McHenry, Illinois

McHenry is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. It is located about 35 miles northwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 27,135. 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 the county, which was named for Major William McHenry, a prominent US Army officer in the Black Hawk War.

It rests at an elevation of 797 feet and the Fox River flows through the eastern portion of the city. It 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, Glacial Park Conservation Area, and Volo Bog State Natural Area preserve some of these natural features.

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.

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. Gagetown was eventually renamed to West McHenry.

In 1851, a dam was built on Boone Creek which created Mill Pond. The 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.

In 1880, the first bridge in McHenry was built at Pearl Street.

20th century
On March 30, 1908 a train bound for Ringwood crashed near the McHenry train depot. One person was killed.

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

The original single lane Pearl Street bridge was built 1880-1881 over Fox River. The iron truss bridge was dismantled and a section of it was relocated to Terra Cotta Industries in Crystal Lake in Nov. 1976 to be used as a pedestrian bridge. Other sections remain in storage. The original bridge was replaced with a concrete bridge.

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

Geography
McHenry is located 46 miles northwest of Chicago in northeastern Illinois on the Fox River. According to the 2020 census, McHenry has a total area of 14.50 sqmi McHenry lies within the Fox River Valley, and its downtown area is situated on that river. "The Heart of the Fox River" is the city's motto.

The 48 acre Lake Defiance is the centerpiece of Moraine Hills State Park on the east end of town. It is a glacial lake surrounded by now wooded kames and moraines.

Climate and weather
Typically climate and weather in McHenry year-round is similar to Chicago's, though sometimes it is warmer in summer, and colder in winter. The all-time record high temperature is 103 F, set on July 4, 1974, while the all-time record low is -30 F, set on January 31, 2019.

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

City Council
The city council consists of representatives from the 7 city wards:
 * Ward 1 - Victor A. Santi
 * Ward 2 - Andrew Glab
 * Ward 3 - Frank McClatchey
 * Ward 4 - Chris Bassi
 * Ward 5 - Vacant (as of 2024-05-07)
 * Ward 6 - Michael Koch
 * Ward 7 - Sue Miller

City Clerk
Trisha Ramel is the City Clerk and is supported by the Deputy City Clerk, Monte Johnson.

City Administrator

 * Derik Morefield

Police Chief

 * John Birk

2000 Census
The population density was 1,850.2 PD/sqmi. There were 8,127 housing units at an average density of 699.4 /sqmi. 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 people 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.

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.

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.

The live entertainment venue on Green Street was once was an indoor movie theater. The movie theater operated as 'The McHenry Theatre' from 1955-2014. It reopened from January 18, 2018 - January 2022 as the McHenry Downtown Theater with 3 screens, before closing permanently and converting to a live entertainment venue.

A drive-in movie theater east of town is open from March to December playing a combination of new release and classic movies. It opened July 20, 1951 as the Skyline Theater. In 2013 it won Honda’s Project Drive-In contest and was upgraded with a digital projector. It continues to operate today as the Mchenry Outdoor Theater.

Economy
Mchenry has 3 distinct downtown districts with many local shops and restaurants: Green Street, Riverside Drive, and Main Street. The Mchenry Area Chamber of Commerce also owns and operates the McHenry RiverWalk Shoppes, a retail incubator with 10 small shops in Miller Point Park, available for local businesses to rent seasonally.

Connecting the Green Street and Riverside Drive downtown districts is the 0.73 mile (1.17 km) McHenry Riverwalk. which runs along Boone Creek and the Fox River. It is home to residences, shops, restaurants, bars, a concert venue, Miller Point Park, Weber's Park, and other various forms of entertainment and commerce.

Major industrial employers including Medela, Follett School Solutions, Fabrik Industries, Brake Parts Inc, Jessup Manufacturing Company, and Plaspros Inc. These businesses are located in the city's business parks.

Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital provides 143 beds for emergency and in and out-patient health care services to the city and surrounding areas.

North of Illinois Route 120 on Illinois Route 31 is a big box retail corridor including Meijer, Aldi, Harbor Freight, Home Depot, Kohls, and Dicks Sporting Goods.

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 is composed of two high schools while District 15 is composed of five elementary schools and three middle schools.

McHenry is served by one public library which is part of Cooperative Computer Services (CCS) consortium. 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.

Colleges
The City of McHenry is also home to the Shah Center, which offers business seminars and trainings from the McHenry County College,.

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

The closest privately owned airport to the city is Galt Field in Wonder Lake, with a 3000ft by 50ft runway. The airport is used by small general aviation aircraft.

Public transportation
McRide, a paratransit service provided by Pace Bus, and Metra are available services which offers transportation options between nearby towns in the area.

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

Passenger rail


McHenry is currently the terminus of a branch line on Metra's Union Pacific Northwest Line, with weekday passenger service to Ogilvie Transportation Center (formerly Northwestern Station) in downtown Chicago. 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.

Road
Illinois Route 31 and Illinois Route 120 intersect in the city center. They are the main roads in and out of the city.

Notable people

 * Gary Adams (d. 2000), founded TaylorMade Golf in McHenry in 1979
 * Pamela Althoff (b. 1953), member of the Illinois Senate from 2003-2018. She was Mayor of McHenry prior to her appointment to the Illinois Senate.
 * Thomas A. Bolger (1887–1953), member of the Illinois House of Representatives
 * John Brzenk (b. 1964), world champion arm wrestler
 * Rob Doran (b. 1976), original bassist of the rock band Alkaline Trio
 * Jason Faunt (b. 1974), actor, grew up in McHenry
 * Flavel K. Granger (1832–1905), Illinois state legislator, lawyer, and farmer; lived 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), Grammy-nominated co-lead singer and guitarist for the rock bands Blink-182 and Alkaline Trio
 * Robert Tonyan (b. 1994), professional American football player for the Chicago Bears
 * Joe Walsh (b. 1961), radio personality and former congressman (Republican) for the 8th district
 * Craig Wilcox (b. 1967), member of the Illinois Senate since 2018. He resides in McHenry.
 * Lana Rhoades (b. 1996), world famous social-media/pornography star. Born and raised in McHenry
 * Jack Perconte (b. 1954), MLB Baseball Player for Dodgers, Indians, Mariners
 * Amie Cunat (b. 1986), artist specializing in painting and installation

Notable horses

 * Two Eyed Jack, born in McHenry; Quarter Horse stallion and showhorse; the leading all time sire of American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) champions