Jefferson County, Illinois

Jefferson County, Illinois
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1819
Seat	Mount Vernon
Largest city	Mount Vernon
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	583.78 sq mi (1,512 km²) 571.17 sq mi (1,479 km²) 12.62 sq mi (33 km²), 2.16%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	38,827 70/sq mi (27/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Jefferson County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 38,827, which is a decrease of 3.0% from 40,045 in 2000.^[1] The county seat is Mount Vernon.^[2]

Jefferson County is part of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 583.78 square miles (1,512.0 km²), of which 571.17 square miles (1,479.3 km²) (or 97.84%) is land and 12.62 square miles (32.7 km²) (or 2.16%) is water.^[3]

Major highways

• Interstate 57
• Interstate 64
• U.S. Highway 51
• Illinois Route 15
• Illinois Route 37
• Illinois Route 142
• Illinois Route 148
• Illinois Route 251

Adjacent counties

• Marion County - north
• Wayne County - northeast
• Hamilton County - southeast
• Franklin County - south
• Perry County - southwest
• Washington County - west

History

The first settler in Jefferson County is believed to have been Andrew Moore. In 1810, he settled near the southeast corner of the county, near where the Goshen Road emerges from the forest of Hamilton County into what is now known as Moore's Prairie. It is interesting that Moore arrived from the Goshen Settlement, near Edwardsville. His migration was therefore retrograde, from the west toward the interior of the State.

In 1814 Andrew Moore departed with his eight-year old son for Jordan's settlement, a journey from which he never returned. A skull that was believed to have been Moore's was found several years later about two miles from his cabin. Jordan's Settlement, also called Jordan's Fort, was southeast of modern Thompsonville, Illinois, about twenty miles south of Moore's cabin. This episode occurred during the War of 1812 when many of the Indian tribes were allied with the British.

In 1816, Carter Wilkey, Daniel Crenshaw and Robert Cook settled in Moore's Prairie. Daniel Crenshaw moved into Moore's cabin. This settlement is believed to be the first permanent settlement in the County.

Jefferson County was organized in 1819, out of parts of White, Edwards and Franklin Counties. It was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, principle draftsman of the Northwest Ordinance, among other things. The baseline along the northern border of the County crosses the Third Principal Meridian at the northwest corner of the County.

• 

  Jefferson County between the time of its creation and 1821

• 

  Jefferson County between 1821 and 1823

• 

  Jefferson County in 1823, reduced to its current size

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Jefferson County.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	28,133		—
1910	29,111		3.5%
1920	28,480		−2.2%
1930	31,034		9.0%
1940	34,375		10.8%
1950	35,892		4.4%
1960	32,315		−10.0%
1970	31,446		−2.7%
1980	36,552		16.2%
1990	37,020		1.3%
2000	40,045		8.2%
2010	38,827		−3.0%
IL Counties 1900-1990

As of the census^[4] of 2010, there were 38,287 people, 15,365 households, and 10,561 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 people per square mile (27/km²). There were 16,990 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.4% White, 8.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. 2.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.0% were of American, 20.5% German, 12.8% English and 9.6% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 97.5% spoke English and 1.5% Spanish as their first language.

There were 15,374 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 persons and the average family size was 2.96 persons.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 104.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.1 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,555 and the median income for a family was $41,141. Males had a median income of $34,089 versus $21,015 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,644. About 9.1% of families and 12.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and villages

Jefferson County Courthouse

Cities

• Centralia (part)
• Mount Vernon
• Nason

Villages

• Belle Rive
• Bluford
• Bonnie
• Dix
• Ina
• Waltonville
• Woodlawn

Unincorporated places

• Bakerville
• Boyd
• Camp Ground
• Divide
• Drivers
• Idlewood
• Marcoe
• Marlow
• Miller Lake
• Opdyke
• Roaches
• Summersville
• Texico

Townships

Jefferson County is divided into sixteen townships:

Bald Hill Blissville Casner Dodds

Elk Prairie Farrington Field Grand Prairie

McClellan Moore's Prairie Mt. Vernon Pendleton

Rome Shiloh Spring Garden Webber

Climate and weather

Mount Vernon, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.5   37 19     2.7   43 23     4   54 33     4.4   65 43     4.6   75 53     3.6   84 62     3.6   88 66     3.3   86 64     3.1   79 56     2.9   68 43     4.4   54 34     3.2   42 24 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[5]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     62   3 -7     68   6 -5     101   12 1     113   18 6     116   24 12     92   29 17     91   31 19     83   30 18     79   26 13     74   20 6     111   12 1     81   6 -4 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Mount Vernon have ranged from a low of 19 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −21 °F (−29 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 114 °F (46 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.45 inches (62 mm) in January to 4.58 inches (116 mm) in May.^[5]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Illinois

References

1. ^ "Jefferson County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17081.html. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ "Census 2010 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_counties_national.txt. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Monthly Averages for Mount Vernon, Illinois". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0815. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 

Coordinates: 38°18′N 88°55′W / 38.30°N 88.92°W / 38.30; -88.92