Ogle County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 51,788. Its county seat is Oregon, and its largest city is Rochelle. Ogle County comprises Rochelle, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Rockford-Freeport-Rochelle, IL Combined Statistical Area.
History 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.White, Jesse. Origin and Evolution of Illinois Counties. State of Illinois, March 2010, 9. 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 English Puritans 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.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. 326The Early History of Northern Illinois by Charles Knapp Carpenter, Ogle County Federation of Women's Clubs, 1948
Geography According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water.
Adjacent counties Winnebago County - north Boone County - northeast Stephenson County - northwest DeKalb County - east Carroll County - west Lee County - south Whiteside County - southwest
Climate
In recent years, average temperatures in Oregon have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 51,788. The median age was 41.9 years; 22.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.8 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 86.0% White, 1.1% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.6% from some other race, and 7.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 11.2% of the population.
32.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 67.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 20,870 households in the county, of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.7% were married-couple households, 17.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 22,632 housing units, of which 7.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.4% were owner-occupied and 25.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%.
Racial and ethnic composition +Ogle County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)44,96844,2757,0907,1636,15797.04%96.34%98.62%94.95%89.21%Black or African American alone (NH)5966162402830.13%0.14%0.22%3.18%4.10%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)69861112280.15%0.19%0.15%0.16%0.41%Asian alone (NH)10112459250.22%0.27%0.07%0.12%0.36%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census102xx0.01%0.00%0.03%Other race alone (NH)882712170.19%0.06%0.01%0.03%0.25%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census2628238xx0.36%0.37%3.45%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,0531,37939901522.27%3.00%0.54%1.19%2.20%Total46,33845,9577,1897,5446,902 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2010 census As of the 2010 United States census, there were 53,497 people, 20,856 households, and 14,711 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 22,561 housing units at an average density of . 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. 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.
Of the 20,856 households, 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.
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. 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.
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.
The county also got some investment packages such as a $180 million truck-to-train cargo hub in 2006. 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.
Politics
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.
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. Barry Goldwater had his second-strongest showing in the state here in 1964, with over 60 percent-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 county is part of Illinois's 16th congressional district. represented by Republican Darin LaHood.
Transportation
Transit List of intercity bus stops in Illinois
Major highways
Interstate 39 Interstate 88 U.S. Highway 51 U.S. Highway 52 Illinois Route 2 Illinois Route 26 Illinois Route 38 Illinois Route 64 Illinois Route 72 Illinois Route 110 Illinois Route 251
Airports The following public-use airports are located in the county: Ogle County Airport (C55) - Mount Morris, Illinois Rochelle Municipal Airport (RPJ) - Rochelle, Illinois
Railroads 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.
Recreation Parks
Castle Rock State Park Lowden State Park Lowden-Miller State Forest Sinnissippi Farms Weld Park White Pines State Park
Illinois Nature Preserves Beach Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve Douglas E. Wade Prairie Nature Preserve Jarrett Prairie Nature Preserve Nachusa Grasslands
Communities Cities Byron 3784 Oregon 3604 Polo 2291 Rochelle 9446
Villages
Adeline Creston Davis Junction Forreston Hillcrest Leaf River Monroe Center Mount Morris Stillman Valley
Unincorporated communities
Baileyville Brookville Buffalo Grove Chana Daysville Egan Flagg Flagg Center Hazelhurst (partial) Holcomb Kings Lindenwood Paynes Point Stratford Woosung
Census-designated places
Baileyville Grand Detour Holcomb Kings Lost Nation
Townships
Brookville Township Buffalo Township Byron Township Dement Township Eagle Point Township Flagg Township Forreston Township Grand Detour Township Lafayette Township Leaf River Township Lincoln Township Lynnville Township Marion Township Maryland Township Monroe Township Mount Morris Township Oregon-Nashua Township Pine Creek Township Pine Rock Township Rockvale Township Scott Township Taylor Township White Rock Township Woosung Township
Education K-12 school districts include: - Text list
Ashton Community Unit School District 275 Byron Community Unit School District 226 Dixon Unit School District 170 Eastland Community Unit School District 308 Forrestville Valley Community Unit School District 221 Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426 Meridian Community Unit School District 223 Oregon Community Unit School District 220 Polo Community Unit School District 222
There is one secondary school district with territory in the county: Rochelle Township High School District 212.
Elementary school districts include:
Creston Community Consolidated School District 161 Eswood Community Consolidated District 269 Kings Consolidated School District 144 Rochelle Community Consolidated District 231
See also List of settlements in Ogle County, Illinois List of townships in Ogle County, Illinois List of cemeteries in Ogle County, Illinois National Register of Historic Places listings in Ogle County, Illinois
Bibliography
References
External links Official website Ogle County History Ogle County History