Lawrence County, Illinois

Lawrence County, Illinois
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1821
Seat	Lawrenceville
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	374.14 sq mi (969 km²) 372.18 sq mi (964 km²) 1.96 sq mi (5 km²), 0.52%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	16,833 42/sq mi (16/km²)
Website	www.lawrencecountyillinois.com

Lawrence County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois (excluding water boundaries). According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 16,833, which is an increase of 8.9% from 15,452 in 2000. Its county seat is Lawrenceville.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 374.14 square miles (969.0 km²), of which 372.18 square miles (963.9 km²) (or 99.48%) is land and 1.96 square miles (5.1 km²) (or 0.52%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 50
• Illinois Route 1
• Illinois Route 33
• Illinois Route 250

History

Lawrence County was formed in 1821 out of Crawford and Edwards Counties. It was named for Captain James Lawrence, killed in action in 1813 while in command of the frigate USS Chesapeake. Mortally wounded, he uttered the famous phrase "Don't give up the ship".

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  Lawrence County from its creation in 1821 to 1824

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  Lawrence County between 1824 and 1841

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  Lawrence County in 1841, when the creation of Richland County reduced Lawrence to its current size

Townships

Allison, Bond, Bridgeport, Christy, Denison, Lawrence, Lukin, Petty, Russell

Adjacent counties

• Crawford County to the north
• Knox County, Indiana to the east
• Wabash County to the south
• Richland County to the west

Townships

Nine townships make up Lawrence County. They are:

• Allison
• Bond
• Bridgeport
• Christy
• Denison
• Lawrence
• Lukin
• Petty
• Russell

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Lawrence County.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	16,523		—
1910	22,661		37.1%
1920	21,380		−5.7%
1930	21,885		2.4%
1940	21,075		−3.7%
1950	20,539		−2.5%
1960	18,540		−9.7%
1970	17,522		−5.5%
1980	17,807		1.6%
1990	15,972		−10.3%
2000	15,452		−3.3%
IL Counties 1900-1990

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,452 people, 6,309 households, and 4,252 families residing in the county. The population density was 42 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 7,014 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.97% White, 0.76% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.27% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 0.89% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 27.5% were of American, 21.6% German, 17.4% English and 10.2% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 98.5% spoke English and 1.3% Spanish as their first language.

There were 6,309 households out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 29.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.70% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 20.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 91.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,361, and the median income for a family was $37,050. Males had a median income of $28,428 versus $18,727 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,070. About 10.70% of families and 13.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.30% of those under age 18 and 8.50% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Cities

• Bridgeport
• Lawrenceville
• St. Francisville
• Sumner

Villages

• Birds
• Russellville

Unincorporated towns

• Billett
• Chauncey
• Helena
• Petrolia
• Pinkstaff
• Russelville
• Sand Barrens
• Westport

Climate and weather

Lawrenceville, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.6   36 18     2.5   42 22     3.6   53 32     4.3   65 42     5.1   75 52     4.1   84 61     4.7   88 65     3.7   86 63     3.2   80 54     3.2   68 42     4.3   54 33     3.2   42 23 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     66   2 -8     64   6 -6     91   12 0     109   18 6     130   24 11     103   29 16     119   31 18     94   30 17     80   27 12     82   20 6     108   12 1     82   6 -5 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Lawrenceville 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 −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.51 inches (64 mm) in February to 5.13 inches (130 mm) in May.

See also

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

External links

• Lawrence County official site
• Lawrence County Fact Sheet, Illinois State Archives
• Blue Star Emergency Medical Services Official Site