Clark County was formed in 1819 out ofCrawford County. At the time of its formation, Clark County included about a third of Illinois, and extended as far north as the present state of Wisconsin. In 1821 the northern part of Clark County became part of the newly createdPike County on January 31, and the newly createdFayette County took the western part of Clark County on February 14.Edgar County was created from the northern part of Clark County on January 3, 1823. The creation ofColes County occupied additional land from western Clark County, effective December 25, 1830.[5] The boundaries of Clark County have been unchanged since.
Clark County from the time of its creation to 1821
Clark between 1821 and 1823
Clark between 1823 and 1830
Clark reduced to its current size in 1830 by the creation of Coles County
The county seat was located in Darwin Township in 1823. A county-wide referendum was held In 1839 to determine whether Auburn or Marshall would be designated as the new seat. Marshall won the election and has remained the county seat since then.[7]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 505 square miles (1,310 km2), of which 501 square miles (1,300 km2) is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km2) (0.7%) is water.[8] Part of the county's eastern border is defined by theWabash River. The North Fork of theEmbarras River and Hurricane Creek are the main streams in western Clark County. Other than the Wabash River, Big Creek is the major stream in the eastern part of the county.[9]
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Marshall have ranged from a low of 16 °F (−9 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −23 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1930 and a record high of 109 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.23 inches (57 mm) in January to 4.43 inches (113 mm) in July.[10]
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 15,455. The median age was 43.4 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.5 males age 18 and over.[17]
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[19]
There were 6,506 households in the county, of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.8% were married-couple households, 18.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[17]
There were 7,327 housing units, of which 11.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 76.2% were owner-occupied and 23.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.5%.[17]
Clark County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2010 United States census, there were 16,335 people, 6,782 households, and 4,593 families residing in the county.[27] The population density was 32.6 inhabitants per square mile (12.6/km2). There were 7,772 housing units at an average density of 15.5 per square mile (6.0/km2).[8] The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% white, 0.3% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population.[27] In terms of ancestry, 27.4% wereGerman, 14.2% wereIrish, 14.2% wereEnglish, and 10.8% wereAmerican.[28]
Of the 6,782 households, 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.3% were non-families, and 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 42.3 years.[27]
The median income for a household in the county was $43,597 and the median income for a family was $52,689. Males had a median income of $39,385 versus $27,426 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,173. About 7.6% of families and 10.9% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.[29]
They have a total enrollment (2004)[needs update] of 3,014 students. Each district has one high school (grades 9–12) and one junior high school (grades 7–8). Marshall has two elementary schools and the other districts have one each.
In its early days, Clark County favored the Democratic Party, not supporting a Republican presidential candidate untilTheodore Roosevelt’s 1904 landslide. Since 1920, it has been a strongly Republican county: the last Democrat to win a majority being Lyndon Johnson in 1964, and only Bill Clinton by plurality in 1992 has won the county since.
United States presidential election results for Clark County, Illinois[31]
