Mount Carroll | |
---|---|
City | |
Etymology: Named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence | |
Motto: Where we take the time to care | |
Location of Mount Carroll in Carroll County, Illinois. |
|
Location of Illinois in the United States |
|
Coordinates: 42°05′44″N 89°58′37″W / 42.09556°N 89.97694°WCoordinates: 42°05′44″N 89°58′37″W / 42.09556°N 89.97694°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Illinois |
County | Carroll |
Government | |
• Mayor | Carl Bates |
Area | |
• Total | 2.00 sq mi (5.19 km2) |
• Land | 2.00 sq mi (5.19 km2) |
• Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
Elevation | 810 ft (250 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 1,717 |
• Estimate (2016) | 1,610 |
• Density | 803.79/sq mi (310.28/km2) |
Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
ZIP Code(s) | 61053 |
Area code(s) | 815 |
FIPS code | 17-50881 |
Mount Carroll, Illinois | |
Website | www |
Mount Carroll is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. It is the Carroll County seat. The population was 1,717 at the 2010 census.
Due to its elevation and northwesterly location, Mount Carroll is subject to unusually cold winter weather. From 1930 to 1999, Mount Carroll held the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded in Illinois, −35 °F (−37 °C), recorded on January 22, 1930. The record was beaten by Congerville in 1999, by one degree.
Mount Carroll began life as a mill town around 1841. In 1843, a referendum moved the county seat from nearby Savanna to Mount Carroll. The town was incorporated in 1855 and became a city in 1867; the first mayor was Nathaniel Halderman, a prominent local businessman and co-founder of the mill.
Shimer College was established in Mt. Carroll in 1853, but mounting debts forced a move to Waukegan in 1979. The campus now is home to several organizations, most notably the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies.
Political scientist Robert Keohane grew up in Mt. Carroll before attending Shimer.
Mount Carroll is located slightly northwest of the center of Carroll County at 42°5′44″N 89°58′37″W / 42.09556°N 89.97694°W (42.095473, -89.977042).U.S. Route 52 passes through the southern part of the city, leading east 7 miles (11 km) to Lanark and west 10 miles (16 km) to Savanna on the Mississippi River.