Edgar County, Illinois

Edgar County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,866.^[1] Its county seat is Paris.^[2]

Edgar County
County
Edgar County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°41′N 87°45′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	January 3, 1823
Named after	John Edgar
Seat	Paris
Largest city	Paris
Area
• Total	624 sq mi (1,620 km2)
• Land	623 sq mi (1,610 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (2 km2)  0.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	16,866
• Estimate  (2023)	16,334
• Density	27/sq mi (10/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	15th
Website	edgarcountyillinois.com

History

Edgar County was formed out of Clark County in 1823.^[3] It was named for John Edgar, an Irish-born officer in the Royal Navy who resigned rather than fight against the Americans in the Revolutionary War.^[4] Edgar moved to Kaskaskia, Illinois, in 1784, becoming a miller and merchant in that town.

Bloomfield started as a watering point for livestock, but during the 1940s, it became a thriving town along the highway between Vincennes, Indiana, and Chicago.^[5] In 1872, the Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad bypassed the town by a mile to the west. As a result, the town's businesses moved to Edgar, beginning Bloomfield's decline.^[3]

• 
  Edgar County (1823), with unorganized territory attached to it.^[6]
• 
  Edgar County (1825–1826)
• 
  Edgar County (1826–1830)
• 
  Edgar County (1830–present), with the additional territory incorporated into Coles County

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 624 square miles (1,620 km²), of which 623 square miles (1,610 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) (0.1%) is water.^[7]

There is one recreational area in the county, on the north edge of Paris. Twin Lakes Park and Reservoir began in 1895 upon completion of the dam compounding the Twin Lakes Reservoir.^[8]

Climate and weather

Paris, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.2     34 16     2.2     40 21     3.3     51 31     4     63 41     4.3     74 51     4.2     83 61     4.4     86 65     4.4     84 62     2.9     78 55     2.8     66 43     3.7     51 33     3.1     39 22 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[9]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     57     1 −9     57     4 −6     83     11 −1     101     17 5     109     23 11     108     28 16     113     30 18     112     29 17     75     26 13     71     19 6     93     11 1     79     4 −6 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paris 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.^[9]

Adjacent counties

• Vermilion County – north
• Vermillion County, Indiana – northeast
• Vigo County, Indiana – southeast
• Clark County – south
• Coles County – southwest
• Douglas County – west
• Champaign County – northwest

Transportation

Major highways

• US Route 36
• US Route 150
• Illinois Route 1
• Illinois Route 16
• Illinois Route 49
• Illinois Route 133

Rail

Three railroad lines run through the county. Two are operated by CSX Transportation and the third by the Eastern Illinois Railroad Company.^[10]

Transit

• Rides Mass Transit District

Airport

The county contains one public-use airport: Edgar County Airport (PRG), six miles (10 km) north of Paris.^[11]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	4,071		—
1840	8,225		102.0%
1850	10,692		30.0%
1860	16,925		58.3%
1870	21,450		26.7%
1880	25,499		18.9%
1890	26,787		5.1%
1900	28,273		5.5%
1910	27,336		−3.3%
1920	25,769		−5.7%
1930	24,966		−3.1%
1940	24,430		−2.1%
1950	23,407		−4.2%
1960	22,550		−3.7%
1970	21,591		−4.3%
1980	21,725		0.6%
1990	19,595		−9.8%
2000	19,704		0.6%
2010	18,576		−5.7%
2020	16,866		−9.2%
2023 (est.)	16,334	[12]	−3.2%
US Decennial Census[13] 1790-1960[14] 1900-1990[15] 1990-2000[16] 2010-2013[1]

2000 census age pyramid for Edgar County

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 18,576 people, 7,839 households, and 5,148 families residing in the county.^[17] The population density was 29.8 inhabitants per square mile (11.5/km²). There were 8,803 housing units at an average density of 14.1 per square mile (5.4/km²).^[7] The racial makeup of the county was 98.3% white, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population.^[17] In terms of ancestry, 23.6% were German, 15.3% were Irish, 13.0% were English, and 12.3% were American.^[18]

Of the 7,839 households, 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.3% were non-families, and 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age was 43.2 years.^[17]

The median income for a household in the county was $39,904 and the median income for a family was $51,588. Males had a median income of $38,945 versus $29,951 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,175. About 9.7% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.2% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.^[19]

Communities

Map of Edgar County

Cities

• Chrisman
• Paris (seat)

Villages

• Brocton
• Hume
• Kansas
• Metcalf
• Redmon
• Vermilion

Unincorporated communities

• Borton
• Edgar
• Isabel
• Logan
• Nevins
• Oliver
• Patton
• Raven
• Scottland
• Woodyard

Former communities

• Bell Ridge^[20]
• Bloomfield^[21]
• Catfish
• Cherry Point^[22]
• Clays Prairie^[23]
• Conlogue^[24]
• Dudley^[25]
• Ferrel^[26]
• Garland^[27]
• Grandview
• Harris^[28]
• Hildreth^[29]
• Horace^[30]
• Huffmanville^[31]
• Hughes^[32]
• Illiana
• Kentucky^[33]
• Kidley^[34]
• Logan^[35]
• Mabel^[36]
• Marley^[37]
• Mays^[38]
• McCown^[39]
• Melwood^[40]
• Mortimer^[41]
• New Athens
• Palermo^[42]
• Quaker
• Scotts^[43]
• Warrington^[44]
• West Sandford
• Wetzel

Townships

• Brouilletts Creek
• Buck
• Edgar
• Elbridge
• Embarrass
• Grandview
• Hunter
• Kansas
• Paris
• Prairie
• Ross
• Shiloh
• Stratton
• Symmes
• Young America

Notable people

• Basil Bennett, Bronze Medalist in the Hammer Throw at the 1920 Olympics
• Offa Neal, professional baseball player with the New York Giants
• Edward Adelbert Doisy, biochemist and Nobel Prize winner
• Frank Fletcher (baseball), professional baseball player with the Philadelphia Phillies

Politics

A swing county in the first eight decades after the Civil War, Edgar County has since become powerfully Republican. It has been carried by only two Democrats since 1940 – Lyndon Johnson in 1964 by just 139 votes, and Bill Clinton in 1992 by a 41.1 percent plurality. Hillary Clinton’s 22.7 percent vote share in 2016 was by 9.3 percent the worst ever by a Democrat in the county.

United States presidential election results for Edgar County, Illinois^[45]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	5,955	75.11%	1,816	22.91%	157	1.98%
2020	6,193	75.41%	1,887	22.98%	132	1.61%
2016	5,645	71.46%	1,793	22.70%	461	5.84%
2012	5,132	65.50%	2,565	32.74%	138	1.76%
2008	4,398	53.09%	3,743	45.18%	143	1.73%
2004	5,258	62.38%	3,093	36.69%	78	0.93%
2000	4,833	58.71%	3,216	39.07%	183	2.22%
1996	3,746	45.12%	3,552	42.78%	1,004	12.09%
1992	3,790	38.77%	4,014	41.06%	1,972	20.17%
1988	5,538	58.55%	3,880	41.02%	41	0.43%
1984	6,821	67.54%	3,241	32.09%	37	0.37%
1980	6,639	63.14%	3,394	32.28%	482	4.58%
1976	5,842	53.01%	5,058	45.89%	121	1.10%
1972	7,195	64.73%	3,889	34.99%	32	0.29%
1968	6,281	56.33%	3,565	31.97%	1,305	11.70%
1964	5,827	49.41%	5,966	50.59%	0	0.00%
1960	7,348	59.37%	5,024	40.59%	4	0.03%
1956	7,942	64.52%	4,362	35.44%	5	0.04%
1952	8,323	64.56%	4,558	35.36%	10	0.08%
1948	6,282	54.77%	5,121	44.65%	67	0.58%
1944	6,961	57.68%	5,054	41.88%	54	0.45%
1940	7,985	54.03%	6,713	45.42%	82	0.55%
1936	6,929	46.51%	7,822	52.50%	147	0.99%
1932	5,953	43.03%	7,745	55.98%	138	1.00%
1928	7,509	58.27%	5,325	41.32%	52	0.40%
1924	6,297	52.31%	5,222	43.38%	518	4.30%
1920	6,750	53.29%	5,694	44.95%	223	1.76%
1916	6,099	46.37%	6,710	51.01%	345	2.62%
1912	2,430	32.84%	3,479	47.02%	1,490	20.14%
1908	3,757	50.46%	3,433	46.11%	255	3.43%
1904	3,753	50.33%	3,443	46.17%	261	3.50%
1900	3,766	48.90%	3,783	49.12%	153	1.99%
1896	3,822	49.80%	3,729	48.59%	123	1.60%
1892	3,197	47.64%	3,164	47.15%	350	5.22%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Edgar County, Illinois