Pope County, Illinois | |
|---|---|
 Pope County Courthouse in Golconda | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofIllinois | |
| Coordinates:37°25′N88°34′W / 37.41°N 88.57°W /37.41; -88.57 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Illinois |
| Founded | 1816 |
| Named after | Nathaniel Pope |
| Seat | Golconda |
| Largest city | Golconda |
| Area | |
• Total | 374 sq mi (970 km2) |
| • Land | 369 sq mi (960 km2) |
| • Water | 5.5 sq mi (14 km2) 1.5% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 3,763 |
• Estimate (2024) | 3,703 [1] |
| • Density | 10.2/sq mi (3.94/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 12th |
Pope County is the southeasternmostcounty in theU.S. state ofIllinois. According to the2020 census, it had a population of 3,763,[2] making it the second-least populous county in Illinois. Itscounty seat isGolconda.[3] The county was organized in 1816 from portions ofGallatin andJohnson counties and named afterNathaniel Pope, a politician and jurist from theIllinois Territory and State of Illinois.
The first permanent settlement in future Pope County was established in 1798 at the modern-day site ofGolconda, then a part of theNorthwest Territory which operated as a ferry point across theOhio River. The county was formed in 1816 from portions ofGallatin andJohnson Counties.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 374 square miles (970 km2), of which 369 square miles (960 km2) is land and 5.5 square miles (14 km2) (1.5%) is water.[4]
The entire county is hilly and during rainy weather rivulets cascade down the hills in the park formingwaterfalls of varying sizes and heights. The county containsDixon Springs State Park, one of many state parks in theIllinois Shawnee Hills, and is part of theShawnee National Forest. It is bordered to the south and east by theOhio River, which marks the state's border withKentucky.
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In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Golconda have ranged from a low of 21 °F (−6 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −22 °F (−30 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in August 2007. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 3.22 inches (82 mm) in October to 5.02 inches (128 mm) in May.[5]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 2,610 | — | |
| 1830 | 3,316 | 27.0% | |
| 1840 | 4,094 | 23.5% | |
| 1850 | 3,975 | −2.9% | |
| 1860 | 6,742 | 69.6% | |
| 1870 | 11,437 | 69.6% | |
| 1880 | 13,256 | 15.9% | |
| 1890 | 14,016 | 5.7% | |
| 1900 | 13,585 | −3.1% | |
| 1910 | 11,215 | −17.4% | |
| 1920 | 9,625 | −14.2% | |
| 1930 | 7,996 | −16.9% | |
| 1940 | 7,999 | 0.0% | |
| 1950 | 5,779 | −27.8% | |
| 1960 | 4,061 | −29.7% | |
| 1970 | 3,857 | −5.0% | |
| 1980 | 4,404 | 14.2% | |
| 1990 | 4,373 | −0.7% | |
| 2000 | 4,413 | 0.9% | |
| 2010 | 4,470 | 1.3% | |
| 2020 | 3,763 | −15.8% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 3,703 | [6] | −1.6% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9] 1990-2000[10] 2010-2017[2] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 3,763, the median age was 52.5 years, 18.5% of residents were under the age of 18, and 27.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 102.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.8 males age 18 and over.[11]
The racial makeup of the county was 93.4%White, 1.1%Black or African American, 0.2%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Asian, less than 0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 4.4% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.9% of the population.[12]
Less than 0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[13]
There were 1,694 households in the county, of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.1% were married-couple households, 21.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[11]
There were 2,355 housing units, of which 28.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 81.8% were owner-occupied and 18.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.6%.[11]
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 1980[14] | Pop 1990[15] | Pop 2000[16] | Pop 2010[17] | Pop 2020[18] | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 4,168 | 4,036 | 4,104 | 4,055 | 3,491 | 94.64% | 92.29% | 93.00% | 90.72% | 92.77% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 180 | 260 | 158 | 269 | 38 | 4.09% | 5.95% | 3.58% | 6.02% | 1.01% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 8 | 14 | 30 | 28 | 1 | 0.18% | 0.32% | 0.68% | 0.63% | 0.03% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 8 | 6 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 0.18% | 0.14% | 0.27% | 0.25% | 0.43% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | x[19] | x[20] | 0 | 1 | 0 | x | x | 0.00% | 0.02% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 9 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0.20% | 0.00% | 0.18% | 0.07% | 0.00% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | x[21] | x[22] | 61 | 39 | 146 | x | x | 1.38% | 0.87% | 3.88% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 31 | 57 | 40 | 64 | 71 | 0.70% | 1.30% | 0.91% | 1.43% | 1.89% |
| Total | 4,404 | 4,373 | 4,413 | 4,470 | 3,763 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the2010 census, there were 4,470 people, 1,829 households, and 1,209 families living in the county.[23] The population density was 12.1 inhabitants per square mile (4.7/km2). There were 2,491 housing units at an average density of 6.8 per square mile (2.6/km2).[4] The racial makeup of the county was 91.7% white, 6.0% black or African American, 0.6% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population.[23] In terms of ancestry, 31.8% wereGerman, 19.1% wereIrish, 11.4% wereEnglish, and 5.4% wereAmerican.[24]
Of the 1,829 households, 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.9% were non-families, and 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 46.6 years.[23]
The median income for a household in the county was $39,672 and the median income for a family was $51,500. Males had a median income of $45,865 versus $28,519 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,134. About 6.6% of families and 12.4% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.[25]
In its early days Pope County, being strongly Southern in its culture and opposed toNorthern Illinois, was powerfully Democratic, giving a majority to that party in every pre-war Presidential election.
However, during the Civil War, under the influence of CongressmanJohn A. Logan, this region of dubious initial loyalty was to provide a number of Union soldiers rivalled on a per capita basis only by a few fiercely Unionist counties inAppalachia.[26][27]
Stephen A. Douglas in 1860 remains the last Democrat to win a majority of the county's vote, althoughBill Clinton won pluralities in both 1992 and 1996 due toRoss Perot siphoning votes from Republican opponentsGeorge Bush senior andBob Dole. Hillary Clinton in 2016 fared extremely poorly, carrying fewer than eighteen percent of Pope County's votes.[28]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1892 | 1,629 | 58.49% | 816 | 29.30% | 340 | 12.21% |
| 1896 | 1,852 | 62.95% | 1,074 | 36.51% | 16 | 0.54% |
| 1900 | 1,817 | 66.02% | 908 | 32.99% | 27 | 0.98% |
| 1904 | 1,744 | 68.58% | 676 | 26.58% | 123 | 4.84% |
| 1908 | 1,706 | 67.75% | 748 | 29.71% | 64 | 2.54% |
| 1912 | 1,099 | 45.81% | 664 | 27.68% | 636 | 26.51% |
| 1916 | 2,924 | 70.14% | 1,158 | 27.78% | 87 | 2.09% |
| 1920 | 2,486 | 77.42% | 687 | 21.40% | 38 | 1.18% |
| 1924 | 2,161 | 66.51% | 978 | 30.10% | 110 | 3.39% |
| 1928 | 2,004 | 74.06% | 679 | 25.09% | 23 | 0.85% |
| 1932 | 2,011 | 53.89% | 1,697 | 45.47% | 24 | 0.64% |
| 1936 | 2,787 | 61.28% | 1,728 | 37.99% | 33 | 0.73% |
| 1940 | 2,914 | 65.78% | 1,499 | 33.84% | 17 | 0.38% |
| 1944 | 2,305 | 72.99% | 813 | 25.74% | 40 | 1.27% |
| 1948 | 1,764 | 65.43% | 916 | 33.98% | 16 | 0.59% |
| 1952 | 1,947 | 67.53% | 933 | 32.36% | 3 | 0.10% |
| 1956 | 1,842 | 66.62% | 922 | 33.35% | 1 | 0.04% |
| 1960 | 1,689 | 63.38% | 971 | 36.44% | 5 | 0.19% |
| 1964 | 1,329 | 54.33% | 1,117 | 45.67% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 1,307 | 57.63% | 732 | 32.28% | 229 | 10.10% |
| 1972 | 1,440 | 64.92% | 773 | 34.85% | 5 | 0.23% |
| 1976 | 1,187 | 52.18% | 1,070 | 47.03% | 18 | 0.79% |
| 1980 | 1,501 | 61.14% | 880 | 35.85% | 74 | 3.01% |
| 1984 | 1,545 | 62.00% | 940 | 37.72% | 7 | 0.28% |
| 1988 | 1,202 | 54.44% | 996 | 45.11% | 10 | 0.45% |
| 1992 | 951 | 39.44% | 1,063 | 44.09% | 397 | 16.47% |
| 1996 | 850 | 41.38% | 915 | 44.55% | 289 | 14.07% |
| 2000 | 1,346 | 57.77% | 927 | 39.79% | 57 | 2.45% |
| 2004 | 1,500 | 61.58% | 918 | 37.68% | 18 | 0.74% |
| 2008 | 1,343 | 60.20% | 845 | 37.88% | 43 | 1.93% |
| 2012 | 1,512 | 68.05% | 650 | 29.25% | 60 | 2.70% |
| 2016 | 1,678 | 78.34% | 375 | 17.51% | 89 | 4.15% |
| 2020 | 1,722 | 79.14% | 433 | 19.90% | 21 | 0.97% |
| 2024 | 1,698 | 79.53% | 416 | 19.48% | 21 | 0.98% |
Places adjacent to Pope County, Illinois | |
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Municipalities and communities ofPope County, Illinois,United States | ||
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