Johnson County, Illinois

Johnson County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 13,308. Its county seat is Vienna. It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as "Little Egypt".

History

thumb|80px|right|Richard M. Johnson

Johnson County was organized in 1812 out of Randolph County. It was named for Richard Mentor Johnson, who was then a U.S. Congressman from Kentucky. In 1813, Johnson commanded a Kentucky regiment at the Battle of the Thames, after which he claimed to have killed Tecumseh in hand-to-hand combat. Johnson went on to become Vice President of the United States.

File:Johnson County Illinois 1812.png|Johnson County at the time of its creation to 1816

File:Johnson County Illinois 1816.png|Johnson County between 1816 and 1818

File:Johnson County Illinois 1818.png|Johnson County between 1818 and 1843

File:Johnson County Illinois 1843.png|Johnson County in 1843, when it was reduced to its present size

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Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water.

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Vienna have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of was recorded in August 2007. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in October to in May.

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|footnote=U.S. 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 13,308. The median age was 42.8 years, 17.4% of residents were under the age of 18, and 20.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 142.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 151.7 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 82.5% White, 10.8% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 3.1% from some other race, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.1% of the population.

Less than 0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 4,577 households in the county, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.2% were married-couple households, 17.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% 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)

|9,156

|10,076

|10,553

|11,056

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,895

|95.14%

|88.80%

|81.95%

|87.87%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |81.87%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|353

|1,042

|1,821

|1,004

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,419

|3.67%

|9.18%

|14.14%

|7.98%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.66%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|16

|26

|34

|19

|style='background: #ffffe6; |20

|0.17%

|0.23%

|0.26%

|0.15%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.15%

|Asian alone (NH)

|10

|13

|17

|21

|style='background: #ffffe6; |18

|0.10%

|0.11%

|0.13%

|0.17%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.14%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4

|0.00%

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |12

|0.07%

|0.01%

|0.00%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.09%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|85

|101

|style='background: #ffffe6; |388

|0.66%

|0.80%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.92%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|82

|189

|368

|376

|style='background: #ffffe6; |552

|0.85%

|1.67%

|2.86%

|2.99%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.15%

|Total

|9,624

|11,347

|12,878

|12,582

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,308

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 12,582 people, 4,584 households, and 3,270 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,598 housing units at an average density of .

The racial makeup of the county was 89.0% white, 8.0% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.0% of the population.

Of the 4,584 households, 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.7% were non-families, and 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 42.2 years.

Communities

Cities

Marion (mostly in Williamson County)
Vienna

Villages

Belknap
Buncombe
Cypress
Goreville
New Burnside
Simpson

Unincorporated communities

Bloomfield
Crossroads
Dixon Springs
Elvira
Ganntown
Grantsburg
Ozark
Parker City
Pleasant Grove
Pond
Reevesville
Reynoldsburg
Tunnel Hill
West Vienna
White Hill

Politics

In its early days Johnson County, being strongly Southern in its culture, was fiercely Democratic. In fact, in the 1860 presidential election, the county gave Illinois native and Northern Democrat Stephen A. Douglas a higher proportion of its votes than any other county in the United States.

However, during the Civil War, under the influence of Congressman John Logan, this region of dubious initial loyalty was to provide a number of Union soldiers rivaled on a per capita basis only by a few fiercely Unionist counties in Appalachia. This level of Union service has meant that despite its historic hostility towards Yankee culture, Johnson County has been powerfully Republican ever since the Civil War. Douglas in 1860 remains the last Democrat to win a majority of the county's vote: the solitary Democratic victory since was when Bill Clinton won a plurality against Republican George H. W. Bush and independent Ross Perot.

Education

School districts include:

K-12:

Century Community Unit School District 100
Goreville Community Unit School District 1
Marion Community Unit School District 2

Secondary:

Vienna High School District 133

Elementary:

Buncombe Consolidated School District 43
Cypress School District 64
New Simpson Hill Consolidated District 32
Vienna School District 55