Marshall County, Illinois

Marshall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 11,742. Its county seat is Lacon. Marshall County is part of the Peoria metropolitan area.

History

Marshall County was formed in 1839 out of Putnam County. It was named in honor of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, who died in 1835.

File:Marshall County Illinois 1839.png|Marshall County at the time of its creation

File:Marshall County Illinois 1843.png|Marshall County in 1843, when its eastern border was extended to bring it 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 (2.9%) is water.

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Lacon have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of was recorded in July 2005. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January 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 11,742. The median age was 46.2 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.4 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 93.4% White, 0.7% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.9% from some other race, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.8% of the population.

There were 4,982 households in the county, of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.0% were married-couple households, 19.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% 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)

|14,380

|12,693

|12,860

|12,128

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,858

|99.32%

|98.81%

|97.57%

|95.95%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |92.47%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|15

|17

|45

|44

|style='background: #ffffe6; |86

|0.10%

|0.13%

|0.34%

|0.35%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.73%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|11

|29

|28

|17

|style='background: #ffffe6; |18

|0.08%

|0.23%

|0.21%

|0.13%

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

|Asian alone (NH)

|15

|26

|24

|43

|style='background: #ffffe6; |43

|0.10%

|0.20%

|0.18%

|0.34%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.37%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.01%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |25

|0.03%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.21%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|82

|89

|style='background: #ffffe6; |389

|0.62%

|0.70%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.31%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|54

|79

|138

|314

|style='background: #ffffe6; |323

|0.37%

|0.61%

|1.05%

|2.48%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.75%

|Total

|14,479

|12,846

|13,180

|12,640

|style='background: #ffffe6; |11,742

|100.00%

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

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 12,640 people, 5,161 households, and 3,549 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 5,914 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 1.1% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.5% of the population.

Of the 5,161 households, 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.2% were non-families, and 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 44.8 years.

Communities

Cities

Henry
Lacon
Toluca
Wenona

Villages

Hopewell
La Rose
Sparland
Varna
Washburn

Unincorporated communities

Camp Grove
Hopewell Estates
La Prairie Center
Lawn Ridge
Leeds
Pattonsburg
Saratoga Center
Wilbern

Townships

Bell Plain
Bennington
Evans
Henry
Hopewell
Lacon
La Prairie
Richland
Roberts
Saratoga
Steuben
Whitefield

Politics

In its early days Marshall County was a swing county, voting for winning Whig candidate William Henry Harrison in 1840 but otherwise supporting the Democratic Party until 1852. Its reputation as a swing county was to be sustained with the growth of the Republican Party: it voted for the winning candidate in every election from 1852 to 1912 except 1884 and 1888.

Since World War I, Marshall has generally been a strongly Republican county. Only two Democrats – Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 plus Lyndon Johnson in 1964 – have gained an absolute majority in Marshall County over the past twenty-six elections, although Bill Clinton won pluralities in both his elections.