Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it has a population of 6,387. Its county seat is Oquawka. Henderson County is part of the Burlington, IA–IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Henderson County was formed in 1841 from a portion of Warren County. It was named for Henderson County, Kentucky, which was named for Richard Henderson, founder of the Transylvania Company, an early attempt to organize what later became Kentucky around 1775.
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File:Henderson County Illinois 1841.png|Henderson County at the time of its creation in 1841
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Geography
According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.1%) is water.
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Oquawka have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1996 and a record high of was recorded in August 1983. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in July.
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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 6,387. The median age was 50.1 years. 18.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 26.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.3 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 95.4% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.4% from some other race, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.8% of the population.
0.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 99.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,834 households in the county, of which 23.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.4% were married-couple households, 18.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% 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)
|9,003
|7,998
|8,041
|7,133
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,060
|98.78%
|98.79%
|97.91%
|97.30%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |94.88%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|1
|8
|21
|15
|style='background: #ffffe6; |29
|0.01%
|0.10%
|0.26%
|0.20%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.45%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|4
|24
|7
|15
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5
|0.04%
|0.30%
|0.09%
|0.20%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.08%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|15
|10
|8
|15
|style='background: #ffffe6; |14
|0.16%
|0.12%
|0.10%
|0.20%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.22%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|3
|5
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5
|x
|x
|0.04%
|0.07%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.08%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|9
|0
|0
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.10%
|0.00%
|0.00%
|0.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|61
|66
|style='background: #ffffe6; |162
|x
|x
|0.74%
|0.90%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.54%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|82
|56
|72
|79
|style='background: #ffffe6; |112
|0.90%
|0.69%
|0.88%
|1.08%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.75%
|-
|Total
|9,114
|8,096
|8,213
|7,331
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,387
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 7,331 people, 3,149 households, and 2,127 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 3,827 housing units at an average density of .
The racial makeup of the county was 98.2% white, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.2% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.4% were German, 14.5% were Irish, 11.9% were English, 5.9% were Swedish, and 5.0% were American.
Of the 3,149 households, 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.5% were non-families, and 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.78. The median age was 47.2 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $43,450 and the median income for a family was $55,154. Males had a median income of $41,052 versus $27,426 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,492. About 7.8% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.3% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
Government and politics
Government
County Board
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Office
!Name
!Party
|-
| bgcolor="red" |
|County Board at-large
|Kim Gullberg
|Republican
|-
| bgcolor="red" |
|County Board at-large
|Bill Knupp
|Republican
|-
| bgcolor="red" |
|County Board at-large
|Kurt McChesney
|Republican
|-
| bgcolor="red" |
|County Board at-large
|Todd Miller
|Republican
|-
| bgcolor="red" |
|County Board at-large
|Janet Stubbs
|Republican
|}
County Board at-large
Dick Bigger
Democrat
County Officials
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Office
<!-- PresRow should be -->
Communities
City
- Dallas City (partly in Hancock County)
Villages
- Biggsville
- Gladstone
- Gulfport
- Lomax
- Media
- Oquawka
- Raritan
- Stronghurst
Census-designated place
- Carman
Unincorporated communities
- Bald Bluff
- Carthage Lake
- Decorra
- Hopper
- Olena
- Shokonon
- Terre Haute
Townships
Henderson County is divided into eleven townships:
- Bald Bluff
- Biggsville
- Carman
- Gladstone
- Lomax
- Media
- Oquawka
- Raritan
- Rozetta
- Stronghurst
- Terre Haute
State and Federal facilities
- Big River State Forest - 2,900 acre preserve adjacent to the Mississippi River (1925)
- Delabar State Park - 89 acre preserve adjacent to the Mississippi River (1960)
- Oquawka State Wildlife Refuge
Education
K-12 school districts include:
- Mercer County School District 404
- United Community School District 304
- West Central Community Unit School District 235
- West Prairie Community Unit School District 103
There is one secondary school district that extends into the county, Illini West High School District 307, as well as two elementary school districts: Dallas Elementary School District 327 and La Harpe Community School District 347.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Henderson County, Illinois
Notes
References
Further reading
- History of Mercer and Henderson Counties, Together with Biographical Matter, Statistics, Etc. Chicago: H.H. Hill and Company, 1882.
External links
- Henderson County Public Library District
- Henderson County Economic Development Corporation
- Henderson County Genealogy
- Henderson County Tombstone Project