Cass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 13,042. Its county seat is Virginia. It is the home of the Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area.
History
Cass County was formed in 1837 out of Morgan County. It was named for Lewis Cass, a general in the War of 1812, Governor of the Michigan Territory, and United States Secretary of State in 1860. Cass was serving as Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War just before the County was named.
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File:Cass County Illinois 1837.png|Cass County at the time of its creation.
File:Cass County Illinois 1845.png|In 1845, the county's border was adjusted southward, enlarging it to its current size.
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Geography
According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water.
- Sangamon River
Major highways
- 25px US Route 67
- 25px Illinois Route 78
- 25px Illinois Route 100
- 25px Illinois Route 125
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Virginia have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1934 and a record high of was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.
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|footnote=US Decennial Census<br>1790-1960 1900-1990<br>1990-2000 2010
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2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 13,042. The median age was 39.0 years, with 24.7% of residents under the age of 18 and 17.2% 65 years of age or older; for every 100 females there were 99.6 males and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.0 males age 18 and over.
48.0% of residents lived in urban areas while 52.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 5,099 households in the county, of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 46.5% were married-couple households, 19.0% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 25.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present; about 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Cass County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 1980
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|14,960
|13,334
|12,346
|10,830
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,061
|99.18%
|99.23%
|90.15%
|79.39%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |69.48%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|12
|16
|39
|379
|style='background: #ffffe6; |706
|0.08%
|0.12%
|0.28%
|2.78%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.41%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|15
|8
|23
|15
|style='background: #ffffe6; |36
|0.10%
|0.06%
|0.17%
|0.11%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.28%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|18
|23
|38
|43
|style='background: #ffffe6; |117
|0.12%
|0.17%
|0.28%
|0.32%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.90%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|3
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |33
|x
|x
|0.02%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|1
|0
|7
|5
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10
|0.01%
|0.00%
|0.05%
|0.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.08%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|77
|78
|style='background: #ffffe6; |290
|x
|x
|0.56%
|0.57%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.22%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|78
|56
|1,162
|2,291
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,789
|0.52%
|0.42%
|8.48%
|16.79%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |21.38%
|-
|Total
|15,084
|13,437
|13,695
|13,642
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,042
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 13,642 people, 5,270 households, and 3,561 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,836 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 86.3% white, 3.1% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 8.7% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 16.8% of the population.
Of the 5,270 households, 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.4% were non-families, and 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age was 38.7 years.
Politics
Typically for German-settled western Central Illinois, Cass County opposed the Civil War and became solidly Democratic for the next six decades. Only hatred of Woodrow Wilson’s policies towards Germany following World War I drove the county into Republican hands in the 1920 landslide. Between 1924 and 2008, the county was something of a bellwether, missing the national winner only in the very close 1960 election and the heavily drought- and farm crisis-influenced election of 1988. In the 2010s, the county has become reliably Republican in US presidential elections.
Cass County is located in Illinois's 18th Congressional District and is currently represented by Republican Darin LaHood. For the Illinois House of Representatives, the county is located in the 93rd district and is currently represented by Republican Norine Hammond. The county is located in the 47th district of the Illinois Senate, and is currently represented by Republican Jil Tracy.
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Education
- A C Central Community Unit School District 262
- Beardstown Community Unit School District 15
- Virginia Community Unit School District 64
Communities
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Community<br />
! Community<br />type
! Population
! Total<br />Area
! Water<br />Area
! Land<br />Area
! Pop.<br />Density
|-
|Arenzville || village || 367 || 0.77 || 0.00 || 0.77 || 480 ||
|-
|Ashland || village || 1,218 || 0.75 || 0.00 || 0.75 || 1,624 ||
|-
|Beardstown || city || 5,951 || 3.65 || 0.03 || 3.62 || 1,620.41 ||
|-
|Virginia (seat) || city || 1,514 || 1.27 || 0.06 || 1.21 || 1,254.35 ||
|-
|Chandlerville || village || 527 || 0.79 || 0.00 || 0.79 || 670 ||
|-
|Cass County || county || 13,042 || 384 || 7.9 || 376 || 34 ||
|}
Unincorporated communities
- Anderson
- Bluff Springs
- Burlingame
- Clear Lake
- Hagener
- Jules
- Kisch
- Little Indian
- Newmansville
- Old Princeton
- Palmerton
- Philadelphia
Former communities
- Gurney
- Oak Grove (now part of Beardstown; not to be confused with community in Rock Island County)
- Sylvan
Townships
- Arenzville
- Ashland
- Beardstown
- Bluff Springs
- Chandlerville
- Hagener
- Newmansville
- Panther Creek
- Philadelphia
- Sangamon Valley
- Virginia
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Cass County, Illinois
References
External links
- US Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
- US Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
- US National Atlas