McHenry, Illinois

McHenry
City
The McHenry Riverwalk
Nickname(s): The Heart Of The Fox
Location of McHenry in McHenry County, Illinois.
McHenry Location of McHenry within Illinois
Coordinates: 42°20′21″N 88°16′54″W / 42.33917°N 88.28167°W / 42.33917; -88.28167Coordinates: 42°20′21″N 88°16′54″W / 42.33917°N 88.28167°W / 42.33917; -88.28167
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	McHenry
Townships	McHenry Township. Nunda Township
Founded	May 10, 1836 [1]
Government
• Mayor	Wayne Jett
Area[2]
• Total	15.04 sq mi (38.96 km2)
• Land	14.61 sq mi (37.83 km2)
• Water	0.43 sq mi (1.13 km2)
Elevation	797 ft (243 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	26,992
• Estimate (2016)[3]	26,611
• Density	1,821.80/sq mi (703.41/km2)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP Code(s)	60050 and 60051
Area code(s)	815
FIPS code	17-45694
Wikimedia Commons	McHenry, Illinois
Website	www.ci.mchenry.il.us

McHenry is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The 2010 U.S. census reported its population at 26,992 and rests at an elevation of 797 feet ^[4]. McHenry was at one time the county seat of McHenry County, which once included adjoining Lake County to the east. McHenry took its name from McHenry County, which was named for Major William McHenry, an Indian fighter.^[5]

McHenry is surrounded by natural lakes and streams, grassy moraine hills, gravel banks and shallow nutrient-rich peat bogs, remnants of receding glaciers from the last ice age. Moraine Hills State Park and Volo Bog State Natural Area preserve some of these natural features.

History

19th Century

In the 1830s various settlers arrived in the area and created the foundation for McHenry. Some of the family names can still be seen today: McCullom, McLean, Boone, and Wheeler.^[6][7][8]

George Gage came to the area in 1835 and purchased a plot of land west of the Fox River. This area eventually came to be known as Gagetown. In 1854, George Gage played an instrumental role in bringing the railroad to the city.^[9] Gagetown was eventually renamed to West McHenry.^[10]

In 1851, a dam was built on Boone Creek which created Mill Pond. Mill Pond encompassed an area between today's rail road tracks and Route 31 and north of Waukegan Road.

In 1860, the historical Count's House was completed.

On August 4, 1875, the first issue of the city newspaper, the McHenry Plaindealer, was published by Jay Van Slyke.^[11][12]

In 1880, the first bridge in McHenry was built at Pearl Street.^[13]

20th Century

On March 30th, 1908 a train bound for Ringwood crashed near the McHenry train depot. One person was killed. ^[14]

In 1929, Mill Pond was drained by removing the dam on Boone Creek.

The original Pearl Street bridge was dismantled in 1976 and rebuilt using concrete. The bridge was split into multiple parts and relocated. One part sits on the grounds of TC Industries in Crystal Lake. Another sits in a county storage unit.^[15]

In 1985, the McHenry Plaindealer became part of the Northwest Herald.

Geography

McHenry is located 60 miles northwest of Chicago in northern Illinois on the Fox River. According to the 2010 census, McHenry has a total area of 15.175 square miles (39.30 km²), of which 14.74 square miles (38.18 km²) (or 97.13%) is land and 0.435 square miles (1.13 km²) (or 2.87%) is water.^[16] McHenry lies within the Fox River Valley, and its downtown area is situated on that river which is how it earned the nickname "The Heart of the Fox".

Government

The city of McHenry lies within two townships: McHenry Township and Nunda Township. The majority of the city falls within the former.

Mayor

See the full article, List of mayors of McHenry, Illinois

Wayne Jett^[17]

City Council

The city council consists of representatives from the 7 city wards:^[17]

• Ward 1 - Victor A. Santi
• Ward 2 - Andrew Glab
• Ward 3 - Jeffrey A. Schaefer
• Ward 4 - Scott Curry
• Ward 5 - Richard Wimmer
• Ward 6 - Patrick Devine
• Ward 7 - Geri A. Condon

City Clerk

Lynzi Nevitt is the City Clerk and is supported by the Deputy City Clerk, Marci Geraghty.^[17]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	874		—
1890	979		12.0%
1900	1,013		3.5%
1910	1,031		1.8%
1920	1,146		11.2%
1930	1,354		18.2%
1940	1,596		17.9%
1950	2,080		30.3%
1960	3,336		60.4%
1970	6,772		103.0%
1980	10,737		58.5%
1990	16,177		50.7%
2000	21,501		32.9%
2010	26,992		25.5%
Est. 2016	26,611	[3]	−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[18]

The population density was 1,850.2 per square mile (714.4/km²). There were 8,127 housing units at an average density of 699.4 per square mile (270.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.18% White, 0.35% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.31% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.10% of the population.

There were 7,872 households of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.25.

Age distribution was 28.5% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median household income was $55,759, and the median family income was $66,040. Males had a median income of $46,552 versus $29,808 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,272. About 3.8% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

McHenry is home to Fiesta Days, a ten-day festival in the middle of the summer that includes music, parades, food, car shows, and more.^[19]

Recreation

McHenry is home to Moraine Hills State Park which has many miles of hiking trails and connects to the Stratton Lock and Dam. Fishing from the dam is allowed only with a valid fishing license.^[20][21]

In addition to several dozen city parks, the Prairie Trail—a sub-section of the larger Grand Illinois Trail—runs through the middle of the city.^[22]

There once was a movie theater downtown but it was closed in 2014.^[23] In 2017 it was announced that it would be reopening and renovated in late 2017.^[24] There is also a drive-in theater east of town that is open during the summer months.^[25]

Economy

Major industrial users including Medela, Follett School Solutions, Fabrik Industries, and Plaspros have located in the city's business parks. Centegra Hospital - McHenry provides emergency and in and out-patient health care services to the city and surrounding areas. Steady residential growth has resulted in significant commercial development. The north Richmond Road corridor has become a destination for shoppers in the northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin areas with numerous "big box" retailers and smaller chains.

Education

Schools and libraries

There are two school districts serving the city of McHenry: McHenry Community High School District 156 and McHenry School District 15. District 156 oversees two high schools while District 15 oversees five elementary schools and three middle schools.

McHenry is served by one public library which is part of Cooperative Computer Services (CCS) consortium.^[26] The library itself houses physical books, DVDs, magazines, and more as well as providing access to online digital content. The library also offers various training classes on various topics and has several meeting rooms available for use by request.^[27]

Colleges

In addition to K-12 schools, McHenry County College holds business seminars and trainings in the Shah Center.^[28]

Transportation

Airports

The closest public international airports to the city of McHenry are Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee.

The closest private airport to the city is Galt Airport in Wonderlake.

Public transportation

The city of McHenry is served by Pace Bus and connects travellers to other cities in the area.^[29]

Bike

The Prairie Trail runs through the middle of McHenry from Crystal Lake and connects to trails near the border of Wisconsin.^[30]

Passenger Rail

McHenry is currently the terminus of a branch line on Metra's Union Pacific/Northwest Line, with daily passenger service to Ogilvie Transportation Center (Northwestern Station) in downtown Chicago.^[31] The line that now terminates at McHenry once continued to Williams Bay, Wisconsin, but that service was discontinued in stages in the 1960s and 1970s.^[32]

Road

Illinois Route 31 and Illinois Route 120 intersect in the city center. While not highways or interstates, they are the main roads into and out of the city.

There have been talks by IDOT to extend US Route 12 from the border of Wisconsin at Genoa City through northern McHenry and eventually connect with the proposed Route 53 extension (FAP 342). The Route 12 extension is also known as the Richmond-Waukegan Expressway (FAP 420), but plans for this have been stalled for decades. ^{[33] [34] [35] [36] [37]}

Notable people

• Gary Adams (d. 2000), founded TaylorMade Golf in McHenry in 1979^[38][39]
• John Brzenk (b. 1964), world champion armwrestler.
• Rob Doran (b. 1976), original bassist of the rock band Alkaline Trio.
• Jason Faunt (b. 1974), actor, grew up in McHenry
• Mariann Mayberry (b. 1965), member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, lived in McHenry and graduated from McHenry High School (West Campus)
• Jace Sayler (b. 1979), football player with the New England Patriots (Super Bowl champion), attended McHenry High School (West Campus)
• Matt Skiba (b. 1976), Co-lead singer and guitarist for the rock bands Blink-182 and Alkaline Trio.
• Joe Walsh (b. 1961), Radio personality and former congressman (Republican) for the 8th district.

Notable Horses

• Two Eyed Jack was born in Mc Henry. Two Eyed Jack was a Quarter Horse stallion and showhorse, and the leading all time sire of American Quarter Horse Association (or AQHA) Champions. ^{[40] [41] [42] [43]}

References

External links

• Official website
• McHenry Public Library District
• McHenry, Illinois at DMOZ
• McHenry School District 15
• McHenry Community High School District 156