Fayette County, Illinois

Fayette County, Illinois
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1821
Seat	Vandalia
Largest city	Vandalia
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	725.34 sq mi (1,879 km²) 716.48 sq mi (1,856 km²) 8.86 sq mi (23 km²), 1.22%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	22,140 30/sq mi (12/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 22,140, which is an increase of 1.6% from 21,802 in 2000. Its county seat is Vandalia. Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area is located in the northwest part of this county.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 725.34 square miles (1,878.6 km²), of which 716.48 square miles (1,855.7 km²) (or 98.78%) is land and 8.86 square miles (22.9 km²) (or 1.22%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Shelby County - northeast
• Effingham County - east
• Clay County - southeast
• Marion County - south
• Clinton County - southwest
• Bond County - west
• Montgomery County - northwest

Major highways

• Interstate 57
• Interstate 70
• US Route 40
• US Route 51
• Illinois Route 33
• Illinois Route 128
• Illinois Route 140
• Illinois Route 185

History

Fayette County was formed in 1821 out of Bond, Clark, and Crawford counties. It was named in honor of the Marquis de LaFayette, French hero of the American Revolutionary War.

• 

  Fayette County between the time of its creation and 1823

• 

  Fayette between 1823 and 1824

• 

  Fayette between 1824 and 1827

• 

  Fayette between 1827 and 1831

• 

  Fayette in 1831, when the creation of Effingham County reduced it to its current size

Settlements

Cities

• St. Elmo
• Vandalia

Villages

• Bingham
• Brownstown
• Farina
• Ramsey
• St. Peter

Unincorporated

• Augsburg
• Avena
• Bayle City
• Bluff City
• Confidence
• Hagarstown
• Loogootee
• Pittsburg
• Shafter
• Shobonier
• St. Paul
• Vera

Townships

Fayette County is divided into twenty townships:

Avena Bear Grove Bowling Green Carson Kaskaskia

LaClede Lone Grove Loudon North Hurricane Otego

Pope Ramsey Sefton Seminary Shafter

Sharon South Hurricane Vandalia Wheatland Wilberton

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Fayette County, skewed toward the male side by the Vandalia Correctional Center, an Illinois State prison, located in the county.[1]

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	28,065		—
1910	28,075		0%
1920	26,187		−6.7%
1930	23,487		−10.3%
1940	29,159		24.1%
1950	24,582		−15.7%
1960	21,946		−10.7%
1970	20,752		−5.4%
1980	22,167		6.8%
1990	20,893		−5.7%
2000	21,802		4.4%
2010	22,140		1.6%
IL Counties 1900-1990

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,802 people, 8,146 households, and 5,653 families residing in the county. The population density was 30 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 9,053 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.02% White, 4.88% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 34.7% were of German, 23.5% American, 11.6% English and 9.6% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 98.2% spoke English and 1.3% Spanish as their first language.

There were 8,146 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 27.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.80% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 108.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,873, and the median income for a family was $39,044. Males had a median income of $29,478 versus $20,254 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,357. About 8.40% of families and 12.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.60% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.

Climate and weather

Vandalia, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.5   35 18     2.4   41 23     3.7   52 32     3.6   64 43     4.1   74 53     3.9   83 62     3.6   88 67     2.8   86 64     3   79 55     2.8   67 43     3.7   53 34     2.8   40 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     63   2 -8     61   5 -5     94   11 0     91   18 6     104   23 12     100   28 17     92   31 19     71   30 18     75   26 13     72   19 6     94   12 1     70   4 -4 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Vandalia 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 −21 °F (−29 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in July 1980. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.41 inches (61 mm) in February to 4.11 inches (104 mm) in May.

See also

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

References

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