Edwards County, Illinois

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Edwards County, Illinois
Edwards County Courthouse in Albion.jpg
Edwards County Courthouse in Albion
Map of Illinois highlighting Edwards County
Location in the U.S. state of Illinois
Map of the United States highlighting Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded 1814
Named for Ninian Edwards
Seat Albion
Largest city Albion
Area
 • Total 223 sq mi (578 km2)
 • Land 222 sq mi (575 km2)
 • Water 0.3 sq mi (1 km2), 0.1%
Population
 • (2010) 6,721
 • Density 30/sq mi (12/km²)
Congressional district 15th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5

Edwards County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,721.[1] Its county seat is Albion.[2] It is located in the southern portion known locally as "Little Egypt".

History

Edwards County was named for Ninian Edwards,[3] the governor of the Illinois Territory, and, later, governor of Illinois.

Edwards County is subdivided into "Road Districts", rather than "Townships" as in most Illinois counties. Pursuant to the Land Ordinance of 1785, the Northwest Territory (including Illinois) was surveyed and mostly organized into townships that are six miles square; but Edwards County was settled prior to that survey, and its pre-existing Road Districts do not generally correspond with the survey's townships.

  • Edwards County, when it was created in 1815 from Gallatin and Madison Counties, extended north to Lake Superior.

  • The county between 1816 and 1819. Clark and White Counties were created from Edwards and Gallatin Counties.

  • The county between 1819 and 1821. At this point Crawford County was split off from Edwards, and Wayne Counties.

  • Edwards between 1821 and 1824

  • Edwards in 1824, reduced to its current size by the creation of Wabash County

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 223 square miles (580 km2), of which 222 square miles (570 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) (0.1%) is water.[4] It is the fourth-smallest county in Illinois by area.

When Edwards County was formed in 1814, it comprised nearly half of the State of Illinois. New counties were formed from it until, in 1824, it assumed its present form from the creation of Wabash County. The two are the fourth and fifth smallest counties in Illinois.

Climate and weather

Albion, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
2.6
 
 
37
21
 
 
2.7
 
 
44
25
 
 
4.3
 
 
55
35
 
 
5.1
 
 
66
45
 
 
4.6
 
 
76
55
 
 
4.2
 
 
86
64
 
 
3.9
 
 
89
68
 
 
3.4
 
 
88
66
 
 
2.9
 
 
81
58
 
 
3.4
 
 
70
47
 
 
4.3
 
 
54
36
 
 
3.5
 
 
42
26
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Source: The Weather Channel[5]

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Albion have ranged from a low of 21 °F (−6 °C) in January to a high of 89 °F (32 °C) in July, although a record low of −20 °F (−29 °C) was recorded in January 1982 and a record high of 109 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.57 inches (65 mm) in January to 5.13 inches (130 mm) in April.[5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

File:USA Edwards County, Illinois age pyramid.svg
2000 census age pyramid for Edwards County
Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1820 3,444 —
1830 1,649 −52.1%
1840 3,070 86.2%
1850 3,524 14.8%
1860 5,454 54.8%
1870 7,565 38.7%
1880 8,597 13.6%
1890 9,444 9.9%
1900 10,345 9.5%
1910 10,049 −2.9%
1920 9,431 −6.1%
1930 8,303 −12.0%
1940 8,974 8.1%
1950 9,056 0.9%
1960 7,940 −12.3%
1970 7,090 −10.7%
1980 7,961 12.3%
1990 7,440 −6.5%
2000 6,971 −6.3%
2010 6,721 −3.6%
Est. 2014 6,617 [6] −1.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9]
1990-2000[10] 2010-2013[1]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 6,721 people, 2,840 households, and 1,926 families residing in the county.[11] The population density was 30.2 inhabitants per square mile (11.7/km2). There were 3,187 housing units at an average density of 14.3 per square mile (5.5/km2).[4] The racial makeup of the county was 98.0% white, 0.4% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.9% of the population.[11] In terms of ancestry, 26.8% were German, 22.4% were English, 13.3% were American, and 8.4% were Irish.[12]

Of the 2,840 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.2% were non-families, and 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 42.7 years.[11]

The median income for a household in the county was $40,430 and the median income for a family was $51,337. Males had a median income of $40,183 versus $27,295 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,113. About 10.6% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.[13]

Politics

Edwards County is one of the most consistently Republican counties in the state. It has voted for the Republican candidate in all Presidential elections from 1960 to present.[14] In the last five Presidential elections no Democratic candidate has received more than 37% of the county's vote.[15] Edwards County also holds the distinction of having the lowest percentage of any Illinois county of votes for governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat, in his failed 2014 reelection bid. While Quinn lost 101 of the 102 counties in Illinois, Quinn captured only 13.7% of the vote in Edwards County.[16]

In other positions the county has been not been consistently Republican for as long, but nevertheless has been so for many years. The last Democratic Senatorial candidate it backed was Alan J. Dixon in 1986[17] and the last Democratic gubernatorial candidate it supported was Glenn Poshard, who carried all of Southern Illinois in his failed 1998 bid.[18] Most of the county is in Illinois's 19th congressional district, which has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+9 and has been represented by John Shimkus since 2003. The rest of the county is in Illinois's 15th congressional district, which has Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+6 and has been represented by Republican Tim Johnson since 2001. In more local positions the county is in the 109th district of the Illinois House of Representatives so is represented by Republican David Reis and is in the Illinois Senate it lies in the 55th district and is represented by Republican Dale Righter.[19]

Edwards County is a dry county, with multiple referendums to allow alcohol sales failing in the mid-1990s. The portion of Grayville, Illinois that lies within Edwards County does allow alcohol sales per Grayville city ordinance.[20]

Communities

Precincts of Edwards County

Cities

Villages

Unincorporated Communities

Precincts

References

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  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ David Leip's Election Atlas (Maps for Illinois by election)
  15. ↑ The New York Times electoral map (Zoom in on Illinois)
  16. ↑ [1]
  17. ↑ David Leip's Election Atlas (Maps for Illinois Senate by election)
  18. ↑ David Leip's Election Atlas (Maps for Illinois Governor by election)
  19. ↑ [2]
  20. ↑ http://www.state.il.us/lcc/localsurveysheet2.pdf

External links

 Richland County
Wayne County Wabash County
  Edwards County, Illinois  
White County Gibson County, Indiana

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