Winnebago County, Illinois

Winnebago County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Rockford
Year Organized: 1836
Square Miles: 514

Court House:

404 Elm Street
Rockford, IL 61101-1239

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Native American name.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Winnebago County was created on January 16, 1836 (Laws, 1836, p. 273) and was formed from unorganized land (La Salle) and JoDaviess County. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Eastern Part: LaSalle County (1831–1836), Putnam County (1825–1831), Fulton County (1823–1825), Pike County (1821–1823), Clark County (1819–1821), Crawford County (1816–1819), Edwards County (1815–1816), Madison County (1812–1815) and St. Clair County (1801–1812); Western Part: JoDaviess County (1827–1836), Putnam County (1825–1827), Fulton County (1823–1825), Pike County (1821–1823), Bond County (1817–1821), Madison County (1812–1817) and St. Clair County (1801–1812).

The County was named for the Winnebago indian tribe who once occupied that part of northern Illinois. The indian word Winnebago translates to "fish eater.". The County Seat is Rockford . Prior County Seats was Winnebago—Temporary designation (1836–1839) and Rockford (1839-Present).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 519 square miles (1,345 km²), of which, 514 square miles (1,331 km²) of it is land and 6 square miles (14 km²) of it (1.07%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Rock County, Wis.
East: Boone County
Southeast: DeKalb County
Southwest: Ogle County
West: Stephenson County
Northwest: Green County, Wis.

Cities and Towns:

- Burritt	township
- Cherry Valley	village	Incorporated Area
- Durand	village	Incorporated Area
- Harlem	township
- Harrison	township
- Laona	township
- Loves Park	city	Incorporated Area
- Machesney Park	village	Incorporated Area
- New Milford	village	Incorporated Area
- Owen	township
- Pecatonica	village	Incorporated Area
- Rockford (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Rockton	village	Incorporated Area
- Roscoe	village	Incorporated Area
- Seward	township
- Shirland	township
- South Beloit	city	Incorporated Area
- Winnebago	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."