Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States, along the Rock River.

Formerly nicknamed "Hardware Capital of the World", the city has long been associated with manufacturing and the steel industry.

[2][3]In 1838, Harrisburg and Chatham merged to become the Town of Sterling in an effort to become the county seat.

[5] On July 18, 1856, Abraham Lincoln visited Sterling to speak at a rally for the presidential candidate John C. Fremont.

[6] The Rock River failed to become a major navigational route as once hoped, but it provided power for the saw and grist mills, and later to a booming industrial base.

With the power from the river and the transportation provided by the railroads, Sterling's business and industry grew.

During the late 19th and early 20th century, the community's industrial bedrock was laid with the founding of Northwestern Steel & Wire Co., Lawrence Brothers Inc, National Manufacturing Co., The Frantz Manufacturing Company, and the Wahl Clipper Corporation.

Outside the city, the landscape is dominated by agricultural fields that typify most of the Midwest.

WACC hosts a variety of vocational courses, available to students of its member schools in the Sauk Valley.