Schuyler County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 6,902. Its county seat is Rushville.

History

Schuyler County was formed in 1825 out of Pike and Fulton counties. It is named for Philip Schuyler, member of the Continental Congress and Senator from New York. In 1826, the county seat was moved from Beardstown (now in Cass County) to Rushville.

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File:Schuyler County Illinois 1825.png|Schuyler County (1825), with unorganized territory, Warren County, and Mercer County assigned to it.

File:Schuyler County Illinois 1826.png|Schuyler County (1826–1830), with McDonough County assigned to it.

File:Schuyler County Illinois 1827.png|Schuyler (1830–1839), with McDonough County becoming organized.

File:Schuyler County Illinois 1839.png|Schuyler in 1839, when the creation of Brown County reduced Schuyler to its present borders.

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Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water.

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Rushville have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1905 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.

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|footnote=US Decennial Census<br/>1790-1960 1900-1990<br/>1990-2000 2010

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Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Schuyler County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>

!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|-

|White alone (NH)

|8,320

|7,474

|7,090

|7,163

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,157

|99.46%

|99.68%

|98.62%

|94.95%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |89.21%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|0

|2

|16

|240

|style='background: #ffffe6; |283

|0.00%

|0.03%

|0.22%

|3.18%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.10%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|11

|9

|11

|12

|style='background: #ffffe6; |28

|0.13%

|0.12%

|0.15%

|0.16%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.41%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|4

|6

|5

|9

|style='background: #ffffe6; |25

|0.05%

|0.08%

|0.07%

|0.12%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.36%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|1

|0

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2

|x

|x

|0.01%

|0.00%

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

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|3

|0

|1

|2

|style='background: #ffffe6; |17

|0.04%

|0.00%

|0.01%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|26

|28

|style='background: #ffffe6; |238

|x

|x

|0.36%

|0.37%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.45%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|27

|7

|39

|90

|style='background: #ffffe6; |152

|0.32%

|0.09%

|0.54%

|1.19%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.20%

|-

|Total

|8,365

|7,498

|7,189

|7,544

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,902

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

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

|}

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 6,902. The median age was 47.5 years. 18.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 111.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 115.4 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 90.0% White, 4.2% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.7% from some other race, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.2% of the population.

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

There were 2,807 households in the county, of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.3% were married-couple households, 19.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The population density was . There were 3,459 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.5% white, 3.2% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population.

Of the 3,040&nbsp;households, 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.8% were non-families, and 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age was 43.6 years.

Government and politics

In 1853, Schyler County adopted the township form of county government.

The county is located in Illinois's 15th Congressional District and is currently represented by Republican Mary Miller. In the Illinois General Assembly, the county is split between multiple legislative districts. The northern portion of the county is located in the 47th legislative district and the 94th house district represented by Senator Neil Anderson and Representative Norine Hammond respectively. The southern portion of the county is located in the 50th legislative district and the 99th house district represented by Senator Jil Tracy and Representative Randy Frese respectively.

In presidential elections, Schuyler County usually favors Republican candidates, having voted for Democratic presidential candidates in only four elections during the period of 1944–2020. Since 1944, the Democratic candidate has won a majority of the vote in Schuyler County only once (in 1964).

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Communities

City

  • Rushville (seat)

Villages

  • Browning
  • Camden
  • Littleton

Unincorporated communities

  • Bader
  • Bluff City
  • Brooklyn
  • Frederick
  • Huntsville
  • Sheldons Grove
  • Sugar Grove

Townships

  • Bainbridge
  • Birmingham
  • Brooklyn
  • Browning
  • Buena Vista
  • Camden
  • Frederick
  • Hickory
  • Huntsville
  • Littleton
  • Oakland
  • Rushville
  • Woodstock

Notable people

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  • Mark Mitchell Bassett (1837–1910), attorney and politician

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Schuyler County

References

  • Schuyler County Government official website
  • Schuyler Fact Sheet