *110 (song), 2019 song by Capi ...

Adjacent counties

* Henderson County - northwest * Warren County - north * Fulton County - east * Schuyler County - south * Hancock County - 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 serving ...

, there were 32,612 people, 13,057 households, and 6,724 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 14,419 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.4% white, 5.0% black or African American, 1.8% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.0% 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 ...

, 14.7% 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 ...

, 13.7% were Irish, 12.7% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, and 5.1% were

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. Of the 13,057 households, 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 48.5% were non-families, and 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age was 28.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $33,702 and the median income for a family was $52,390. Males had a median income of $42,297 versus $28,530 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,344. About 12.8% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

McDonough County is located in Illinois’ 18th Congressional District 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 Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

, the county is located in the 93rd district and is currently represented by Republican

Norine Hammond Norine K. Hammond is a member of the Illinois House of Representatives who has served in the Illinois House of Representatives since her appointment in December 2010 to replace the late Richard P. Myers. She represents the 93rd district, which in ...

. The county is located in the 47th district of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

, and is currently represented by Republican Jil Tracy. In presidential elections, McDonough County was once reliably Republican, voting for the Republican candidate in all but two elections (1912 & 1932) from 1892 to 1988. Since 1988, the county has become more competitive, with Democrats carrying the county three out of seven times and holding the Republican candidate's margin of victory to under four points three times. In 2020, however, McDonough County went for Trump by a margin of 16.5%.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Macomb 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.

Communities

Cities

* Bushnell *

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

* Macomb (seat)

Villages

* Bardolph * Blandinsville * Good Hope * Industry * Prairie City * Sciota *

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

Census-designated places

* Adair * Georgetown

Other unincorporated place

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it i ...

* Doddsville * Fandon * Scottsburg * Walnut Grove

Townships

* Bethel Township * Blandinsville Township * Bushnell Township * Chalmers Township * Colchester Township * Eldorado Township * Emmet Township * Hire Township * Industry Township * Lamoine Township * Macomb Township * Macomb City Township * Mound Township * New Salem Township * Prairie City Township * Sciota Township * Scotland Township * Tennessee Township * Walnut Grove Township

References

External links

* * http://www.outfitters.com/illinois/mcdonough/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20071012114524/http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/irad/mcdonough.html
McDonough County website
{{Coord, 40.46, -90.68, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 1826 establishments in Illinois Illinois counties Populated places established in 1826