Effingham County, Illinois

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

Effingham County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,668.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat and largest city is Effingham. Some other cities in Effingham County, Illinois include Altamont, Teutopolis, Beecher City, Montrose, Dieterich, Shumway, Watson, Mason, and Edgewood. Effingham County comprises the Effingham, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

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Effingham County at the time of its creation in 1831

Effingham County was formed in 1831 out of Fayette and Crawford counties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It may have been named after Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham, who resigned his commission as general in the British army in 1775, refusing to serve in the war against the Colonies. The name is Anglo-Saxon for "Effa's house". New information suggests that the county was named after a surveyor who surveyed the area whose last name was Effingham. There is no written proof that the county was named after Lord Effingham.

Government

Effingham County is governed by a board of elected representatives.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Effingham County Board is the legislative body of County Government. It is composed of nine elected members, each representing a geographic district within the County. Each district is currently composed on average of just under 4000 residents. The districts are adjusted every 10 years after the national census information is published. The current Effingham County Board Chairman is Joshua Douthit (Republican) elected in 2022 from District B.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.3%) is water.<ref name="census-density"/>

Just west of Effingham on Interstate 70 there is a Template:Convert white cross; 35,000 vehicles are estimated to pass the site each day. It is one of the world's tallest crosses, and took over Template:Convert of steel to erect.

Climate and weather

Template:Climate chart In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Effingham have ranged from a low of Template:Convert in January to a high of Template:Convert in July, although a record low of Template:Convert was recorded in January 1915 and a record high of Template:Convert was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from Template:Convert in January to Template:Convert in July.<ref name="weather"/>

Adjacent counties

Cumberland County - northeast
Jasper County - east
Clay County - south
Fayette County - west
Shelby County - northwest

Major highways

Transit

Demographics

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2020 census

**Effingham County County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 1980<ref name=1980Census>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 1990<ref name=1990Census>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 1980	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	30,764	31,437	33,658	33,155	32,361	99.42%	99.16%	98.23%	96.83%	93.35%
Black or African American alone (NH)	17	12	55	76	151	0.05%	0.04%	0.16%	0.22%	0.44%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	27	43	49	24	36	0.09%	0.14%	0.14%	0.07%	0.10%
Asian alone (NH)	30	90	108	147	246	0.10%	0.28%	0.32%	0.43%	0.71%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	x <ref>included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census</ref>	x <ref>included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census</ref>	4	7	6	x	x	0.01%	0.02%	0.02%
Other race alone (NH)	15	1	7	13	45	0.05%	0.00%	0.02%	0.04%	0.13%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	x <ref>not an option in the 1980 Census</ref>	x <ref>not an option in the 1990 Census</ref>	131	223	951	x	x	0.38%	0.65%	2.74%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	91	121	252	597	872	0.29%	0.38%	0.74%	1.74%	2.52%
Total	30,944	31,704	34,264	34,242	34,668	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 34,242 people, 13,515 households, and 9,302 families residing in the county.<ref name="census-dp1">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 14,570 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name="census-density">Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 97.6% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% American Indian, 0.8% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.7% of the population.<ref name="census-dp1"/> In terms of ancestry, 41.6% were German, 10.0% were Irish, 9.3% were American, and 8.8% were English.<ref name="census-dp2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 13,515 households, 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.2% were non-families, and 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 39.2 years.<ref name="census-dp1"/>

The median income for a household in the county was $49,509 and the median income for a family was $61,373. Males had a median income of $40,951 versus $28,209 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,843. About 7.8% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="census-dp3">Template:Cite web</ref>

Communities

Cities

Altamont
Effingham (seat)

Town

Mason

Villages

Townships

Effingham County is divided into fifteen townships:

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Unincorporated communities

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Politics

In its early years Effingham County was owing to its anti-Civil War German-American population powerfully Democratic. Until Woodrow Wilson’s harsh policies towards Germany following World War I drove many voters to the GOP’s Warren G. Harding, it had voted an absolute majority to the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since the county’s formation. Opposition to the New Deal caused a considerable swing away from Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, and combined with local opposition to Roosevelt’s war policies in 1940 to cause FDR to only win the county by forty-seven votes from Wendell Willkie.

Since that election, the county has voted Republican in every election except 1948 and 1964, and no Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976 has reached 35 percent of the county’s vote. Currently Effingham County is one of Illinois’ most Republican counties, rivalled by a number of southern counties like Edwards. In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, John McCain carried the county by a 36% margin over Barack Obama, making it McCain's strongest county in the state, with Obama carrying his home state by a 25.1% margin over McCain.<ref>U.S. Election Atlas</ref>

Currently all elected officials holding major offices in Effingham County are Republican with 8 of 9 elected County Board Representatives being Republican.

References

Specific

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General

History of Southern Illinois, George Washington Smith, 1912.
United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
United States National Atlas

External links

Effingham County History & Genealogy

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Template:Effingham County, Illinois Template:Illinois Template:Authority control Template:Coord

Effingham County, Illinois

Contents

History

Government