Lawrence County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,280. Its county seat is Lawrenceville.
History
Lawrence County was formed in 1821 out of Crawford and Edwards counties. It was named for Capt. James Lawrence, who was killed in action during the War of 1812 while commanding the frigate . Mortally wounded, he gave his men the famous last order, "Don't give up the ship."
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File:Lawrence County Illinois 1821.png|Lawrence County from its creation in 1821 to 1824
File:Lawrence_County_Illinois_1824.png|Lawrence County between 1824 and 1841
File:Lawrence County Illinois 1841.png|Lawrence County in 1841, when the creation of Richland County reduced Lawrence to its current 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 (0.5%) is water.
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Lawrenceville have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in May.
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<br />1790-1960 1900-1990<br />1990-2000 2010-2013
The racial makeup of the county was 84.3% White, 9.2% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.4% from some other race, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.4% of the population.
There were 5,571 households in the county, of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.3% were married-couple households, 18.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% 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)
|17,522
|15,709
|15,053
|14,491
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,777
|98.40%
|98.35%
|97.42%
|86.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |83.62%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|138
|151
|118
|1,583
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,393
|0.77%
|0.95%
|0.76%
9.40%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9.12%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|15
|31
|19
|30
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12
|0.08%
|0.19%
|0.12%
0.18%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.08%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|25
|20
|18
|38
|style='background: #ffffe6; |58
|0.14%
|0.13%
|0.12%
0.23%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.38%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|0
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7
|x
|x
|0.00%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.05%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|14
|5
|5
|8
|style='background: #ffffe6; |29
|0.08%
|0.03%
|0.03%
0.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.19%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|102
|129
|style='background: #ffffe6; |490
|x
|x
|0.66%
|0.77%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.21%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|93
|56
|137
|553
|style='background: #ffffe6; |514
|0.52%
|0.35%
|0.89%
3.29%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.36%
|-
|Total
|17,807
|15,972
|15,452
|16,833
|style='background: #ffffe6; |15,280
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 16,833 people, 6,130 households, and 4,056 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 6,936 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.3% white, 9.6% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.7% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.3% of the population.
Of the 6,130 households, 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.8% were non-families, and 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 39.7 years.
Communities
Cities
- Bridgeport
- Lawrenceville (seat)
- St. Francisville
- Sumner
Village
- Russellville
Unincorporated communities
- Billett
- Birds
- Chauncey
- Petrolia
- Pinkstaff
- Riddleville
Townships
Nine townships make up Lawrence County. They are:
- Allison
- Bond
- Bridgeport
- Christy
- Denison
- Lawrence
- Lukin
- Petty
- Russell
Politics
In its early days, Lawrence County was a Democratic-leaning swing county, voting Republican only twice up to 1892 when it supported Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 and Benjamin Harrison in 1888. It did not vote for a losing Republican candidate until Wendell Willkie carried the county in 1940 due to isolationist sentiment. Since that time, however, Lawrence County – like so many in Southern Illinois – has become reliably Republican. The only Democrat to gain an absolute majority in the county since 1936 has been Lyndon Johnson in 1964, although Bill Clinton obtained pluralities in both 1992 and 1996.
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See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Lawrence County, Illinois
References
External links
- Lawrence County official site
- Lawrence County Fact Sheet, Illinois State Archives
- Blue Star Emergency Medical Services Official Site