Coles County was organized by on December 25, 1830, fromClark andEdgar counties. It was named afterEdward Coles,[4] the second governor of Illinois, from 1822 to 1826. The majority of the American settlers who founded Coles County were either from the sixNew England states, or were born inupstate New York to parents who had moved to that region from New England shortly after theAmerican Revolution. They were part of a wave of farmers who headed west into the frontier of theNorthwest Territory during the early 1800s. The completion of theErie Canal led to an increase in such migrants heading west. When these settlers originally reached what is today Coles County, they found dense virgin forest and prairie.
The New England settlers laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes. They brought with them many of their "Yankee" values, such as staunch support forabolitionism as well as a passion for education. They quickly established schools in their communities. They were mostly members of theCongregationalist Church, though some wereEpiscopalian. As a result of thesecond Great Awakening, many had becomeBaptists or switched to Protestant denominations such asMethodism orPresbyterianism before moving to what is now Coles County. The prevalence of settlers with New England heritage resulted in their establishing a culture that was continuous with that of New England for the first several decades of its history. As a result of this, county residents largely supported abolitionism in the antebellum period, and also the Republican Party as of the 1850s and 1860s.
Beginning in 1849, numerous German immigrants arrived in Coles County, refugees from the rebellions the year before in various principalities. This population overwhelmingly supported the abolition of slavery.
Irish Catholic immigrants who had fled the famine in their country also settled here. Illinois Democratic SenatorStephen Douglas was extremely popular amongst Irish Catholic immigrants in Coles County at this time. During the Civil War the Irish Catholic community of Coles County would overwhelmingly beCopperheads.[5][6][7][8]
Coles County from the time of its creation to 1843
Coles County between 1843 and 1859
Coles County reduced to its current size in 1859 by the creation of Douglas County
Coles County has generated several well-known legends and folktales, including theMad Gasser of Mattoon and accounts of the ghost of Mary Hawkins atPemberton Hall.Michael Kleen has compiled many of these tales, including the "witch's grave" of St. Omer Cemetery and the story of "Rag Doll Cemetery," in his bookTales of Coles County, Illinois (2010).[9][10]
The legend of "Rag Doll Cemetery" was adapted for the screenplay of the independent filmRag Doll, filmed in 2010 primarily in and aroundMattoon, Illinois.[11] The novelA Family Possessed (2000) by L. W. Stevenson, is based on a rural family's account of poltergeist activity at their home in the 1980s.[12]
Ashmore Estates has long been a part of local folklore. Originally serving as the almshouse at the Coles County Poor Farm, it is considered a haunted attraction and a place of interest forparanormal investigators.[13]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 510 square miles (1,300 km2), of which 508 square miles (1,320 km2) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2) (0.4%) is water.[14]
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Charleston have ranged from a low of 19 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 110 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.20 inches (56 mm) in January to 4.65 inches (118 mm) in July.[15]
Coles 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 53,873 people, 21,463 households, and 11,963 families residing in the county.[30] The population density was 106.0 inhabitants per square mile (40.9/km2). There were 23,425 housing units at an average density of 46.1 per square mile (17.8/km2).[14] The racial makeup of the county was 92.9% white, 3.8% black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population.[30] In terms of ancestry, 25.6% wereGerman, 16.4% wereIrish, 11.1% wereAmerican, 10.0% wereEnglish, 3.4% werePolish, 2.9% wereItalian, 2.5% wereFrench, 2.1% wereDutch and 1.9% wereScots-Irish.[31]
Of the 21,463 households, 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 44.3% were non-families, and 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 31.6 years.[30]
The median income for a household in the county was $36,457 and the median income for a family was $54,170. Males had a median income of $38,915 versus $28,781 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,601. About 10.6% of families and 20.3% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 20.6% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.[32]
Coles County leans strongly towards the Republican Party in Presidential elections. Although it was carried by IllinoisianBarack Obama in 2008, the GOP regained the county in 2012 and the next presidential elections.
United States presidential election results for Coles County, Illinois[33]
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