Effingham County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,668. Its county seat and largest city is Effingham.
Some other cities in Effingham County, Illinois include Altamont, Teutopolis, Beecher City, Montrose, Dieterich, Shumway, Watson, Mason, and Edgewood. Effingham County comprises the Effingham, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
thumb|Effingham County at the time of its creation in 1831
Effingham County was formed in 1831 out of Fayette and Crawford counties. It may have been named after Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham, who resigned his commission as general in the British army in 1775, refusing to serve in the war against the Colonies. The name is Anglo-Saxon for "Effa's house". New information suggests that the county was named after a surveyor who surveyed the area whose last name was Effingham. There is no written proof that the county was named after Lord Effingham.
Government
thumb|Effingham County Courthouse in [[Effingham, Illinois|Effingham ]]
Effingham County is governed by a board of elected representatives. The Effingham County Board is the legislative body of County Government. It is composed of nine elected members, each representing a geographic district within the County. Each district is currently composed on average of just under 4000 residents. The districts are adjusted every 10 years after the national census information is published. The current Effingham County Board Chairman is Joshua Douthit (Republican) elected in 2022 from District B.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water.
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Effingham have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1915 and a record high of was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in July.
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<br />1790-1960 1900-1990<br />1990-2000 2010-2013
The racial makeup of the county was 94.0% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, fewer than 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.9% from some other race, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.5% of the population.
40.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 59.6% lived in rural areas.
There were 14,117 households in the county, of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.3% were married-couple households, 17.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|30,764
|31,437
|33,658
|33,155
|style='background: #ffffe6; |32,361
|99.42%
|99.16%
|98.23%
|96.83%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |93.35%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|17
|12
|55
|76
|style='background: #ffffe6; |151
|0.05%
|0.04%
|0.16%
|0.22%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.44%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|27
|43
|49
|24
|style='background: #ffffe6; |36
|0.09%
|0.14%
|0.14%
|0.07%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.10%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|30
|90
|108
|147
|style='background: #ffffe6; |246
|0.10%
|0.28%
|0.32%
|0.43%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.71%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|4
|7
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6
|x
|x
|0.01%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|15
|1
|7
|13
|style='background: #ffffe6; |45
|0.05%
|0.00%
|0.02%
|0.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.13%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|131
|223
|style='background: #ffffe6; |951
|x
|x
|0.38%
|0.65%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.74%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|91
|121
|252
|597
|style='background: #ffffe6; |872
|0.29%
|0.38%
|0.74%
|1.74%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.52%
|-
|Total
|30,944
|31,704
|34,264
|34,242
|style='background: #ffffe6; |34,668
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 34,242 people, 13,515 households, and 9,302 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 14,570 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.6% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% American Indian, 0.8% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.7% of the population.
Of the 13,515 households, 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.2% were non-families, and 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 39.2 years.
Communities
Cities
- Altamont
- Effingham (seat)
Town
- Mason
Villages
- Beecher City
- Dieterich
- Edgewood
- Montrose
- Shumway
- Teutopolis
- Watson
Townships
Effingham County is divided into fifteen townships:
- Banner
- Bishop
- Douglas
- Jackson
- Liberty
- Lucas
- Mason
- Moccasin
- Mound
- St. Francis
- Summit
- Teutopolis
- Union
- Watson
- West
Unincorporated communities
- Dexter
- Elliottstown
- Funkhouser
- Gilmore
- Heartville
- Keptown
- Moccasin
Politics
In its early years Effingham County was owing to its anti-Civil War German-American population powerfully Democratic. Until Woodrow Wilson’s harsh policies towards Germany following World War I drove many voters to the GOP’s Warren G. Harding, it had voted an absolute majority to the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since the county’s formation. Opposition to the New Deal caused a considerable swing away from Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, and combined with local opposition to Roosevelt’s war policies in 1940 to cause FDR to only win the county by forty-seven votes from Wendell Willkie.
Since that election, the county has voted Republican in every election except 1948 and 1964, and no Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976 has reached 35 percent of the county’s vote. Currently Effingham County is one of Illinois’ most Republican counties, rivalled by a number of southern counties like Edwards. In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, John McCain carried the county by a 36% margin over Barack Obama, making it McCain's strongest county in the state, with Obama carrying his home state by a 25.1% margin over McCain.
Currently all elected officials holding major offices in Effingham County are Republican with 8 of 9 elected County Board Representatives being Republican.
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See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Effingham County, Illinois
References
;Specific
;General
- History of Southern Illinois, George Washington Smith, 1912.
- United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
- United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
- United States National Atlas
External links
- Effingham County History & Genealogy