Иллинойс штатының Ирокез округі

County in Illinois, United States

Iroquois County is a county located in the northeast part of the U. S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it has a population of 27,077. It is the only county in the United States named Iroquois. The county is located along the border with Indiana.

Iroquois County was created on February 26, 1833, out of a portion of Vermilion County. It was named for the Iroquois River, which was itself named for the Iroquois people. The first county seat was established at the town of Iroquois in 1837, though no official buildings were constructed there and offices were rented. Several other sites for the county seat were examined, and in 1839 it was moved to Middleport; a court house and jail were built there. There was a long battle between Middleport and Watseka (also known as South Middleport) as to which should be the county seat; in 1865, it was finally moved to Watseka. The town of Middleport no longer exists, but there is a township of that name. A courthouse was built in Watseka in 1866 at a cost of $28,000 and included a jail in the basement; this building was expanded in 1881, and a new jail was built in 1893 just east of the courthouse.

According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1119 square miles (2,898 km2), of which 1117 square miles (2,893 km2) is land and 1.6 square miles (4 km2) (0.1%) is water. and the fifth largest by total area. The northern border of the county is about 60 mile (97 km) south of the city of Chicago. The county is bordered on the east by the state of Indiana and its counties of Benton and Newton. To the north lies Kankakee County. Vermilion County, out of which Iroquois County was originally formed, lies to the south. To the west is Ford County. The Iroquois River enters the county from Indiana and flows westward along the south side of the village of Iroquois, then along the north side of the city of Watseka, whereupon it veers to the north and joins the larger Kankakee River near the city of Kankakee in the county of the same name; the Kankakee River then flows into the Illinois River further to the northwest in Will County. Sugar Creek, further to the south, also flows from the east to the west, entering from Indiana east of Stockland; it passes through the south edge of Milford, is joined by Mud Creek coming up from the south, and winds to the north past the village of Woodland and meets the Iroquois River near Watseka. The Iroquois County State Wildlife Area, a state park, is located in the northeast corner of the county. There are also three nature preserves: Bonnie's Prairie, Hooper Branch Savanna, and Loda Cemetery Prairie.

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Watseka 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 August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in June.

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 29,718 people, 11,956 households, and 8,175 families residing in the county. The population density was There were 13,452 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the county was 94.7% white, 0.8% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 2.6% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.3% of the population. Of the 11,956 households, 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.6% were non families, and 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 43.4 years.