Douglas County, Illinois

Douglas County, Illinois
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1859
Seat	Tuscola
Largest city	Tuscola
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	417.22 sq mi (1,081 km²) 416.66 sq mi (1,079 km²) 0.56 sq mi (1 km²), 0.13%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	19,980 48/sq mi (18/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 19,980, which is an increase of 0.3% from 19,922 in 2000.^[1] The county seat is Tuscola.^[2]

History

Douglas County was formed in 1859 out of Coles County. It was named in honor of Stephen A. Douglas, who was elected to the United States Senate in 1858, following the Lincoln-Douglas Debates.

• 

  The creation of Douglas and Ford Counties in 1859 resulted in Illinois' current county map.

Geography

The west side of the Douglas County courthouse.

A veterans memorial on the east side of the courthouse.

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 417.22 square miles (1,080.6 km²), of which 416.66 square miles (1,079.1 km²) (or 99.87%) is land and 0.56 square miles (1.5 km²) (or 0.13%) is water.^[3]

Adjacent counties

• Champaign County - north
• Vermilion County - northeast (at a single point)
• Edgar County - east
• Coles County - south
• Moultrie County - west
• Piatt County - northwest

Major highways

• Interstate 57
• US Route 36
• US Route 45
• Illinois Route 49
• Illinois Route 130
• Illinois Route 133

Townships

Douglas County is divided into nine townships:

Arcola Bourbon Bowdre

Camargo Garrett Murdock

Newman Sargent Tuscola

Cities and towns

Map of Douglas County, Illinois.

• Arcola
• Arthur (east half)
• Atwood (east half)
• Camargo
• Garrett
• Hindsboro
• Hugo
• Newman
• Tuscola
• Villa Grove

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Douglas County.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	19,097		—
1910	19,591		2.6%
1920	19,604		0.1%
1930	17,914		−8.6%
1940	17,590		−1.8%
1950	16,706		−5.0%
1960	19,243		15.2%
1970	18,997		−1.3%
1980	19,774		4.1%
1990	19,464		−1.6%
2000	19,922		2.4%
IL Counties 1900-1990

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 19,922 people, 7,574 households, and 5,476 families residing in the county. The population density was 48 people per square mile (18/km²). There were 8,005 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.25% White, 0.30% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.32% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. 3.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 30.9% were of German, 21.1% American, 12.4% English and 9.1% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 86.8% spoke English, 7.6% German, 3.6% Spanish and 1.6% Pennsylvania Dutch as their first language.

There were 7,574 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.10% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.00% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,439, and the median income for a family was $46,117. Males had a median income of $33,079 versus $21,774 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,474. About 4.20% of families and 6.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.90% of those under age 18 and 7.60% of those age 65 or over.

Climate and weather

Tuscola, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.3   34 18     2.1   41 23     3.1   53 33     3.8   66 42     4   76 53     4.2   85 62     4.6   88 66     3.7   86 64     3.1   80 56     2.9   68 45     3.7   52 35     3.1   39 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     58   1 -8     54   5 -5     80   12 1     98   19 6     101   24 12     105   29 17     118   31 19     95   30 18     80   27 13     73   20 7     95   11 2     77   4 -4 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Tuscola have ranged from a low of 18 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in December 1989 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.12 inches (54 mm) in February to 4.64 inches (118 mm) in July.^[5]

See also

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

References

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

1. ^ "Douglas County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17041.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 Tuscola, Illinois". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL1186. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 

External links

• Douglas County Fact Sheet

Coordinates: 39°46′N 88°13′W / 39.77°N 88.22°W / 39.77; -88.22