Pope County, Illinois

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


map size = 150
founded = 1816
seat = Golconda | area_total_sq_mi =375
area_land_sq_mi =371
area_water_sq_mi =4
area percentage = 1.01%
census yr = 2000
pop = 4413
density_km2 =4
web = |http://www.popeco.net
|

Pope County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population is 4,413. Its county seat is Golconda, IllinoisGR|6. It is, in population, the smallest county in Illinois.

The county was organized in 1816 from portions of Gallatin County and Johnson County and named after Nathaniel Pope, a Secretary of the Illinois Territory.

History

First permanent settlement in 1798 at the modern-day site of Golconda, operating as a ferry point across the Ohio River. Pope County was formed in 1816 from portions of Gallatin & Johnson Counties.

Geography

The entire county is hilly and during rainy weather rivulets cascade down the hills in the park forming waterfalls of varying sizes and heights. The county contains Dixon Springs State Park, one of many state parks in the Illinois Shawnee Hills, and is part of the Shawnee National Forest. It is bordered to the south and east by the Ohio River, which marks the state's border with Kentucky.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 375 square miles (970 km²), of which, 371 square miles (961 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (10 km²) of it (1.01%) is water.

Adjacent counties

*Saline County - north
*Hardin County - east
*Livingston County, Kentucky - east
*Massac County - west
*Johnson County - west
*Williamson County - northwest

National protected area

* Shawnee National Forest (part)

Demographics

USCensusPop
1900= 13585
1910= 11215
1920= 9625
1930= 7996
1940= 7999
1950= 5779
1960= 4061
1970= 3857
1980= 4404
1990= 4373
2000= 4413
footnote= [http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/il190090.txt IL Counties 1900-1990] As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 4,413 people, 1,769 households, and 1,220 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 2,351 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.29% White, 3.76% Black or African American, 0.79% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.45% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.8% were of American, 19.1% German, 13.3% Irish and 11.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 1,769 households out of which 27.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were married couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.00% were non-families. 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the county the population was spread out with 21.50% under the age of 18, 10.20% from 18 to 24, 23.80% from 25 to 44, 26.70% from 45 to 64, and 17.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 102.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,048, and the median income for a family was $37,860. Males had a median income of $33,717 versus $20,074 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,440. About 9.80% of families and 18.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.40% of those under age 18 and 8.40% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

*Eddyville
*Golconda

Other localities

*Brownfield
*Hamletsburg
*Herod
*Lusk's Ferry
*Rosebud
*Temple Hill

Notable residents

* James L. Alcorn, born near Golconda, American Civil War general in the Union Army
* John R. Hodge, born in Golconda; Military Governor of South Korea preceding the Korean War and Commanding General of the U.S. Third Army
* Green B. Raum, born in Golconda, American Civil War general in the Union Army

ee also

*Shawnee National Forest
*Dixon Springs State Park
*Ohio River

External links

*http://www.popeco.net/history/history.html
*http://genealogytrails.com/ill/pope/cohist.htm
*http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/shawnee