Jefferson County, Illinois

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. 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, principal 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.

File:Jefferson County Illinois 1819.png|Jefferson County between the time of its creation and 1821 File:Jefferson County Illinois 1821.png|Jefferson County between 1821 and 1823 File:Jefferson County Illinois 1823.png|Jefferson County in 1823, reduced to its current size

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 584 sqmi, of which 571 sqmi is land and 13 sqmi (2.2%) is water.

Climate and weather

|Mount Vernon, Illinois |19|37|2.45 |23|43|2.69 |33|54|3.98 |43|65|4.44 |53|75|4.58 |62|84|3.61 |66|88|3.57 |64|86|3.27 |56|79|3.11 |43|68|2.92 |34|54|4.37 |24|42|3.20 |access-date=January 27, 2011 |archive-date=October 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023152622/http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0815 |url-status=live In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Mount Vernon have ranged from a low of 19 °F in January to a high of 88 °F in July, although a record low of -21 °F was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 114 °F was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.45 in in January to 4.58 in in May.

Major highways

• [[Image:I-57.svg|20px]] Interstate 57
• [[Image:I-64.svg|20px]] Interstate 64
• [[Image:US 51.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 51
• [[Image:Illinois 15.svg|20px]] Illinois Route 15
• [[Image:Illinois 37.svg|20px]] Illinois Route 37
• [[Image:Illinois 142.svg|20px]] Illinois Route 142
• [[Image:Illinois 148.svg|20px]] Illinois Route 148

Transit

• South Central Transit
• List of intercity bus stops in Illinois

Adjacent counties

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

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2013

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 37,113, a median age of 42.2 years, 22.3% of residents under the age of 18, 20.2% of residents 65 years of age or older, 103.2 males for every 100 females, and 103.6 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 84.7% White, 7.7% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% Asian,

41.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 58.8% lived in rural areas.

There were 14,945 households in the county, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.7% were married-couple households, 19.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 16,632 housing units, of which 10.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.1% were owner-occupied and 26.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.3%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 38,827 people, 15,365 households, and 10,140 families residing in the county.{{cite web |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213031938/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US17081 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212201809/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY10/0500000US17081 |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213020548/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US17081 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

Of the 15,365 households, 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.0% were non-families, and 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 40.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,161 and the median income for a family was $51,262. Males had a median income of $41,193 versus $29,645 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,370. About 12.4% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.8% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.{{cite web |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213021554/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US17081 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

Agencies

In 2015 the county police department announced that the words "In God We Trust" will be on police squad cars.

Jeff Bullard is the current Sheriff of Jefferson County.

Politics

Jefferson is politically a fairly typical “anti-Yankee” Southern Illinois county. Opposition to the “Yankee” Republican Party and that party's Civil War meant that Jefferson County voted solidly Democratic until Theodore Roosevelt carried the county in his 1904 landslide. It was to again vote Republican in the greater landslides of 1920 and 1928, but otherwise was firmly Democratic until World War II.

Following the New Deal, Jefferson became something of a bellwether county, voting for every winning presidential candidate between 1928 and 2004 except in the Catholicism-influenced 1960 election, and that of 1988 which was heavily influenced by a major Midwestern drought. Disagreement with the Democratic Party's liberal views on social issues since the 1990s has caused a powerful swing to the GOP in the past quarter-century: as is typical of the Upland South, Barack Obama in 2012 and Hillary Clinton did far worse than any previous Democrat.

Communities

Cities

• Mount Vernon
• Nason

Villages

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

Census-designated place

• Opdyke

Other unincorporated communities

• Bakerville
• Boyd
• Camp Ground
• Dareville
• Divide
• Drivers
• Harmony
• Roaches
• Scheller
• 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

Education

School districts include:

K-12:

• Bluford Unit School District 318
• Hamilton County Community Unit School District 10
• Sesser-Valier Community Unit School District 196
• Waltonville Community Unit School District 1
• Wayne City Community Unit School District 100
• Woodlawn Unit District 209

Secondary:

• Benton Consolidated High School District 103
• Centralia High School District 200
• Mount Vernon Township High School District 201
• Nashville Community High School District 99 – Primary school can go to Woodlawn School
• Salem Community High School District 600

Elementary:

• Ashley Community Consolidated School District 15 – Can attend secondary school in Woodlawn
• Bethel School District 82
• Centralia School District 135
• Ewing Northern Community Consolidated District 115
• Farrington Community Consolidated School District 99 – Can attend secondary school at Bluford
• Field Community Consolidated School District 3
• Grand Prairie Community Consolidated School District 6 – Can attend secondary school in Woodlawn
• Kell Consolidated School District 2
• McClellan Community Consolidated School District 12
• Mount Vernon School District 80 – Can attend elementary school at Bluford and Woodlawn
• Opdyke-Belle Rive Community Consolidated School District 5 – Can attend secondary school at Bluford
• Spring Garden Community Consolidated School District 178
• Rome Community Consolidated School District 2 – Can attend secondary school in Woodlawn
• Summersville School District 79

References

References

1. (March 2025). "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020–2024". U.S. Department of Commerce.
2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
4. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". Govt. Print. Off..
5. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates Tables". United States Census Bureau.
6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
8. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
9. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
10. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
11. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
12. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
13. "1980 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Illinois- Table 14 - Persons by Race and Table 16 (p. 18-28) - Total Persons and Spanish Origin Persons by Type of Spanish Origin and Race (p. 29-39)".
14. "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Illinois - Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Orogin".
15. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Jefferson County, Illinois".
16. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Jefferson County, Illinois".
17. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Jefferson County, Illinois".
18. included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
19. included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
20. not an option in the 1980 Census
21. not an option in the 1990 Census
22. "[http://www.kfvs12.com/story/29683669/in-god-we-trust-to-be-placed-on-jefferson-co-il-squad-cars 'In God We Trust' to be placed on Jefferson Co., IL squad cars]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150801181841/http://www.kfvs12.com/story/29683669/in-god-we-trust-to-be-placed-on-jefferson-co-il-squad-cars Archive]). ''[[KFVS]]''. August 1, 2015. Retrieved on August 2, 2015.
23. Cohn, Nate; [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/upshot/southern-whites-loyalty-to-gop-nearing-that-of-blacks-to-democrats.html ‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’] {{Webarchive. link. (September 10, 2017 , ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 24, 2014)
24. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
25. "2020 CENSUS – SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Jefferson County, IL". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].