Roscoe is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois, along the Rock River. It is in a suburban area of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 10,983. Native American tribes originally inhabited the region. Stephen Mack, Jr. was the first white settler in the Roscoe area. He was married to Hononegah, a respected Native American woman from one of the surrounding tribes. His original outpost (c. 1830s) eventually became Macktown. William Talcott arrived to the area later and, after a disagreement with Mack, settled on the other side of the nearby river within the present village of Roscoe. Citizens who lived in Macktown would frequently travel across the river to Roscoe but in 1851, the bridge from Macktown to Roscoe washed away. The bridge had been built with funding from Stephen Mack and its destruction, along with Mack's death in 1850, led citizens to permanently move to Roscoe . In northern Illinois, Macktown is the only community from the 1830s that is still standing without subsequent development.

History

Though settled in the 1830s, Roscoe was incorporated as a village in 1965. The village was named after Roscoe Township. Harlem-Roscoe Fire Department Station Three, located at 13974 Willowbrook Rd, was hit by an EF-1 tornado on May 22, 2011. Path length was 1 mile long and 50 yards wide, no injuries were reported. In 1837, the village of Highlander was renamed Roscoe, highlighting a rocky river ford across the Rock River in the village. In the same year, Roscoe established its first post office, with Daniel Shaw Haight as the first postmaster. In 1840, the first weekly newspaper began circulation. In 1847, Roscoe Female Seminary – today Rockford University – was founded. On January 3, 1852, Roscoe was officially chartered as a city; a year later the long-running "Forest City" nickname first appeared, used by the New York Tribune. Also in 1852, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad connected Roscoe to Chicago by railroad.

Geography

Roscoe has a total area of , of which (or 99.28%) is land and (or 0.72%) is water.

Demographics

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thumb|Businesses in Roscoe

thumb|upright|Welcome sign on [[Illinois Route 251]]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Roscoe had a population of 10,983. The median age was 38.2 years. 25.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.2 males age 18 and over.

There were 4,131 households in Roscoe, of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 56.9% were married-couple households, 13.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 9,202 || 83.8%

|-

| Black or African American || 340 || 3.1%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 27 || 0.2%

|-

| Asian || 290 || 2.6%

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| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 7 || 0.1%

|-

| Some other race || 216 || 2.0%

|-

| Two or more races || 901 || 8.2%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 737 || 6.7%

|}

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,244 people including 2,211 households and 1,740 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 2,277 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.26% White, 1.91% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.74% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.50% of the population.

Of the 2,211 households, 44.5% had children under the age of 18, 67.4% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.3% were non-families. 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 members and the average family size was 3.19 members.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 31.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 35.6% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $59,267, and the median income for a family was $61,515. Males had a median income of $48,356 versus $30,060 for females. The per capita income for the village was $25,324. About 1.7% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most of Roscoe is in the Kinnikinnick Community Consolidated School District 131<!--ELM 21180-->, while portions extend into Prairie Hill Community Consolidated School District 133 (a northeast portion)<!--ELM 32550, see --> and Rockton School District 140<!--ELM 34540-->. Areas in those three districts are all within the Hononegah Community High School District 207<!--SEC 19620-->. Parts of the southern areas are served by Harlem School District 122 (a PK-12 school district). Rockford School District 205 (another PK-12 school district) serves the southeast section of the village.

The four public schools in the Roscoe village limits are part of the Kinnikinnick School District. These are Ledgewood School (grades PreK-1), Stone Creek School (grades 2–3), Kinnikinnick School (grades 4–5), and Roscoe Middle School (grades 6–8). There is no public high school in the village limits, so people in the Honegah high school district attend Hononegah High School in neighboring Rockton, Illinois, or Harlem High School, in Machesney Park. The high school district is involved in a court action to use eminent domain to acquire land in Roscoe for a high school. Roscoe Middle School is the largest feeder school for Hononegah High School.

Notable people

  • John Q. Briggs, Minnesota state senator, born in Roscoe
  • Nicole Manske, sports reporter and Miss Illinois Teen USA (1998), native of Roscoe
  • Danica Patrick, driver, only woman to win in the IndyCar Series; grew up in Roscoe

References

  • Village of Roscoe
  • Roscoe News
  • StatelineInfo.com - Roscoe Business & Government Listings