Stark County, Illinois

History

Stark County was formed in 1839 out of Knox and Putnam counties. It was named for General Colonel John Stark, who served in the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He became known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777. File:Stark County Illinois 1839.png|Stark County at the time of its creation in 1839

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 288 sqmi, of which 288 sqmi is land and 0.3 sqmi (0.1%) is water.

Climate and weather

|Toulon, Illinois |10|28|1.55 |16|34|1.41 |26|46|2.49 |37|60|3.48 |48|71|3.53 |59|80|4.46 |62|84|3.98 |60|82|4.14 |51|75|3.04 |39|63|2.57 |29|47|2.74 |17|33|2.37 |access-date=January 27, 2011 In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Toulon have ranged from a low of 10 °F in January to a high of 84 °F in July, although a record low of -26 °F was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 104 °F was recorded in July 1983. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.41 in in February to 4.46 in in June.

Major highways

• [[File:Illinois 17.svg|20px]] Illinois Route 17
• [[File:Illinois 18.svg|20px]] Illinois Route 18
• [[File:Illinois 40.svg|20px]] Illinois Route 40
• [[File:Illinois 78.svg|20px]] Illinois Route 78
• [[File:Illinois 91.svg|20px]] Illinois Route 91
• [[File:Illinois 93.svg|20px]] Illinois Route 93

Adjacent counties

• Henry County (northwest)
• Bureau County (north)
• Marshall County (east)
• Peoria County (south)
• Knox County (west)

Demographics

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

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 5,400. The median age was 45.5 years, with 21.9% of residents under the age of 18 and 23.1% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.2 males age 18 and over.

As of the 2020 census, the racial makeup of the county was 95.0% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, less than 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.4% of the population.

As of the 2020 census, less than 0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,226 households in the county, of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.5% were married-couple households, 19.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,577 housing units, of which 13.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 79.5% were owner-occupied and 20.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 17.9%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 5,994 people, 2,425 households, and 1,673 families residing in the county.{{cite web |access-date=July 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213030258/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US17175 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212201803/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY10/0500000US17175 |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213025737/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US17175 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

Of the 2,425 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.0% were non-families, and 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 43.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,195 and the median income for a family was $62,681. Males had a median income of $44,931 versus $29,621 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,311. About 7.6% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.0% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.{{cite web |access-date=July 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213025858/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US17175 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

Communities

Cities

• Toulon
• Wyoming

Villages

• Bradford
• La Fayette

Unincorporated communities

• Castleton
• Duncan
• Elmira
• Lombardville
• Modena
• Morse
• Speer
• Stark

Townships

Stark County is divided into these townships:

• Elmira
• Essex
• Goshen
• Osceola
• Penn
• Toulon
• Valley
• West Jersey

Politics

Since the American Civil War, Stark County has been heavily Republican, like most of Yankee-influenced Northern Illinois. The only Democratic presidential nominee to carry Stark County in the past 150 years has been Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, although Bob Dole won by just sixteen votes against Bill Clinton in 1996, and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt won the county in 1912 when the Republican Party was mortally divided between Roosevelt and conservative incumbent William Howard Taft.

References

References

1. (March 2025). "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020–2024". U.S. Department of Commerce.
2. "Stark County, Illinois". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
4. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates Tables". United States Census Bureau.
5. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
6. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
7. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
8. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
9. "State & County QuickFacts". 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 – Stark County, Illinois".
16. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Stark County, Illinois".
17. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Stark 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. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".