Grundy County, Illinois

History

Grundy County was established on February 17, 1841. It was formed out of LaSalle County and named after U.S. Attorney General Felix Grundy. The county was well known for its coal mines and attracted miners from Pennsylvania and other regions to work its deposits. The 1883 Diamond Mine Disaster occurred in Grundy County. The disaster took the lives of 69 men and boys who were trapped underground when water broke through into the mine after days of heavy rain and the pumps could not keep up with the rising water. 22 bodies were eventually recovered, the remaining 44 were left in the mine and the mine was sealed. Today a marker stands near where it was believed the majority of victims were entombed.

File:Grundy County Illinois 1841.png|Grundy County at the time of its creation in 1841

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 430 sqmi, of which 418 sqmi is land and 12 sqmi (2.9%) is water.

Climate and weather

|Morris, Illinois |13|30|1.75 |18|35|1.59 |29|47|2.74 |39|61|3.54 |50|73|3.95 |59|83|4.16 |63|85|3.72 |61|83|3.40 |53|76|2.95 |41|64|2.54 |31|48|3.09 |19|35|2.36 |access-date=January 27, 2011 In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Morris have ranged from a low of 13 °F in January to a high of 85 °F in July, although a record low of -24 °F was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 103 °F was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.59 in in February to 4.16 in in June.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

• Kendall (north)
• Will (east)
• Kankakee (southeast)
• Livingston (south)
• LaSalle (west)

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 52,533, a median age of 38.7 years, 25.0% of residents were under the age of 18, 15.2% were 65 years of age or older, there were 99.7 males for every 100 females, and there were 96.9 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 85.9% White, 1.6% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, less than 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.4% from some other race, and 7.8% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.9% of the population.

Seventy-five percent of residents lived in urban areas, while 25.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 20,038 households in the county, of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 53.1% were married-couple households, 17.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, 21.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present, 24.9% were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 21,174 housing units, of which 5.4% were vacant, 73.5% of the occupied housing units were owner-occupied, and 26.5% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 50,063 people, 18,546 households, and 13,431 families residing in the county.{{cite web |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213015229/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US17063 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212201246/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY10/0500000US17063 |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213021154/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US17063 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

Of the 18,546 households, 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.6% were non-families, and 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.16. The median age was 36.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $64,297 and the median income for a family was $75,000. Males had a median income of $58,491 versus $36,592 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,895. About 5.2% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.{{cite web |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213031240/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US17063 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

Communities

City

• Morris

Villages

• Braceville
• Carbon Hill
• Channahon (part)
• Coal City (part)
• Diamond (part)
• Dwight (part)
• East Brooklyn
• Gardner
• Godley (part)
• Kinsman
• Mazon
• Minooka (mostly)
• Seneca (part)
• South Wilmington
• Verona

Former Communities

• Jugtown

Townships

Grundy County is divided into seventeen townships:

• Aux Sable
• Braceville
• Erienna
• Felix
• Garfield
• Goodfarm
• Goose Lake
• Greenfield
• Highland
• Maine
• Mazon
• Morris
• Nettle Creek
• Norman
• Saratoga
• Vienna
• Wauponsee

Unincorporated communities

• Mazonia
• Paytonville
• Nettle Creek
• Wauponsee

Politics

Education

K-12 school districts include:

• Coal City Community Unit School District 1
• Herscher Community Unit School District 2

Secondary school districts include:

• Dwight Township High School District 230
• Gardner-South Wilmington Township High School District
• Minooka Community High School District 111
• Morris Community High School District 101
• Newark Community High School District 18
• Seneca Township High School District 160

Elementary school districts include:

• Braceville School District 75
• Dwight Common School District 232
• Gardner Community Consolidated School District 72C
• Lisbon Community Consolidated School District 90
• Mazon-Verona-Kinsman Elementary School District 2C
• Miller Township Community Consolidated School District
• Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201
• Morris School District 54
• Nettle Creek Community Consolidated School District 24C
• Saratoga Community Consolidated School District 60C
• Seneca Community Consolidated School District 170
• South Wilmington Consolidated School District 74

References

References

1. (March 2025). "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020–2024". U.S. Department of Commerce.
2. "Grundy County, Illinois". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
4. "Centers of Population by State: 2010". United States Census Bureau.
5. (1989). "Illinois Place Names". Illinois State Historical Society.
6. (1882). "History of Grundy County, Illinois: Containing a History from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time..., Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Some of the Early Settlers, Prominent Men, Etc". O.L. Basken & Company, Historical Publishers.
7. (February 5, 2015). "Diamond Mine Disaster Victims – February 16, 1883".
8. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates Tables". United States Census Bureau.
9. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
11. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
12. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
13. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
14. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
15. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
16. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
17. "1980 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Illinois- Table 14 - Persons by Race and Table 16 (p. 18-28) - Total Persons and Spanish Origin Persons by Type of Spanish Origin and Race (p. 29-39)".
18. "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Illinois - Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Origin".
19. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Grundy County, Illinois".
20. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Grundy County, Illinois".
21. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Grundy County, Illinois".
22. included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
23. included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
24. not an option in the 1980 Census
25. not an option in the 1990 Census
26. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
27. Geography Division. (December 22, 2020). "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Grundy County, IL". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].