Macoupin County
County
Macoupin County Courthouse in Carlinville
Macoupin County Courthouse in Carlinville
Map of Illinois highlighting Macoupin County
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Map of the United States highlighting Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°16′N 89°55′W / 39.26°N 89.92°W / 39.26; -89.92
Country United States
State Illinois
Founded1829
Named forMacoupin Creek
SeatCarlinville
Largest cityCarlinville
Area
 • Total868 sq mi (2,250 km2)
 • Land863 sq mi (2,240 km2)
 • Water4.7 sq mi (12 km2)  0.5%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total44,967
 • Density52/sq mi (20/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district13th
Websitewww.macoupincountyil.gov

Macoupin County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 44,967.[1] The county seat is Carlinville.[2]

The primary industry is agriculture, consisting of crops of corn (maize), soybeans, and some wheat.

History

The region was inhabited by Illinoisan Indians when the first white explorers arrived. Macoupin is an adaptation of the Miami-Illinois term for the American lotus Nelumbo lutea. None of the native Indians remain, although some descendants of the earliest European settlers claim partial ancestry. The first European contact was by French explorers in the seventeenth century, travelling southward down the major rivers. The main European settlement was from the southwest, as people moved inland from the established transportation route of the Mississippi River.

Macoupin County at the time of its creation in 1829

Macoupin County was established on January 17, 1829.[3] It was formed out of Greene and Madison Counties and was named after Macoupin Creek,[4] which runs near Carlinville and meanders southwest to the Illinois River. The economy was based on subsistence agriculture, and communication was to the southwest.

In the middle 19th century, Illinois developed and changed rapidly. The greatest change was in the building of railroads, and Macoupin County was on the rail and road transportation link between St. Louis and the still-young metropolis of Chicago. The county lies midway between St. Louis and the relocated state capital of Springfield. The economy was still based entirely on agriculture, but there was now easier market access. Towns were small and sparsely distributed, and any new communities were founded along the railroad lines that provided transportation. Culturally, the county remained closer to its historical ties with St. Louis than to more northerly areas.

Agriculture remained a mainstay of the economy, but this was joined by coal mining, an industry that partially changed the complexion of the county. With coal underlying the entire region, the most economical development was to place mines alongside the railroad tracks (for transportation of coal) and located in or near already-existing towns. By the twentieth century, there were mines in many towns, all of them with substantial populations of foreign-born miners from everywhere in Europe.

During the twentieth century, agriculture and coal mining remained the mainstays of the county's economy, and the county's fortunes rose and fell with them. Farming was still family based. Macoupin County was often at the center of major labor disputes between mine owners and miners and was a hotbed of union activity. The county had previously played a significant role in violent 1890s disputes that brought unwanted national attention, was at center stage when the United Mine Workers rose to power, and was again prominent during the internecine war between the UMW and the Progressive Miners of America of the 1930s.

Agriculture remained the county's prime economic activity, but farming became a large-scale corporate enterprise, with small family farms rapidly disappearing. Coal mining decreased and has almost disappeared entirely. Buildings and structures related to coal mining were torn down as they were wasted away, so there is now little to see of this once-major industry.

Towns were (and still are) characterized either by a midwestern town square layout or by a main street layout. In the former, a central city block may be a small park with a gazebo, with the small businesses of the town surrounding it. In the latter, a single street will have the small businesses of the town lining either side of it. Carlinville has a city square layout, with the main county building occupying the central city block. This building houses all the offices of the county. Typically, churches of the various denominations will lie within two or three blocks of the town square, or sometimes will lie mainly along a single street near the town's center.

With modern roads easily accessible, some towns in the northern part of the county became virtual bedroom communities as people commuted to Springfield to work and shop, hastening the decline of small businesses in the towns. The same effect was felt in the southernmost part of the county, and in 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau included the county in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area due to increased commuting patterns and employment in St. Louis and the Metro-East.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 868 square miles (2,250 km2), of which 863 square miles (2,240 km2) is land and 4.7 square miles (12 km2) (0.5%) is water.[5]

Climate and weather

Carlinville, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
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█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
█ Precipitation totals in inches
Source:The Weather Channel[6]
Metric conversion
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█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
█ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Carlinville have ranged from a low of 17 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −23 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in February 1905 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.95 inches (50 mm) in February to 4.25 inches (108 mm) in May.[6]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18301,990—
18407,826293.3%
185012,35557.9%
186024,60299.1%
187032,72633.0%
188037,69215.2%
189040,3527.1%
190042,2564.7%
191050,68519.9%
192057,27413.0%
193048,703−15.0%
194046,304−4.9%
195044,210−4.5%
196043,524−1.6%
197044,5572.4%
198049,38410.8%
199047,679−3.5%
200049,0192.8%
201047,765−2.6%
202044,967−5.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9]
1990-2000[10] 2010[11]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 47,765 people, 19,381 households, and 13,224 families residing in the county.[12] The population density was 55.4 inhabitants per square mile (21.4/km2). There were 21,584 housing units at an average density of 25.0 per square mile (9.7/km2).[5] The racial makeup of the county was 97.6% white, 0.8% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.9% of the population.[12] In terms of ancestry, 35.8% were German, 16.2% were Irish, 13.9% were English, 9.5% were American, and 8.0% were Italian.[13]

Of the 19,381 households, 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.8% were non-families, and 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 41.7 years.[12]

The median income for a household in the county was $47,178 and the median income for a family was $59,700. Males had a median income of $48,878 versus $30,748 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,222. About 9.7% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.4% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.[14]

Communities

Cities

Towns

Villages

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Macoupin County is divided into twenty-six townships:

Map of Macoupin County, Illinois

Politics

As part of the rural German Catholic belt surrounding the Illinois section of the St. Louis metropolitan area, Macoupin County traditionally favored the Democratic Party. Up to and including the 2000 election, Macoupin voted for the Republican nominee only in six major landslide victories, and no Republican gained an absolute majority of the county's vote until Richard Nixon’s 3,000-plus-county landslides victory over George McGovern in 1972.

The twenty-first century has seen a major change in these voting patterns due to the county's conservative population. The 2012 election saw Illinoisan Barack Obama become the first Democrat to win the presidency without carrying Macoupin County, and in 2016 Hillary Clinton won less than thirty percent of the vote in this once traditionally Democratic county – a figure eleven percent worse than McGovern's in his landslide defeat.

United States presidential election results for Macoupin County, Illinois[15]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 16,153 67.11% 7,365 30.60% 552 2.29%
2016 14,322 63.96% 6,689 29.87% 1,380 6.16%
2012 10,946 51.92% 9,464 44.89% 673 3.19%
2008 9,891 44.07% 12,090 53.87% 462 2.06%
2004 11,413 50.09% 11,193 49.12% 179 0.79%
2000 9,749 45.58% 11,015 51.50% 625 2.92%
1996 7,235 34.33% 11,107 52.70% 2,733 12.97%
1992 6,518 27.55% 12,050 50.93% 5,093 21.52%
1988 9,362 43.20% 12,195 56.28% 112 0.52%
1984 12,282 53.51% 10,602 46.19% 69 0.30%
1980 12,131 54.27% 9,116 40.78% 1,107 4.95%
1976 10,242 45.55% 11,910 52.97% 334 1.49%
1972 13,583 58.03% 9,662 41.28% 162 0.69%
1968 10,262 43.91% 10,750 46.00% 2,356 10.08%
1964 8,430 35.63% 15,227 64.37% 0 0.00%
1960 11,731 47.12% 13,120 52.70% 45 0.18%
1956 12,290 49.90% 12,303 49.96% 34 0.14%
1952 12,336 48.67% 12,944 51.07% 68 0.27%
1948 10,198 45.74% 11,742 52.66% 358 1.61%
1944 11,572 48.86% 11,951 50.46% 160 0.68%
1940 13,000 47.08% 14,356 52.00% 254 0.92%
1936 9,502 36.76% 14,896 57.62% 1,453 5.62%
1932 7,031 29.74% 14,810 62.65% 1,799 7.61%
1928 10,699 47.68% 11,290 50.32% 449 2.00%
1924 8,571 39.24% 6,134 28.08% 7,136 32.67%
1920 8,700 44.68% 5,936 30.49% 4,834 24.83%
1916 8,875 43.64% 10,012 49.24% 1,448 7.12%
1912 2,177 21.11% 4,902 47.53% 3,235 31.37%
1908 4,988 42.76% 5,775 49.51% 901 7.72%
1904 4,796 46.69% 4,336 42.21% 1,140 11.10%
1900 4,814 45.10% 5,472 51.27% 387 3.63%
1896 4,970 46.41% 5,574 52.05% 164 1.53%
1892 3,868 40.53% 5,051 52.92% 625 6.55%

Education

  • Bunker Hill Community Unit School District 8
  • Carlinville Community Unit School District 1
  • Gillespie Community Unit School District 7
  • Mount Olive Community Unit School District 5
  • North Mac Community Unit School District 34
  • Northwestern Community Unit School District 2
  • Southwestern Community Unit School District 9
  • Staunton Community Unit School District 6[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Macoupin County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ Adams, James N. (compiler) (1989), Keller, William E. (ed.), Illinois Place Names, Springfield: Illinois State Historical Society, pp. 592, ISBN 0-912226-24-2
  4. ↑ Moses, John (1892), Illinois, Historical and Statistical, vol. II, Chicago: Fergus Printing Company, p. 1137
  5. 1 2 "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Monthly Averages for Carlinville, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  7. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  11. ↑ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  13. ↑ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  14. ↑ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  15. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  16. ↑ Illinois State Board of Education, ISBE Education Data Systems, Public School District Lookup, accessed May 26, 2023.

39°16′N 89°55′W / 39.26°N 89.92°W / 39.26; -89.92

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