Clark County, Illinois

Clark County, Illinois
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1819
Seat	Marshall
Largest city	Marshall
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	504.82 sq mi (1,307 km²) 501.42 sq mi (1,299 km²) 3.40 sq mi (9 km²), 0.67%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	16,335 34/sq mi (13/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.clarkcountyil.org

Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 16,335, which is a decrease of 4.0% from 17,008 in 2000.^[1] Its county seat is Marshall.^[2]

History

Clark County was formed in 1819 out of Crawford County. At the time of its formation, Clark County included about a third of Illinois. It acquired its present boundaries in 1831 as new counties were formed out of it. Clark County was named for George Rogers Clark (older brother of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition), an officer of the army of Virginia that captured the Northwest Territory from the British at the close of the Revolutionary War.

• 

  Clark County from the time of its creation to 1821

• 

  Clark between 1821 and 1823

• 

  Clark between 1823 and 1830

• 

  Clark reduced to its current size in 1830 by the creation of Coles County

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 504.82 square miles (1,307.5 km²), of which 501.42 square miles (1,298.7 km²) (or 99.33%) is land and 3.40 square miles (8.8 km²) (or 0.67%) is water.^[3] Part of the county's eastern border is defined by the Wabash River.

Adjacent counties

• Edgar County - north
• Vigo County, Indiana - northeast
• Sullivan County, Indiana - southeast
• Crawford County - south
• Jasper County - southwest
• Cumberland County - west
• Coles County - northwest

Major highways

• Interstate 70
• US Route 40
• Illinois Route 1
• Illinois Route 49

Townships

Clark County is divided into fifteen townships:

Anderson Auburn Casey Darwin Dolson

Douglas Johnson Marshall Martinsville Melrose

Orange Parker Wabash Westfield York

Cities and towns

• Casey
• Clarksville (unincorporated town)
• Marshall
• Martinsville
• Westfield
• West Union (unincorporated town)

Education

There are three school districts in Clark County (Marshall, Martinsville and Casey-Westfield) with a total enrollment (2004) of 3,014 students. Each district has one high school (grades 9-12) and one junior high school (grades 7-8). Marshall has two elementary schools and the other districts have one each.

See List of school districts in Clark County

Political districts

• Illinois' 15th congressional district
• State House District 109
• State Senate District 55

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Clark County.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	24,033		—
1910	23,517		−2.1%
1920	21,165		−10.0%
1930	17,872		−15.6%
1940	18,842		5.4%
1950	17,362		−7.9%
1960	16,546		−4.7%
1970	16,216		−2.0%
1980	16,913		4.3%
1990	15,921		−5.9%
2000	17,008		6.8%
IL Counties 1900-1990

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 17,008 people, 6,971 households, and 4,809 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile (13/km²). There were 7,816 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.78% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 0.32% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 26.4% were of German, 24.4% American, 16.1% English and 10.3% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 98.6% spoke English as their first language.

There were 6,971 households out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.90% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.00% were non-families. 28.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.90% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 26.60% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,967, and the median income for a family was $43,213. Males had a median income of $32,035 versus $20,954 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,655. About 6.40% of families and 9.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.20% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

Climate and weather

Marshall, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.2   34 16     2.2   40 21     3.3   51 31     4   63 41     4.3   74 51     4.2   83 61     4.4   86 65     4.4   84 62     2.9   78 55     2.8   66 43     3.7   51 33     3.1   39 22 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     57   1 -9     57   4 -6     83   11 -1     101   17 5     109   23 11     108   28 16     113   30 18     112   29 17     75   26 13     71   19 6     93   11 1     79   4 -6 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Marshall have ranged from a low of 16 °F (−9 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −23 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1930 and a record high of 109 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.23 inches (57 mm) in January to 4.43 inches (113 mm) in July.^[5]

See also

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

References

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

1. ^ "Clark County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17023.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 Marshall, Illinois". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0732. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 

External links

• Clark County, Illinois History and Genealogy

Coordinates: 39°20′N 87°47′W / 39.33°N 87.79°W / 39.33; -87.79