Wabash County, Illinois

Infobox U.S. County
county = Wabash County
state = Illinois


seallink =


map size = 150
founded = 1824
seat = Mount Carmel
largest city = Mount Carmel
area_total_sq_mi = 228
area_total_km2 = 590
area_land_sq_mi = 223
area_land_km2 = 579
area_water_sq_mi = 4
area_water_km2 = 11
area percentage = 1.88%
census yr = 2000
pop = 12937
density_sq_mi = 58
density_km2 = 22
time zone = Central
UTC offset = -6
DST offset= -5
footnotes =
web = |

Wabash County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population is 12,937. Its county seat is Mt. CarmelGR|6.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 228 square miles (590 km²), of which, 223 square miles (579 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (11 km²) of it (1.88%) is water.

Adjacent counties

*Lawrence County (north)
*Knox County, Indiana (northeast)
*Gibson County, Indiana (east & south)
*White County (southwest)
*Edwards County (west)
*Richland County (northwest)

History

Wabash County was formed in 1824 out of Edwards County, after an armed confrontation between the militias of Albion and Mt. Carmel after the county seat was moved from a town near the current city of Mount Carmel to Albion.

The County is named for the Wabash River, which forms its eastern border. The name "Wabash" is an English spelling of the French name for the river, "Ouabache." French traders named the river after the Miami Indian word for the river, "Wabashike," (Prounounced "Wah-bah-she-keh"), the word for "pure white." Much of the river bottom is white limestone, now obscured by mud.

A 329-acre (1.3 km²) remnant of the county's original Eastern Woodlands ecosystem can be found in the "Forest of the Wabash" located within the county's Beall Woods State Park.

Demographics

USCensusPop
1900= 12583
1910= 14913
1920= 14034
1930= 13197
1940= 13724
1950= 14651
1960= 14047
1970= 12841
1980= 13713
1990= 13111
2000= 12937
footnote= [http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/il190090.txt IL Counties 1900-1990] As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 12,937 people, 5,192 households, and 3,587 families residing in the county. The population density was 58 people per square mile (22/km²). There were 5,758 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.86% White, 0.39% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 32.4% were of German, 22.8% American, 11.6% English and 9.4% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000 [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-CONTEXT=dt&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_PCT016&-tree_id=] . 97.3% spoke English and 1.4% Spanish as their first language [ [http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=6&county_id=37&mode=geographic&zip=&place_id=6cty_id=&ll=all&a=&ea=&order=r Language Map Data Center ] ]

There were 5,192 households out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.20% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 17.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,473, and the median income for a family was $42,142. Males had a median income of $31,142 versus $18,091 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,747. About 9.50% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.70% of those under age 18 and 9.50% of those age 65 or over.

Earthquake

At 4:37am local time, one of the largest earthquakes in Illinois History hit the area. This tremor was epicentered in Lick Prairie Township, near the middle of the county. This tremor was felt more than 400 miles away in Nebraska. cite web |url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/18/national/a025745D02.DTL |title= 5.2 earthquake rattles skyscrapers, nerves across Midwest |author= Jim Suhr, Associated Press |work= San Francisco Chronicle |date= April 18 2008 |quote= It was the kind of tremor that might be ignored in earthquake-savvy California, but the temblor shook things up from Nebraska to Atlanta and rattled nerves in Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky., where bricks toppled to the pavement... Dozens of aftershocks followed, including one with a magnitude of 4.6. ] .

Precincts (Seat)

* Bellmont (Bellmont)
* Coffee (Keensburg)
* Compton (East Grayville)
* Friendsville (Friendsville)
* Lancaster (Lancaster)
* Lick Prairie (Lick Prairie)
* Mount Carmel (Mount Carmel)
* Wabash (Allendale)

[http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/irad/wabash.html Wabash County precincts and their boundaries]

Cities and towns

Cities

*Mount Carmel

Villages

*Allendale
*Bellmont
*Keensburg

Unincorporated towns / census-designated places

*Cowling
*Friendsville
*Lancaster
*Maud
*Mesa Lake
*Odgen

References