Ford County was formed February 17, 1859, making it Illinois's "newest" county. It was created at the behest of some residents ofVermilion County, who complained to theGeneral Assembly that they lived too far from thecounty seat. Ford County was named afterThomas Ford, the Governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846.[6]
The creation of Douglas and Ford Counties in 1859 resulted in Illinois's current county map.
According to theUS Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 486 square miles (1,260 km2), of which 486 square miles (1,260 km2) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) (0.1%) is water.[7]
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paxton have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.40 inches (36 mm) in February to 4.38 inches (111 mm) in May.[8]
Ford 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 14,081 people, 5,676 households, and 3,798 families living in the county.[24] The population density was 29.0 inhabitants per square mile (11.2/km2). There were 6,282 housing units at an average density of 12.9 per square mile (5.0/km2).[7] The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population.[24] In terms of ancestry, 35.7% wereGerman, 15.5% wereIrish, 13.6% wereAmerican, and 10.4% wereEnglish.[25]
Of the 5,676 households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.1% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 42.4 years.[24]
The median income for a household in the county was $48,667 and the median income for a family was $62,819. Males had a median income of $43,849 versus $30,136 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,401. About 5.4% of families and 8.3% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.[26]
Ford County is one of the state's most consistently Republican counties; since its 1859 organization it has voted for Republican presidential candidates in all but two elections. In 1912, the GOP was divided andProgressiveTheodore Roosevelt carried the county over the more conservative official nomineeWilliam Howard Taft; in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression,Franklin D. Roosevelt in the first of his four campaigns became and has remained the only Democrat to carry Ford County. Since 1968 no Democratic presidential candidate has topped 36% of the county's vote, and since the county first formed only three Democrats – all in landslide national victories – have managed 40% of Ford County's votes.
After theLibertarian Party's success in the 1998 election for Ford County Sheriff and other countywide offices, it achievedestablished party status. At the time this made Ford County the only county in Illinois with three established parties. Due to its second place showing over the then-dormant Democratic Party in that election, the Libertarians received the minority party's seat on the Board of Review and one of the five seats on the Sheriff's Merit Commission.[27] This status was lost by 2002 after the Libertarian Party failed to field any candidates in the 2002 general election.[28]
PresidentGerald Ford visited Ford County on October 24, 1974, to mark the retirement of CongressmanLeslie C. Arends ofMelvin who served in Congress for 40 years, including over 30 years as RepublicanMinority Whip.[29]
United States presidential election results for Ford County, Illinois[30]
