Jasper County, Illinois

Jasper County, Illinois
Jasper County Courthouse in Newton
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1831
Seat	Newton
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	498.12 sq mi (1,290 km²) 494.51 sq mi (1,281 km²) 3.61 sq mi (9 km²), 0.72%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	9,698 21/sq mi (8/km²)

Jasper County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 9,698, which is a decrease of 4.1% from 10,117 in 2000. Its county seat is Newton.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 498.12 square miles (1,290.1 km²), of which 494.51 square miles (1,280.8 km²) (or 99.28%) is land and 3.61 square miles (9.3 km²) (or 0.72%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Cumberland County - north
• Clark County - northeast
• Crawford County - east
• Richland County - south
• Clay County - southwest
• Effingham County - west

History

Jasper County was formed in 1831 out of Clay and Crawford Counties. It was named for Sgt. William Jasper, Revolutionary War hero from South Carolina. In the defense of Fort Moultrie in 1776, when the staff of the American flag was shot away, Sgt. Jasper erected a temporary staff, and waved the flag at the British until a new staff was erected.

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  Jasper County at the time of its creation in 1831

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Jasper County

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	20,160		—
1910	18,157		−9.9%
1920	16,064		−11.5%
1930	12,809		−20.3%
1940	13,431		4.9%
1950	12,266		−8.7%
1960	11,346		−7.5%
1970	10,741		−5.3%
1980	11,318		5.4%
1990	10,609		−6.3%
2000	10,117		−4.6%
2010	9,698		−4.1%
IL Counties 1900-1990 Census QuickFacts

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,117 people, 3,930 households, and 2,849 families residing in the county. The population density was 20 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 4,294 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 99.15% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.31% from two or more races. 0.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 49.2% were of German, 16.5% American, 9.7% English and 6.5% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 99.3% spoke English as their first language.

There were 3,930 households out of which 32.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.30% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.90% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,721, and the median income for a family was $43,547. Males had a median income of $30,131 versus $17,646 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,649. About 8.50% of families and 9.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Jasper County is largely served by Jasper County Community Unit School District 1, which is based in its county seat, Newton. Five of the district's six schools are located in and mostly serve juvenile residents of Jasper County. Saint Thomas Catholic School is a Private Elementary school, also in Newton.

Cities and towns

• Newton
• Ste. Marie
• Hidalgo
• Rose Hill
• Wheeler
• Willow Hill
• Yale

Unincorporated towns

• Bogota
• Hunt City
• West Liberty
• Lis
• Boos
• Falmouth
• Gila
• Latona
• Raeftown
• Island Grove
• Advance

Townships

Jasper County is divided into eleven townships:

Crooked Creek Fox Grandville Grove Hunt City North Muddy

Sainte Marie Smallwood South Muddy Wade Willow Hill

Climate and weather

Newton, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.4   34 18     2.4   40 23     3.9   51 33     3.9   63 42     4.4   73 52     3.7   82 62     4.4   85 66     3.4   84 63     3.2   78 55     2.8   66 43     4   52 34     2.9   39 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     60   1 -8     60   4 -5     98   11 1     99   17 6     112   23 11     95   28 17     111   29 19     87   29 17     81   26 13     70   19 6     101   11 1     74   4 -4 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Newton have ranged from a low of 18 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −28 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.38 inches (60 mm) in January to 4.39 inches (112 mm) in May.

Notable residents

• Burl Ives, An acclaimed American folk singer, author and actor. Most notably his classic Christmas movie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and voiced Sam the Snowman.
• Irene Hunt, An acclaimed American author of the classic Across Five Aprils.
• Ross Wolf, A Major League Baseball relief Pitcher for the Houston Astros.

See also

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

External links

• Jasper County Genealogy Trails
• Jasper County Genweb
• http://www.southeastillinois.com