Clinton County, Illinois

Clinton County
Clinton County Courthouse
Map of Illinois highlighting Clinton County
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Map of the United States highlighting Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°37′N 89°25′W / 38.61°N 89.42°W / 38.61; -89.42
Country United States
State Illinois
Founded1824
Named forDeWitt Clinton
SeatCarlyle
Largest cityBreese
Area
 • Total503 sq mi (1,300 km2)
 • Land474 sq mi (1,230 km2)
 • Water29 sq mi (80 km2)  5.8%
Population
 • Total36,899
 • Density73/sq mi (28/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district12th
Websitewww.clintonco.illinois.gov

Clinton County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. At the 2020 census, the population was 36,899. Its county seat is Carlyle.

In 1960, the United States Census Bureau placed the mean center of U.S. population in Clinton County.

Clinton County is part of the St. Louis, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In 1805, prior to the establishment of the county, the territorial government established a post road from its capital (Vincennes, Indiana) to St. Louis, Missouri, passing through the county. In 1808 a wagon road was laid out through the future Clinton County. It extended from the Goshen Settlement to the Ohio salt works and crossed the Kaskaskia River at Carlyle.

Clinton County was created on 27 December 1824, from portions of Washington, Fayette, and Bond Counties. It was named for the seventh Governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton, who helped build the Erie Canal.

Crossing the Kaskaskia became much easier when the bridge now known as the General Dean Suspension Bridge was built in 1859, at a cost of $40,000. Before the bridge was constructed, crossings involved a ferry or a mud bridge. The Illinois General Assembly set aside $20,000 for bridge restoration in 1951, and in 1953 the bridge was named after William F. Dean.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 503 square miles (1,300 km2), of which 474 square miles (1,230 km2) is land and 29 square miles (75 km2) (5.8%) is water. Eldon Hazlet State Recreation Area and South Shore State Park are in Clinton County. Its southern border is the Kaskaskia River.

Climate and weather

Carlyle, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
2.2
 
 
36
19
 
 
2.4
 
 
43
23
 
 
3.8
 
 
54
33
 
 
3.9
 
 
65
43
 
 
4.2
 
 
75
53
 
 
4.4
 
 
84
62
 
 
3.7
 
 
88
67
 
 
2.8
 
 
86
65
 
 
3.1
 
 
79
57
 
 
3
 
 
68
45
 
 
3.8
 
 
54
35
 
 
3.2
 
 
42
24
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Source:The Weather Channel
Metric conversion
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
55
 
 
2
−7
 
 
61
 
 
6
−5
 
 
97
 
 
12
1
 
 
99
 
 
18
6
 
 
107
 
 
24
12
 
 
113
 
 
29
17
 
 
94
 
 
31
19
 
 
72
 
 
30
18
 
 
77
 
 
26
14
 
 
76
 
 
20
7
 
 
98
 
 
12
2
 
 
82
 
 
6
−4
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Carlyle 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 −22 °F (−30 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in July 1980. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.17 inches (55 mm) in January to 4.44 inches (113 mm) in June.

Transit

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
18302,330
18403,71859.6%
18505,13938.2%
186010,941112.9%
187016,28548.8%
188018,71414.9%
189017,411−7.0%
190019,82413.9%
191022,83215.2%
192022,9470.5%
193021,369−6.9%
194022,9127.2%
195022,594−1.4%
196024,0296.4%
197028,31517.8%
198032,61715.2%
199033,9444.1%
200035,5354.7%
201037,7626.3%
202036,899−2.3%
US Decennial Census
1790-1960 1900-1990
1990-2000 2010
2000 census age pyramid for Clinton County

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 37,762 people, 14,005 households, and 9,760 families residing in the county. The population density was 79.7 inhabitants per square mile (30.8/km2). There were 15,311 housing units at an average density of 32.3 per square mile (12.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 93.4% white, 3.5% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.2% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 54.8% were German, 9.8% were Irish, 5.8% were English, and 5.6% were American.

Of the 14,005 households, 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.3% were non-families, and 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 39.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $55,278 and the median income for a family was $66,682. Males had a median income of $45,119 versus $34,051 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,392. About 5.2% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

  • Carlyle Community Unit School District 1
  • Patoka Community Unit School District 100
  • Sandoval Community Unit School District 501
  • Wesclin Community Unit School District 3
  • Central Community High School, Breese
  • Mater Dei Catholic High School, Breese

Communities

Cities

Villages

Townships

Unincorporated Communities

Politics

As part of German Catholic southern Illinois, nineteenth-century Clinton County was opposed to the “YankeeCivil War and the Northern Illinois residents who supported it and the Republican Party. Consequently, the county was solidly Democratic for the six decades after the Civil War, turning Republican only due to opposition to Woodrow Wilson’s post-World War I policies towards Germany. Its first flirt with Republicanism was short-lived: in 1924 Clinton was the nation's southeasternmost county – and the solitary one in Illinois – to give a plurality to Robert M. La Follette, and in 1928 its residents voted powerfully for coreligionist Al Smith despite a landslide loss nationally.

1936, despite a landslide win for Franklin D. Roosevelt, saw Clinton County, like many other German Catholic counties in the Midwest, show a more permanent trend away from the Democratic Party: owing to a strong vote for Union Party candidate William Lemke, Roosevelt only won a plurality, and with powerful local opposition to World War II Wendell Willkie and Thomas E. Dewey won over 62 percent of the county's vote in the two elections held whilst World War II was in progress. Since then only Catholic John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson during his 1964 landslide have obtained a majority in the county for the Democratic Party, although Bill Clinton did win pluralities in both 1992 and 1996.

United States presidential election results for Clinton County, Illinois
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 14,304 74.45% 4,493 23.38% 417 2.17%
2016 12,412 71.26% 3,945 22.65% 1,062 6.10%
2012 10,524 63.86% 5,596 33.95% 361 2.19%
2008 9,357 54.04% 7,657 44.22% 300 1.73%
2004 10,219 59.65% 6,797 39.68% 115 0.67%
2000 8,588 55.67% 6,436 41.72% 403 2.61%
1996 6,065 43.81% 6,104 44.09% 1,675 12.10%
1992 5,771 36.47% 6,686 42.26% 3,365 21.27%
1988 7,681 56.15% 5,935 43.38% 64 0.47%
1984 9,233 66.43% 4,628 33.30% 38 0.27%
1980 8,500 62.53% 4,470 32.88% 623 4.58%
1976 7,245 53.00% 6,275 45.90% 151 1.10%
1972 7,931 62.39% 4,756 37.41% 25 0.20%
1968 6,561 53.78% 4,453 36.50% 1,185 9.71%
1964 4,692 39.00% 7,339 61.00% 0 0.00%
1960 5,709 47.96% 6,188 51.99% 6 0.05%
1956 7,378 63.46% 4,242 36.48% 7 0.06%
1952 6,760 58.18% 4,853 41.76% 7 0.06%
1948 5,128 51.47% 4,773 47.91% 62 0.62%
1944 6,753 62.82% 3,944 36.69% 53 0.49%
1940 7,582 62.00% 4,558 37.27% 90 0.74%
1936 3,653 32.78% 5,355 48.05% 2,137 19.17%
1932 2,548 24.35% 7,736 73.92% 182 1.74%
1928 3,031 30.77% 6,774 68.76% 47 0.48%
1924 2,358 29.69% 1,693 21.32% 3,891 48.99%
1920 4,564 63.71% 1,661 23.19% 939 13.11%
1916 3,423 42.59% 4,201 52.27% 413 5.14%
1912 973 20.48% 2,674 56.29% 1,103 23.22%
1908 2,104 39.11% 3,016 56.06% 260 4.83%
1904 1,848 43.02% 2,153 50.12% 295 6.87%
1900 1,964 41.60% 2,637 55.86% 120 2.54%
1896 1,863 41.75% 2,572 57.64% 27 0.61%
1892 1,361 34.68% 2,393 60.97% 171 4.36%

See also

38°37′N 89°25′W / 38.61°N 89.42°W / 38.61; -89.42


This page was last updated at 2023-11-15 00:08 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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