Saline County, Illinois

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


seallink =


map size = 150
founded = 1847
seat = Harrisburg
largest city = Harrisburg
area_total_sq_mi = 387
area_total_km2 = 1002| area_land_sq_mi = 383
area_land_km2 = 993
area_water_sq_mi = 4
area_water_km2 = 10
area percentage = 0.95%
census yr = 2000
pop = 26733
density_sq_mi = 70
density_km2 = 27
time zone = Central
UTC offset = -6| DST offset= -5
footnotes =
web = |

Saline County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 26,733. Its county seat is Harrisburg, IllinoisGR|6. Saline County is home to the smallest post office and the largest KFC in the United States.Fact|date=February 2007 There are three major towns in Saline County connected by U.S. Route 45, and the now abandoned Cairo & Vincennes/New York Central railroad, from north to south, Eldorado, Harrisburg, and Carrier Mills.

The Harrisburg Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Saline County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 387 square miles (1,002 km²), of which, 383 square miles (993 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (10 km²) of it (0.95%) is water.

The Saline County area is mostly rolling hills throughout gradually rising to the Hills of the Shawnee National Forest. To the north of Eldorado there are flat lowlands.

Townships

Brushy, Carrier Mills, Cottage, East Eldorado, Galatia, Harrisburg, Independence, Long Branch, Mountain, Raleigh, Rector, Stonefort, Tate

Adjacent counties

*Hamilton County (north)
*White County (northeast)
*Gallatin County (east)
*Hardin County (southeast)
*Pope County (south)
*Johnson County (southwest)
*Williamson County (west)
*Franklin County (northwest)

National protected area

* Shawnee National Forest (part)

History

Saline County was formed from Gallatin County in 1847. It is named for the Saline River and the springs from which salt was produced in the early history of Gallatin County.

Saline County was nearly named "Moredock County", in honor of John Moredock, "Indian slayer". Moredock was an early settler of Illinois who, as a young boy, witnessed the massacre of his family, and spent much of the rest of his life ambushing and murdering Native Americans. Although many early settlers regarded this as wrongful, Moredock was never charged with any crimes.

The creation of Saline County was extremely controversial. Illinois originally had a small number of very large counties. As settlement proceeded, new counties were formed out of the original counties as a routine matter. Gallatin County was an early county that was formed in 1812, and quickly split into around fifteen counties, with Gallatin County remaining with what is now Saline County. This persisted for several decades after the era of rapid formation of counties.

Old Shawneetown was the original county seat of Gallatin County. At that time Old Shawneetown was the largest city and commercial center of Illinois. It was, however, located on the eastern edge of the County. In 1826 the County seat was moved to the new village of Equality, near the center of what was then Gallatin County. Old Shawneetown opposed this move, and sought redress by splitting off Saline County, with the aim of moving the County seat of what remained back to Old Shawneetown. Thus the impetus for the formation of Saline County came not from settlers at the fringe of the County, but from the core of the original County.

Saline County was created by a voice vote in the General Assembly in 1847. Completion of the formation of the County, however, involved three acts of the General Assembly, four decisions of the Illinois Supreme Court and two referendums. The controversy came to involve the leading attorneys of Illinois, including Abraham Lincoln.

Demographics

USCensusPop
1900= 21685
1910= 30204
1920= 38353
1930= 37100
1940= 38066
1950= 33420
1960= 26227
1970= 25721
1980= 28448
1990= 26551
2000= 26733
footnote= [http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/il190090.txt IL Counties 1900-1990] As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 26,733 people, 10,992 households, and 7,232 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 people per square mile (27/km²). There were 12,360 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.14% White, 4.06% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.20% Asian American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 0.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 27.3% were of American, 16.2% German, 14.5% Irish and 13.9% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 10,992 households out of which 28.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.90% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.20% were non-families. 31.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.00% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 25.10% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 19.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,768, and the median income for a family was $37,295. Males had a median income of $31,131 versus $19,276 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,590. About 10.40% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.80% of those under age 18 and 11.60% of those age 65 or over.

Employment and Public Services

Coal mining makes up the largest percentage of industrial employment in Saline County. The county is home to the [http://www.ame.com.au/mines/co/Galatia.htm Galatia Mine] , which by industry standards is the largest underground coal mine in Illinois and currently employs close to 500 workers. The mining and exploration industry feeds other sources of employment such as coal and materials hauling and excavation. Construction fields and services also benefit from Saline County's mining industry.

Other employment in the county is generally made up by the medical, social and state services. Harrisburg is home to the [http://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/facilities/information.asp?instchoice=hrb Harrisburg Illinois Youth Center] which is operated by Illinois Department of Corrections and holds male juvenile offenders.

The county is served by [http://www.sic.cc.il.us/ Southeastern Illinois College] , a two-year community college located on state highway 13 about 4 miles east of Harrisburg.

Hospitals serving the county are [http://www.harrisburgmedicalcenter.com/ Harrisburg Medical Center] and Ferrell Hospital in Eldorado. Public health services are administered by [http://www.egyptian.org/ Egyptian Health Department] .

Public transportation is provided by the [http://www.ridesmtd.com/ Rides Mass Transit District] .

Cities and towns

*Carrier Mills (Morrilsville)
*Eldorado
*Galatia
*Harrisburg
* Ledford
*Muddy
*Raleigh
*Stonefort

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Saline County is divided into these townships:

References

*"Tails and Trails of Illinois", Stu Fliege, University of Illinois Press,2002.
*"http://www.iltrails.org/saline/towns_cities.html, © 2000-2001 by Debbie Woolard, Illinois Trails History and Genealogy.
* Gillum Ferguson. 2007. "The Perilous Infancy of Saline County", Journal of Illinois History, Vol. 10, p. 49.

External links

* [http://www.salinecountychamber.org/ Saline County Chamber of Commerce]