Mount Carroll is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,479 at the 2020 census.

History

thumb|[[Carroll County Courthouse (Illinois)|Carroll County Courthouse]]

Mount Carroll began life as a mill town around 1841. In 1843, a referendum moved the county seat from nearby Savanna to Mount Carroll. The town was incorporated in 1855 and became a city in 1867; the first mayor was Nathaniel Halderman, a prominent local businessman and co-founder of the mill.

Shimer College was established in Mt. Carroll in 1853, but mounting debts forced a move to Waukegan in 1979 and subsequently to Chicago in 2006. The campus now is home to several organizations, most notably the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies.

Geography

Mount Carroll is located slightly northwest of the center of Carroll County. U.S. Route 52 passes through the southern part of the city, leading east to Lanark and west to Savanna on the Mississippi River.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Mount Carroll has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Mt. Carroll has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfa), with cold winters, hot summers, and four seasons. Annual precipitation is about 40 inches.

Due to its elevation and northwesterly location, Mount Carroll is subject to unusually cold winter weather. From 1930 to 1999, Mount Carroll held the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded in Illinois, , recorded on January 22, 1930. The record was beaten by Congerville in 1999, by one degree Fahrenheit. 20 years later, on January 31, 2019, during an extreme cold snap, Mount Carroll regained the title of coldest city in Illinois when a new Illinois state record low temperature of was officially recorded.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Mount Carroll had a population of 1,479. The median age was 51.5 years. 16.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 28.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.8 males age 18 and over.

The population density was . There were 812 housing units at an average density of . There were 403 families residing in the city.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

Among households, 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 43.2% were married-couple households, 21.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Transportation

  • 25px25px U.S. Route 52 and Illinois Route 64 (concurrent with US 52), east towards Lanark, west towards Savanna and the Mississippi River
  • 25px Illinois Route 40, south towards Chadwick, Milledgeville and Sterling-Rock Falls
  • 25px Illinois Route 78, north towards Stockton, south towards Morrison

The former Milwaukee Road line from Chicago to Omaha runs through Mount Carroll.

Education

It is in the West Carroll Community Unit School District 314<!--UNI 00310-->

Notable people

  • Neva Burright, Illinois harness racing driver and first woman to win a Grand Circuit race
  • Samuel James Campbell, banker and philanthropist; born in Mount Carroll
  • John L. Griffith, college coach, first commissioner of the Big Ten Conference
  • Dr. Blanche Moore Haines, physician; Michigan State chair of the National Woman Suffrage Association; graduated Mount Carroll High School
  • Felix A. Kremer, Wisconsin State Assemblyman; born in Mount Carroll
  • Howard Kyle (née Vandergrift), noted actor, Union School class of 1879 valedictorian
  • Suzanna W. Miles, archaeologist, anthropologist, ethnohistorian and Mayanist; born in Mount Carroll
  • Ward Miller, outfielder for five Major League Baseball teams; born in Mount Carroll.
  • James Shaw, Illinois state representative, lawyer, judge, and geologist; practiced law in Mount Carroll
  • Neta Snook, pioneer female aviator and aviation instructor
  • Emmert L. Wingert, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice; born in Mount Carroll

Photos

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Downtown Market Street MG 8159.jpg|Downtown Market Street

Dwntown Market Street MG 8191.jpg|Downtown Market Street

Downtown HotelMG 8147.jpg|Downtown hotel

Downtown Main Street MG 8155.jpg|Downtown Main Street

</gallery>

References

  • City of Mount Carroll official website.
  • Mount Carroll visitors guide.
  • Mount Carroll Community Development Corporation.