Coles County, Illinois

Coles County, Illinois
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1831
Seat	Charleston
Largest city	Charleston
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	510.08 sq mi (1,321 km²) 508.29 sq mi (1,316 km²) 1.79 sq mi (5 km²),
Population  - (2010)  - Density	53,873 105/sq mi (40/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.coles.il.us

Coles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 53,873, which is an increase of 1.3% from 53,196 in 2000.^[1] Its county seat is Charleston, which is also the home of Eastern Illinois University.^[2]. The county is part of the Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Coles County was organized in December 1830 out of Clark and Edgar counties. It was named after Edward Coles, the second governor of Illinois from 1822 to 1826.

• 

  Coles County from the time of its creation to 1843

• 

  Coles County between 1843 and 1859

• 

  Coles County reduced to its current size in 1859 by the creation of Douglas County

Folklore

Coles County is home to several well-known legends and folktales, including the Mad Gasser of Mattoon and the ghost of Mary Hawkins at Pemberton Hall. Michael Kleen has documented many of these tales, including the "witch's grave" of St. Omer Cemetery and story of "Rag Doll Cemetery," in his book Tales of Coles County, Illinois.^[3][4] The legend of "Rag Doll Cemetery" formed the basis of the independent film "Rag Doll," which was filmed primarily in and around Mattoon, Illinois in 2010.^[5] Additionally, the novel "A Family Possessed" by L. W. Stevenson is based on poltergeist activity experienced by a rural family living in Coles County in the 1980s.^[6] Ashmore Estates has long been a part of local folklore. Originally the almshouse at the Coles County Poor Farm, it is now a haunted attraction and a place of interest for paranormal investigators.^[7]

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 510.08 square miles (1,321.1 km²), of which 508.29 square miles (1,316.5 km²) (or 99.65%) is land and 1.79 square miles (4.6 km²) (or 0.35%) is water.^[8]

Adjacent counties

• Douglas County - north
• Edgar County - northeast
• Clark County - southeast
• Cumberland County - south
• Shelby County - southwest
• Moultrie County - west

Township and municipality map of Coles County.

Major highways

• Interstate 57
• US Route 45
• Illinois Route 16
• Illinois Route 49
• Illinois Route 121
• Illinois Route 130
• Illinois Route 133

Townships

Coles County is divided into these twelve townships:

Ashmore Charleston East Oakland Humboldt Hutton Lafayette

Mattoon Morgan North Okaw Paradise Pleasant Grove Seven Hickory

Settlements

Cities

• Charleston
• Mattoon

Villages

• Ashmore
• Humboldt
• Lerna
• Oakland

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Coles County, skewed by Eastern Illinois University.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	34,146		—
1910	34,517		1.1%
1920	35,108		1.7%
1930	37,315		6.3%
1940	38,470		3.1%
1950	40,328		4.8%
1960	42,860		6.3%
1970	47,815		11.6%
1980	52,260		9.3%
1990	51,644		−1.2%
2000	53,196		3.0%
IL Counties 1900-1990

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 53,196 people, 21,043 households, and 12,078 families residing in the county. The population density was 105 people per square mile (40/km²). There were 22,768 housing units at an average density of 45 per square mile (17/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.37% White, 2.28% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. 1.39% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.4% were of German, 17.8% American, 12.6% English and 12.3% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.8% spoke English and 1.8% Spanish as their first language.

There were 21,043 households out of which 26.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.20% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.60% were non-families. 31.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county the population was spread out with 19.70% under the age of 18, 23.50% from 18 to 24, 23.80% from 25 to 44, 19.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 91.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,286, and the median income for a family was $45,708. Males had a median income of $32,831 versus $21,923 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,370. About 7.50% of families and 17.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.40% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.

Climate and weather

Charleston, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.2   35 19     2.4   41 24     3.4   53 33     4   65 43     4.2   75 52     3.9   85 61     4.7   88 65     3.5   86 63     3.2   79 56     3.3   68 45     3.9   53 34     3.2   40 24 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[10]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     56   2 -7     61   5 -4     85   12 1     101   18 6     107   24 11     100   29 16     118   31 18     88   30 17     81   26 13     83   20 7     98   12 1     82   4 -4 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Charleston 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 −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 110 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.20 inches (56 mm) in January to 4.65 inches (118 mm) in July.^[10]

See also

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

References

• United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
• United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
• United States National Atlas

1. ^ "Coles County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17029.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. ^ "Tales of Coles County, Illinois". Black Oak Press, Illinois. 2004, 2010. http://colescountytales.us/. 
4. ^ "Student author gets creative with Coles history". Daily Eastern News. 28 October 2005. http://www.thedailyeasternnews.com/media/paper309/news/2005/10/28/TheVerge/Student.Author.Gets.Creative.With.Coles.History-1037276.shtml. 
5. ^ "Mattoon-based thriller gets a name". Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. 14 May 2010. http://jg-tc.com/news/article_b6bfdb2c-5f05-11df-bf17-001cc4c03286.html. 
6. ^ "A Ghost Story of local proportions". Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. 28 October 2000. http://jg-tc.com/news/article_307eb745-1ff3-5981-a2f7-35cbd24ea576.html. 
7. ^ "TV team uses technology to root out spirits at Ashmore Estates". Times-Courier. 20 July 2008. http://jg-tc.com/news/article_c0e6c9a9-f45c-50d9-8b4a-cc4a63074e61.html. 
8. ^ "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. 
9. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "Monthly Averages for Charleston, Illinois". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0214. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 

External links

• Coles County Online Community
• Official Coles County website
• Tales of Coles County, Illinois
• Illinois State Archives

Coordinates: 39°31′N 88°13′W / 39.51°N 88.22°W / 39.51; -88.22