Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States census listed its population at 49,284. Its county seat is Cambridge. Henry County is included in the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Henry County was formed on January 13, 1825, out of Fulton County, Illinois. It is named for Revolutionary War figure Patrick Henry. The county was settled by people from New England and western New York, descendants of English Puritans who settled New England in the colonial era. The New England settlers founded the five towns of Andover, Wethersfield, Geneseo, Morristown and La Grange.
The settlement of Cambridge came about in 1843, when the owner of the land in that area (Rev. Ithamar Pillsbury) dedicated a section of his properties to a town council; lots were sold to incoming settlers, and construction of the town proper began on June 9, 1843. The incoming "Yankee" settlers made Henry County culturally similar to early New England culture.
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File:Henry County Illinois 1825.png|Henry County from the time of its creation to 1827
File:Henry County Illinois 1827.png|The county between 1827 and 1831
File:Henry County Illinois 1831.png|Henry between 1831 and 1836
File:Henry County Illinois 1836.png|Henry in 1836, after Whiteside County was created
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Geography
According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water.
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Cambridge have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1996 and a record high of was recorded in July 1983. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in August.
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|footnote=US Decennial Census<br/>1790-1960 1900-1990<br/>1990-2000 2010
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2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 49,284. The median age was 43.2 years. 22.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.1 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 89.1% White, 2.2% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.6% from some other race, and 5.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.4% of the population.
There were 20,320 households in the county, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.9% were married-couple households, 17.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|56,352
|49,527
|48,425
|46,493
|style='background: #ffffe6; |43,094
|97.21%
|96.81%
|94.91%
|92.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |87.44%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|647
|645
|569
|762
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,029
|1.12%
|1.26%
|1.12%
|1.51%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.09%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|59
|54
|42
|60
|style='background: #ffffe6; |63
|0.10%
|0.11%
|0.08%
|0.12%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.13%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|88
|116
|127
|183
|style='background: #ffffe6; |192
|0.15%
|0.23%
|0.25%
|0.36%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.39%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|4
|13
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12
|x
|x
|0.01%
|0.03%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|30
|20
|21
|12
|style='background: #ffffe6; |94
|0.05%
|0.04%
|0.04%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.19%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|365
|561
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,630
|x
|x
|0.72%
|1.11%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.31%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|792
|797
|1,467
|2,402
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,170
|1.37%
|1.56%
|2.88%
|4.76%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.43%
|-
|Total
|57,968
|51,159
|51,020
|50,486
|style='background: #ffffe6; |49,284
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 50,486 people, 20,373 households, and 14,149 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 22,161 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.8% white, 1.6% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.6% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.8% of the population.
Of the 20,373 households, 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.6% were non-families, and 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 41.8 years.
Communities
Cities
- Colona
- Galva
- Geneseo
- Kewanee
Towns
- Annawan
- Atkinson
Villages
- Alpha
- Andover
- Bishop Hill
- Cambridge
- Cleveland
- Coal Valley (partial)
- Hooppole
- Orion
- Woodhull
Census-designated places
- Lynn Center
- Nekoma
- Ophiem
- Osco
Unincorporated communities
- Aliceville
- Briar Bluff
- Brook Lawn
- Dayton
- German Corner
- Green River
- Green Rock
- Hickory Hills
- Level Acres
- Morristown
- Shady Beach
- Sunny Hill
- Sunny Hill Estates
- Timber Ridge
- Ulah
- Warner
- Woodcrest
Former communities
- Kedron
- Oxford
- Saxon
Townships
- Alba
- Andover
- Annawan
- Atkinson
- Burns
- Cambridge
- Clover
- Colona
- Cornwall
- Edford
- Galva
- Geneseo
- Hanna
- Kewanee
- Loraine
- Lynn
- Munson
- Osco
- Oxford
- Phenix
- Weller
- Western
- Wethersfield
- Yorktown
Politics
Henry County's political history is fairly typical of many Yankee-settled rural counties in Illinois. After being largely Democratic in its first few elections, the county turned powerfully Republican for the 110 years following the formation of that party. The only time it did not vote Republican between 1856 and 1960 was in 1912 when the GOP was mortally divided and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt won a majority of the county's ballots. In 1964, when the Republican Party nominated the Southern-oriented Barry Goldwater, Henry County voted Democratic for the first time since 1852, but as was typical for Yankee counties it returned to the Republicans with the selection of the more moderate Richard Nixon.
In the 1980s, the transition of the Republican Party into a party largely based around Southern Evangelicals severely alienated its historic Yankee base: Henry County turned to Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988, and voted Democratic in every election between 1988 and 2012 except that of 2004 when George W. Bush carried the county by 5.1 percent. However, concern with unemployment and trade deals in the “Rust Belt” resulted in a powerful swing to Republican Donald Trump in 2016 – the worst Democratic result in the county since Jimmy Carter in 1980. In 2020, Trump built on his win in 2016, capturing 60% of the vote - the highest Republican percentage in 40 years.
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Education
K-12 school districts include:
- Alwood Community Unit School District 225
- Annawan Community Unit School District 226
- Cambridge Community Unit School District 227
- Erie Community Unit School District 1
- Galva Community Unit School District 224
- Geneseo Community Unit School District 228
- Kewanee Community Unit School District 229
- ROWVA Community Unit School District 208
- Orion Community Unit School District 223
- Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico Community Unit School District 3
- Stark County Community Unit School District 100
- Wethersfield Community Unit School District 230
There is also an elementary school district, Colona School District 190, and a secondary school district, United Township High School District 30, that have portions of the county.