Wayne County, Illinois

Wayne County, Illinois
Wayne County Courthouse in Fairfield
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1819
Seat	Fairfield
Largest city	Fairfield
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	715.49 sq mi (1,853 km²) 713.81 sq mi (1,849 km²) 1.67 sq mi (4 km²), 0.23%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	16,760 24/sq mi (9/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 16,760, which is a decrease of 2.3% from 17,151 in 2000. Its county seat is Fairfield.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 715.49 square miles (1,853.1 km²), of which 713.81 square miles (1,848.8 km²) (or 99.77%) is land and 1.67 square miles (4.3 km²) (or 0.23%) is water.

Major highways

• Interstate 64
• U.S. Highway 45
• Illinois Route 2
• Illinois Route 7
• Illinois Route 15
• Illinois Route 142
• Illinois Route 161
• Illinois Route 242

Townships

• Arrington
• Barnhill
• Bedford
• Berry
• Big Mound
• Elm River
• Four Mile
• Garden Hill
• Grover
• Hickory Hill
• Indian Prairie
• Jasper
• Lemard
• Leech
• Massilon
• Mount Erie
• Orchard
• Orel
• Rinard
• Zif

Adjacent counties

• Clay County (north)
• Richland County (northeast)
• Edwards County (east)
• White County (southeast)
• Hamilton County (south)
• Jefferson County (southwest)
• Marion County (northwest)

History

Wayne County was formed in 1819 out of Edwards County. It is named after Gen. "Mad Anthony" Wayne, an officer in the Revolutionary War and Northwest Indian War.

• 

  Wayne County between its 1819 creation and 1821

• 

  Wayne County between 1821 and 1824

• 

  Wayne County in 1824, reduced to its current size

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	27,626		—
1910	25,697		−7.0%
1920	22,772		−11.4%
1930	19,130		−16.0%
1940	22,092		15.5%
1950	20,933		−5.2%
1960	19,008		−9.2%
1970	17,004		−10.5%
1980	18,059		6.2%
1990	17,241		−4.5%
2000	17,151		−0.5%
2010	16,760		−2.3%
IL Counties 1900-1990 Census QuickFacts

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,151 people, 7,143 households, and 4,971 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 7,950 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.71% White, 0.15% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.06% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 33.8% were of American, 16.4% German, 15.9% English and 8.1% Irish ancestry.

There were 7,143 households out of which 29.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.70% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 25.80% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 18.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,481, and the median income for a family was $37,729. Males had a median income of $29,148 versus $20,989 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,793. About 9.40% of families and 12.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.70% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Cisne Fairfield Golden Gate Jeffersonville Johnsonville

Keenes Mill Shoals Mount Erie Sims Wayne City

Unincorporated communities

Aden Boyleston Crestview Crisp Cumberland Ellery

Enterprise Geff Goldengate Merriam Orchardville Rinard

Townships

Wayne County is divided into these 20 townships:

Arrington Barnhill Bedford Berry Big Mound Elm River Four Mile

Garden Hill Grover Hickory Hill Indian Prairie Jasper Keith Lamard

Leech Massilon Mount Erie Orchard Orel Zif

Climate and weather

Fairfield, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.8   37 20     2.7   43 24     4.6   54 33     4.8   66 43     4.7   76 52     4.2   85 61     3.8   88 65     3.4   87 63     2.9   80 55     3.3   68 44     4.3   53 34     3.5   42 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     71   3 -7     69   6 -4     117   12 1     122   19 6     120   24 11     107   29 16     97   31 18     85   31 17     74   27 13     84   20 7     110   12 1     88   6 -4 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Fairfield have ranged from a low of 20 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −23 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 1901. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.70 inches (69 mm) in February to 4.80 inches (122 mm) in April.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County