Whiteside County, Illinois

Whiteside County
Whiteside County
County
	Street painting in Morrison
	Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
	Illinois's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 41°45′N 89°55′W / 41.75°N 89.91°W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1836
Named for	Samuel Whiteside
Seat	Morrison
Largest city	Sterling
Area
• Total	697 sq mi (1,810 km2)
• Land	684 sq mi (1,770 km2)
• Water	12 sq mi (30 km2) 1.8%
Population (2020)
• Total	55,691
• Density	80/sq mi (31/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Website	www.whiteside.org

Whiteside County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 55,691.^[1] The county seat is Morrison.^[2]

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan was born in the Whiteside County community of Tampico.

History

Whiteside County was founded in 1836 from parts of Jo Daviess and Henry counties. It was named after General Samuel Whiteside, an Illinois officer in the War of 1812 and Black Hawk War.