History
Ogle County was formed in 1836 out of
Jo Daviess and LaSalle Counties, and named in honor of
Captain Joseph Ogle, a veteran of the Revolutionary War
who came to Illinois in 1785. The county was divided
three years later in 1839, when Lee County was formed.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau,
the county has a total area of 763 square miles, of
which, 759 square miles (1,965 km˛) of it is land and
4 square miles (11 km˛) of it (0.58%) is water. Ogle
County is bordered, on all sides, by other Illinois
counties. To the north is Winnebago County, to the
northeast Boone, and to the northwest Stephenson. DeKalb
County lies east of Ogle County, and Carroll to the
west. South of Ogle County is Lee, and Whiteside County,
which is to the southwest.
Economy
By 2000, 65% of the county
labor force was employed as white collars with an
increase of 20 points in comparison with 1990
statistics. Manufacturing remains the leading employment
sector absorbing more than 21.7% of the labor force
though there was a decrease from 30,4% in 1995. However
it is expected that services would replace manufacturing
starting 2015 as the leading activity.
Agriculture remains an
important sector of the county. The main products are
corn and soybeans. In 2003, according to the Illinois
Department of Agriculture, Ogle County was ranked 17th
in the State for crop cash receipts, and 14th in the
state for livestock cash receipts. As for livestock
production, hogs and pigs are still leading even though
productions decreased from 57,000 units in 1998 to
48,900 in 2002
The county also got some
investment packages such as the building a $180 million
truck-to-train cargo hub.
In August 2006, it was announced that a new ethanol
production facility would receive a package of $5.5
million Opportunity Returns grant from the State.
Demographics
The Ogle County
Judicial Center, across the street from the
Old Ogle County Courthouse in Oregon,
Illinois.
|
Historical populations |
|
Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
|
1900 |
29,129 |
|
|
|
1910 |
27,864 |
|
−4.3% |
|
1920 |
26,830 |
|
−3.7% |
|
1930 |
28,118 |
|
4.8% |
|
1940 |
29,869 |
|
6.2% |
|
1950 |
33,429 |
|
11.9% |
|
1960 |
38,106 |
|
14% |
|
1970 |
42,867 |
|
12.5% |
|
1980 |
46,338 |
|
8.1% |
|
1990 |
45,957 |
|
−0.8% |
|
2000 |
51,032 |
|
11% |
|
IL Counties 1900-1990 |
As of the census
of 2000, there were 51,032 people, 19,278 households,
and 14,169 families residing in the county. The
population density was 67 people per square mile. There
were 20,420 housing units at an average density of 27
per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was
95.35% White, 0.44% Black or African American, 0.24%
Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander,
2.45% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more
races. 6.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino
of any race. 34.1% were of German, 10.3% Irish, 9.7%
American, 7.9% English and 5.1% Swedish ancestry
according to Census 2000.
There were 19,278 households out of
which 35.50% had children under the age of 18 living
with them, 61.30% were married couples living together,
8.30% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 26.50% were non-families. 22.50% of all households
were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living
alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.62 and the average family size was
3.07.
In the county the population was
spread out with 27.50% under the age of 18, 7.20% from
18 to 24, 28.80% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64,
and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40
males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were
96.00 males.
The median income for a household in
the county was $45,448, and the median income for a
family was $53,028. Males had a median income of $39,862
versus $23,854 for females. The per capita income for
the county was $20,515. About 5.30% of families and
7.10% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 5.30% of those
age 65 or over.
Recreation
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