Henderson County, Illinois

Henderson County, Illinois
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1841
Seat	Oquawka
Largest city	Oquawka
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	395.22 sq mi (1,024 km²) 378.87 sq mi (981 km²) 16.35 sq mi (42 km²), 4.14%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	7,331 22/sq mi (8/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 7,331, which is a decrease of 10.7% from 8,213 in 2000. Its county seat is Oquawka.

Henderson County is part of the Burlington, IA–IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 395.22 square miles (1,023.6 km²), of which 378.87 square miles (981.3 km²) (or 95.86%) is land and 16.35 square miles (42.3 km²) (or 4.14%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 34
• Illinois Route 94
• Illinois Route 96
• Illinois Route 116
• Illinois Route 164

Adjacent counties

• Mercer County - north
• Warren County - east
• McDonough County - southeast
• Hancock County - south
• Lee County, Iowa - southwest
• Des Moines County, Iowa - west

History

Henderson County was formed in 1841 out of Warren County. It was named for Henderson County, Kentucky, which was named for Richard Henderson, founder of the Transylvania Company, an early attempt to organize what later became Kentucky around 1775.

• 

  Henderson County at the time of its creation in 1841

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Henderson County

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	10,836		—
1910	9,724		−10.3%
1920	9,770		0.5%
1930	8,778		−10.2%
1940	8,949		1.9%
1950	8,416		−6.0%
1960	8,237		−2.1%
1970	8,451		2.6%
1980	9,114		7.8%
1990	8,096		−11.2%
2000	8,213		1.4%
2010	7,331		−10.7%
IL Counties 1900-1990 Census QuickFacts

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,213 people, 3,365 households, and 2,375 families residing in God's country. The population density was 22 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 4,126 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.50% White, 0.26% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 0.88% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.7% were of German, 23.5% American, 13.2% English, 13.2% Irish and 6.0% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000. 98.2% spoke English and 1.4% Spanish as their first language.

The largest self-reported ancestry in Henderson County as of 2010 are:

• 36.7% English
• 25.1% German
• 13.2% Irish
• 6% Swedish
• 3% Dutch

There were 3,365 households out of which 28.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.60% were married couples living together, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 25.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.10% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 26.50% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 97.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,405, and the median income for a family was $42,400. Males had a median income of $31,239 versus $21,100 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,456. About 6.10% of families and 9.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.80% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Biggsville
• Dallas City (mostly in Hancock County)
• Gladstone
• Gulf Port
• Lomax
• Media
• Oquawka
• Raritan
• Stronghurst

Unincorporated communities

• Carman
• Carthage Lake
• Decorra
• Hopper
• Olena
• Shokonon
• Terre Haute

Townships

Henderson County is divided into eleven townships:

Bald Bluff Biggsville Carman Gladstone Lomax Media

Oquawka Raritan Rozetta Stronghurst Terre Haute

Climate and weather

Oquawka, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.3   30 15     1.5   36 21     3   49 31     3.6   62 43     4.4   72 54     4.5   82 63     4.5   85 67     3.9   83 65     3.6   76 57     2.9   65 46     2.7   49 33     2.1   35 21 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     33   -1 -9     39   2 -6     75   9 -1     92   17 6     112   22 12     113   28 17     114   29 19     98   28 18     91   24 14     74   18 8     69   9 1     53   2 -6 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Oquawka have ranged from a low of 15 °F (−9 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in February 1996 and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in August 1983. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.31 inches (33 mm) in January to 4.48 inches (114 mm) in July.

See also

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

Further reading

• History of Mercer and Henderson Counties, Together with Biographical Matter, Statistics, Etc. Chicago: H.H. Hill and Company, 1882.

External links

• Henderson County Public Library District
• Henderson County Economic Development Corporation
• Henderson County Genealogy
• Henderson County Tombstone Project