Mercer County, Illinois

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Mercer County is a county in Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,699.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Aledo.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Mercer County is included in the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Mercer County is named for Hugh Mercer (1726–1777), a physician and general during the American Revolution who died from wounds suffered at the Battle of Princeton.

In May 1812, Congress passed an act which set aside lands in Arkansas, Michigan, and Illinois as payment to volunteer soldiers in the War of 1812. Mercer County was part of this "Military Tract."

Seven years after Illinois became a state, Mercer County was founded. It was formed from unorganized territory near Pike County on January 13, 1825. Although the county had been created, its government was not organized for several years; for administration purposes it was attached first to Schuyler County (until 1826), then to Peoria (until 1831), and finally to Warren County. The organization of the county government was finally completed in 1835, after a large influx of settlers following the Black Hawk War.<ref>Mercer County Fact Sheet, Illinois State Archives. Template:Cite web</ref>

Mercer County at the time of its creation in 1825
Mercer County in 1827, reduced to its present borders

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 (1.3%) is water.<ref name="census-density"/>

Climate and weather

Template:Climate chart In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Aledo 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 February 1905 and a record high of Template:Convert was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from Template:Convert in January to Template:Convert in June.<ref name="weather"/>

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Rock Island County - north
Henry County - east
Knox County - southeast
Henderson County - south
Warren County - south
Des Moines County, Iowa - southwest
Louisa County, Iowa - west

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 census

**Mercer 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)	19,096	17,082	16,551	15,912	14,578	99.01%	98.80%	97.61%	96.82%	92.86%
Black or African American alone (NH)	23	30	48	46	68	0.12%	0.17%	0.28%	0.28%	0.43%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	14	33	18	15	26	0.07%	0.19%	0.11%	0.09%	0.17%
Asian alone (NH)	19	35	29	51	37	0.10%	0.20%	0.17%	0.31%	0.24%
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>	1	1	2	x	x	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%
Other race alone (NH)	19	1	5	6	17	0.10%	0.01%	0.03%	0.04%	0.11%
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>	89	96	503	x	x	0.52%	0.58%	3.20%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	115	109	216	307	468	0.60%	0.63%	1.27%	1.87%	2.98%
Total	19,286	17,290	16,957	16,434	15,699	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 16,434 people, 6,734 households, and 4,724 families residing in the county.<ref name="census-dp1">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 7,358 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name="census-density">Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 98.3% white, 0.3% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population.<ref name="census-dp1"/> In terms of ancestry, 25.9% were German, 18.2% were Irish, 11.3% were English, 9.4% were Swedish, and 7.4% were American.<ref name="census-dp2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 6,734 households, 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.8% were non-families, and 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 43.7 years.<ref name="census-dp1"/>

The median income for a household in the county was $50,909 and the median income for a family was $62,025. Males had a median income of $46,136 versus $30,392 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,332. About 8.2% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="census-dp3">Template:Cite web</ref>

Communities

Cities

Townships

Mercer County is divided into fifteen townships:

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Politics

Template:Unreferenced section Historically, Mercer County was a solidly Republican Yankee-influenced county, and before the Republican Party existed a stronghold of the Whig Party. The county never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate until Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 landslide over Barry Goldwater – the solitary break in Whig and Republican dominance occurring in 1912 when the GOP was mortally split and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt carried the county over conservative incumbent President William Howard Taft. After Johnson’s victory in the county, Mercer voted to being Republican between 1968 and 1984, but Reagan’s landslide in that election saw a swing to the Democrats that was capitalized upon by Michael Dukakis to carry the county in 1988. Between then and 2012, Mercer was solidly Democratic, but concern over declining economic opportunities in the “Rust Belt” caused a dramatic swing to populist Republican Donald Trump in 2016. Trump’s performance was the best by a Republican since Richard Nixon's 3,000-plus-county landslide in 1972.

Mercer County is located in Illinois's 17th Congressional District and is currently represented by Democrat Cheri Bustos. Within the Illinois House of Representatives, the county is located in the 74th district and is currently represented by Republican Daniel Swanson. The county is located in the 37th district of the Illinois Senate, and is currently represented by Republican Chuck Weaver.

Footnotes

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External links

Template:Geographic Location Template:Mercer County, Illinois Template:Quad Cities Template:US state navigation box Template:Authority control Template:Coord

Mercer County, Illinois

Contents

History