Williamson County | |
|---|---|
 Williamson County Courthouse in Marion | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofIllinois | |
 Illinois's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:37°44′N88°56′W / 37.73°N 88.93°W /37.73; -88.93 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Illinois |
| Founded | February 28, 1839 |
| Named after | Williamson County, Tennessee |
| Seat | Marion |
| Largest city | Marion |
| Area | |
• Total | 444 sq mi (1,150 km2) |
| • Land | 420 sq mi (1,100 km2) |
| • Water | 24 sq mi (60 km2) 5.4% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 67,153 |
• Estimate (2023) | 66,706 |
| • Density | 150/sq mi (58/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 12th |
| Website | www |
Williamson County is acounty inSouthern Illinois. At the2020 census, it had a population of 67,153.[1] The largest city andcounty seat isMarion.[2] Williamson County is included in theCarbondale-Marion, ILMetropolitan Statistical Area. This area of Southern Illinois is known locally as "Little Egypt".[citation needed] Williamson is in the Metro Lakeland area, 88 miles (142 km) southeast ofSt. Louis, Missouri. Via the nearby intersection ofInterstates 57 and24, and Illinois Route 13, a primary east–west four-lane expressway, the city has access to the major communities ofMurphysboro,Carbondale,Carterville,Herrin,Marion andHarrisburg. The Metro Lakeland area of Jackson-Williamson counties has a total of 120,000 residents. Carbondale (14 miles west), Herrin and Marion are the key urban areas inMetro Lakeland, with a combined population of more than 65,000. Over 235,000 people live within 35 miles (56 km).
Williamson County was formed fromFranklin County on February 28, 1839, and was named forWilliamson County,Tennessee. Many of its settlers were from the Uplands South, traveling via theOhio River from Kentucky and Virginia.[3]
It became a center of coal mining, attracting numerous European immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Labor tensions rose as workers sought to unionize and improve their wages and conditions. Mine owners resisted and several episodes of violence resulted during strikes and other work actions. resulted in several episodes of violence. Williamson County is often referred to as "Bloody Williamson," due to several outbreaks of violence that have few parallels in American history.[4]
These include the Bloody Vendetta (1876), armed confrontation between families and associates during the waning days of Reconstruction; theCarterville Massacre (1899), a Coal Strike (1906), theHerrin Massacre (1922), the Klan War (1924–1926), and theBirger/Shelton Gang War (1926).
During the so-called Klan War, a mob of perhaps 1,300 men were deputized by the local sheriff. Starting on February 1, 1924, the posse began raiding the homes of local mine workers, mostly Italian immigrants. The Klan was inspired by both nativist and Prohibitionist fervor. Violence continued sporadically between bootleggers and the Klan. Twenty people were killed before peace was restored.[5]
In June 1915, aSicilian miner accused of the fatal shooting of a wealthy local resident was lynched inJohnston City, Illinois by a mob.[6] The Illinois National Guard was deployed to prevent rioting between the miner's supporters and opponents. They were also later ordered to various locations repeatedly during the 1920s to separate warring parties and attempt to keep order.
The northwest section of the county suffered extensive damage during theTri-State Tornado of 1925. The county was also struck by twotornadoes on May 29, 1982, which killed 10 people in theMarion, Illinois tornado outbreak. On May 8, 2009, the cities of Carterville, Herrin, and Marion were severely damaged by theMay 2009 Southern Midwest derecho.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 444 square miles (1,150 km2), of which 420 square miles (1,100 km2) is land and 24 square miles (62 km2) (5.4%) is water.[7]
Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois in Marion is the local airport.
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Williamson County lies on the border betweenhumid continental climate (Köppen climate classificationDfa) andhumid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa), with neither large mountains nor large bodies of water to moderate its temperature. It is subject to both cold Arctic air and hot, humid tropical air from theGulf of Mexico and, along with the rest of the midwestern United States, is home to some of the largest temperature extremes in the world.
The region has four distinctseasons. Spring is the wettest season and produces erratic severe weather ranging fromtornadoes towinter storms. Summers are hot and humid, with only occasional and brief respite, and the humidity often makes theheat index rise to temperatures feeling well above 100 °F (38 °C). Fall is mild with lower humidity and can produce intermittent bouts of heavy rainfall, with the firstsnow flurries usually forming in late November. Winters are cold with periodic snow and temperatures often below freezing; however, thaws are usually frequent. Winter storm systems, such asAlberta clippers andPanhandle hooks, can bring days of heavyfreezing rain,ice pellets, andsnowfall.
The normal high temperature in July is 90 °F (32 °C), and the normal low temperature in January is 19 °F (−7 °C), although this varies from year to year. Both 100 and 0 °F (37.8 and −17.8 °C) temperatures can be seen on an average 2 or 3 days per year. In recent years, average temperatures 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 −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in August 1977. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 3.06 inches (78 mm) in October to 4.93 inches (125 mm) in May.[8]
Williamson County hasthunderstorms about 50 days a year on average. Thunderstorms contribute over half of the annual precipitation. Especially in the spring, these storms can often be severe, with high winds, largehail and tornadoes.
Some late autumns feature the warm weather known asIndian summer; some years see roses in bloom as late as early December.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 | 4,457 | — | |
| 1850 | 7,216 | 61.9% | |
| 1860 | 12,205 | 69.1% | |
| 1870 | 17,329 | 42.0% | |
| 1880 | 19,324 | 11.5% | |
| 1890 | 22,226 | 15.0% | |
| 1900 | 27,796 | 25.1% | |
| 1910 | 45,098 | 62.2% | |
| 1920 | 61,092 | 35.5% | |
| 1930 | 53,880 | −11.8% | |
| 1940 | 51,424 | −4.6% | |
| 1950 | 48,621 | −5.5% | |
| 1960 | 46,117 | −5.2% | |
| 1970 | 49,021 | 6.3% | |
| 1980 | 56,538 | 15.3% | |
| 1990 | 57,733 | 2.1% | |
| 2000 | 61,296 | 6.2% | |
| 2010 | 66,357 | 8.3% | |
| 2020 | 67,153 | 1.2% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 66,706 | [9] | −0.7% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[10] 1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12] 1990-2000[13] 2010-2013[1] | |||
As of the2010 United States Census, there were 66,357 people, 27,421 households, and 17,999 families residing in the county.[14] The population density was 157.9 inhabitants per square mile (61.0/km2). There were 30,359 housing units at an average density of 72.3 per square mile (27.9/km2).[7] The racial makeup of the county was 92.7% white, 3.8% black or African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.0% of the population.[14] In terms of ancestry, 23.6% wereGerman, 17.3% wereIrish, 16.0% wereEnglish, 9.0% wereAmerican, and 6.1% wereItalian.[15]
Of the 27,421 households, 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.4% were non-families, and 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 40.1 years.[14]
The median income for a household in the county was $40,579 and the median income for a family was $50,929. Males had a median income of $41,428 versus $30,901 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,164. About 13.3% of families and 16.7% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 24.3% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.[16]
The following precincts are not voting precincts, but represent the 12Congressional townships in Williamson County. Most have multiple voting precincts.
School districts include:[17]
K-12:
Secondary:
Elementary:
United States Penitentiary, Marion is located inSouthern Precinct in Williamson County.[18][19]
Williamson County has been solidly Republican on the national level, voting for the Republican candidates for U.S. president since 2000.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 22,686 | 68.38% | 9,890 | 29.81% | 598 | 1.80% |
| 2020 | 22,801 | 67.60% | 10,206 | 30.26% | 723 | 2.14% |
| 2016 | 21,570 | 67.72% | 8,581 | 26.94% | 1,701 | 5.34% |
| 2012 | 17,909 | 61.22% | 10,647 | 36.40% | 698 | 2.39% |
| 2008 | 17,039 | 56.30% | 12,589 | 41.59% | 638 | 2.11% |
| 2004 | 18,086 | 60.37% | 11,685 | 39.00% | 189 | 0.63% |
| 2000 | 14,012 | 52.01% | 12,192 | 45.26% | 735 | 2.73% |
| 1996 | 9,734 | 38.52% | 12,510 | 49.50% | 3,028 | 11.98% |
| 1992 | 9,462 | 32.90% | 14,361 | 49.93% | 4,937 | 17.17% |
| 1988 | 12,274 | 48.84% | 12,712 | 50.58% | 144 | 0.57% |
| 1984 | 14,930 | 56.06% | 11,614 | 43.61% | 86 | 0.32% |
| 1980 | 14,451 | 55.10% | 10,779 | 41.10% | 998 | 3.81% |
| 1976 | 10,703 | 43.59% | 13,600 | 55.39% | 250 | 1.02% |
| 1972 | 14,101 | 60.02% | 9,202 | 39.17% | 189 | 0.80% |
| 1968 | 11,886 | 50.39% | 9,660 | 40.95% | 2,042 | 8.66% |
| 1964 | 9,130 | 38.45% | 14,613 | 61.55% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 13,732 | 54.72% | 11,335 | 45.17% | 29 | 0.12% |
| 1956 | 13,438 | 56.44% | 10,345 | 43.45% | 27 | 0.11% |
| 1952 | 13,348 | 55.10% | 10,838 | 44.74% | 37 | 0.15% |
| 1948 | 10,386 | 51.02% | 9,841 | 48.34% | 130 | 0.64% |
| 1944 | 12,594 | 55.55% | 9,974 | 43.99% | 103 | 0.45% |
| 1940 | 14,433 | 49.40% | 14,645 | 50.12% | 139 | 0.48% |
| 1936 | 12,319 | 45.07% | 14,663 | 53.64% | 352 | 1.29% |
| 1932 | 8,714 | 39.14% | 12,961 | 58.21% | 590 | 2.65% |
| 1928 | 10,913 | 51.21% | 10,139 | 47.58% | 257 | 1.21% |
| 1924 | 9,366 | 45.27% | 6,117 | 29.57% | 5,206 | 25.16% |
| 1920 | 10,118 | 56.73% | 4,728 | 26.51% | 2,988 | 16.75% |
| 1916 | 10,262 | 53.50% | 8,172 | 42.61% | 746 | 3.89% |
| 1912 | 3,209 | 34.63% | 3,258 | 35.16% | 2,800 | 30.21% |
| 1908 | 4,786 | 52.63% | 3,513 | 38.63% | 794 | 8.73% |
| 1904 | 4,044 | 58.96% | 1,996 | 29.10% | 819 | 11.94% |
| 1900 | 3,723 | 56.93% | 2,760 | 42.20% | 57 | 0.87% |
| 1896 | 3,027 | 53.70% | 2,582 | 45.80% | 28 | 0.50% |
| 1892 | 2,504 | 51.33% | 2,118 | 43.42% | 256 | 5.25% |
Places adjacent to Williamson County, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofWilliamson County, Illinois,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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