Rockton, Illinois

History

Native American tribes originally inhabited the region. Stephen Mack, Jr. was the first white settler in the Rockton 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 Rockton. Citizens who lived in Macktown would frequently travel across the river to Rockton but in 1851, the bridge from Macktown to Rockton 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 Rockton. In northern Illinois, Macktown is the only community from the 1830s that is still standing without subsequent development.

On June 14, 2021, a large explosion and subsequent fire affected the Chemtool Lubrication production plant in Rockton. There were no serious injuries, but an area within a one-mile radius from the fire was evacuated. The massive smoke plume from the fire was reported to be visible up to 75 miles away from Rockton.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Rockton has a total area of 5.708 sqmi, of which 5.5 sqmi (or 96.36%) is land and 0.208 sqmi (or 3.64%) is water.{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US1765156 |access-date=December 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213082027/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US1765156 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,685 people, 1,930 households, and 1,464 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,505.5 PD/sqmi. There were 2,008 housing units at an average density of 570.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 91.80% White, 1.40% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.60% of the population.{{US Census population

In the village, the population was spread out, with 31.1% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $57,292, and the median income for a family was $62,863. Males had a median income of $47,321 versus $32,771 for females. The per capita income for the village was $24,078. About 1.4% of families and 1.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most of Rockton is in the Rockton School District 140 while portions extend into the Kinnikinnick Community Consolidated School District 131. All of Rockton is in the Hononegah Community High School District 207.

Notable people

• Jeremy Byrd, Executive
• Scott Hall, jazz trumpeter and composer
• Julie Harshbarger, professional football kicker

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. {{GNIS. 2399106
3. "Rockton village, Illinois".
4. Carr, Edson. (1898). "The history of Rockton, Winnebago County, Illinois, 1820 to 1898". Herald Office Print..
5. Carlson, Anna. (1999). "Macktown: When the West Was Illinois". Illinois History.
6. (June 14, 2021). "Fire at Illinois chemical plant is contained but mandatory evacuation order remains in effect".
7. (June 14, 2021). "Firefighter injured, mandatory evacuation in Rockton from fire at Chemtool facility".
8. "Illinois fire crews say massive chemical fire is now under control; cause being investigated".
9. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
10. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
11. Geography Division. (December 22, 2020). "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Winnebago County, IL". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].