Effingham County, Illinois

County in Illinois, United States

For other places named Effingham, see Effingham (disambiguation).

U.S. county in Illinois

Effingham County

U.S. county

Effingham County Government Center and Jail in Effingham

Official seal of Effingham County

Seal

Location within the U.S. state of Illinois

Illinois's location within the U.S.

Country|  United States
State|  Illinois
Founded| 1831
Named for| Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham
Seat| Effingham
Largest city| Effingham
Area

• Total| 480 sq mi (1,200 km2)
• Land| 479 sq mi (1,240 km2)
• Water| 1.2 sq mi (3 km2)  0.3%
Population

(2020)

• Total| 34,668
• Density| 72/sq mi (28/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district| 15th
Website| www.co.effingham.il.us

Effingham County is located in the south central part of the U.S. state Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,668.[1] Its county seat and largest city is Effingham. Some other cities in Effingham County, Illinois include Altamont, Teutopolis, Beecher City, Montrose, Dieterich, Shumway, Watson, Mason, and Edgewood. Effingham County comprises the Effingham, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.[2]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Geography
* 2.1 Climate and weather
* 2.2 Adjacent counties
* 2.3 Major highways
* 2.4 Transit
* 3 Demographics
* 4 Communities
* 4.1 Cities
* 4.2 Town
* 4.3 Villages
* 4.4 Townships
* 4.5 Unincorporated Communities
* 5 Politics
* 6 See also
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## History

[edit | edit source]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

|

Effingham County was formed in 1831 out of Fayette and Crawford counties. It may have been named after Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham, who resigned his commission as general in the British army in 1775, refusing to serve in the war against the Colonies. The name is Anglo-Saxon for "Effa's house". New information suggests that the county was named after a surveyor who surveyed the area whose last name was Effingham. There is no written proof that the county was named after Lord Effingham.

* Effingham County at the time of its creation in 1831

Effingham County Courthouse in Effingham

## Geography

[edit | edit source]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 480 square miles (1,200 km2), of which 479 square miles (1,240 km2) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2) (0.3%) is water.[3]

Just west of Effingham on Interstate 70 there is a 198-foot (60 m) white cross; 35,000 vehicles are estimated to pass the site each day. It is one of the world's tallest crosses, and took over 200 short tons (180 t) of steel to erect.

### Climate and weather

[edit | edit source]

Effingham, Illinois

Climate chart (explanation)

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

2.4

2.5

3.6

4.1

4.5

4.3

4.5

2.9

4.1

3.3

Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Source: The Weather Channel[4]
| Metric conversion

104

113

108

115

103

Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Effingham have ranged from a low of 18 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −29 °F (−34 °C) was recorded in January 1915 and a record high of 111 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.38 inches (60 mm) in January to 4.51 inches (115 mm) in July.[4]

### Adjacent counties

[edit | edit source]

* Cumberland County \- northeast
* Jasper County \- east
* Clay County \- south
* Fayette County \- west
* Shelby County \- northwest

### Major highways

[edit | edit source]

* Interstate 57
* Interstate 70
* U.S. Route 40
* U.S. Route 45
* Illinois Route 32
* Illinois Route 33
* Illinois Route 37
* Illinois Route 128

### Transit

[edit | edit source]

* Effingham station
* List of intercity bus stops in Illinois

## Demographics

[edit | edit source]

Historical population

Census | Pop. |  | %±
1840| 1,675| | —
1850| 3,799| | 126.8%
1860| 7,816| | 105.7%
1870| 15,653| | 100.3%
1880| 18,920| | 20.9%
1890| 19,358| | 2.3%
1900| 20,465| | 5.7%
1910| 20,055| | −2.0%
1920| 19,556| | −2.5%
1930| 19,013| | −2.8%
1940| 22,034| | 15.9%
1950| 21,675| | −1.6%
1960| 23,107| | 6.6%
1970| 24,608| | 6.5%
1980| 30,944| | 25.7%
1990| 31,704| | 2.5%
2000| 34,264| | 8.1%
2010| 34,242| | −0.1%
2020| 34,668| | 1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7]
1990-2000[8] 2010-2013[1]

2000 census age pyramid for Effingham County

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 34,242 people, 13,515 households, and 9,302 families residing in the county.[9] The population density was 71.5 inhabitants per square mile (27.6/km2). There were 14,570 housing units at an average density of 30.4 per square mile (11.7/km2).[3] The racial makeup of the county was 97.6% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% American Indian, 0.8% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.7% of the population.[9] In terms of ancestry, 41.6% were German, 10.0% were Irish, 9.3% were American, and 8.8% were English.[10]

Of the 13,515 households, 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.2% were non-families, and 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 39.2 years.[9]

The median income for a household in the county was $49,509 and the median income for a family was $61,373. Males had a median income of $40,951 versus $28,209 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,843. About 7.8% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.[11]

## Communities

[edit | edit source]

### Cities

[edit | edit source]

* Altamont
* Effingham (seat)

### Town

[edit | edit source]

* Mason

### Villages

[edit | edit source]

* Beecher City
* Dieterich
* Edgewood
* Montrose
* Shumway
* Teutopolis
* Watson

### Townships

[edit | edit source]

Effingham County is divided into fifteen townships:

* Banner
* Bishop
* Douglas
* Jackson
* Liberty
* Lucas
* Mason
* Moccasin
* Mound
* St. Francis
* Summit
* Teutopolis
* Union
* Watson
* West

### Unincorporated Communities

[edit | edit source]

* Dexter
* Elliottstown
* Funkhouser
* Gilmore
* Heartville
* Moccasin

## Politics

[edit | edit source]

In its early years Effingham County was owing to its anti-Civil War German-American population powerfully Democratic. Until Woodrow Wilson’s harsh policies towards Germany following World War I drove many voters to the GOP’s Warren G. Harding, it had voted an absolute majority to the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since the county’s formation. Opposition to the New Deal caused a considerable swing away from Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, and combined with local opposition to Roosevelt’s war policies in 1940 to cause FDR to only win the county by forty-seven votes from Wendell Willkie.

Since that election, the county has voted Republican in every election except 1948 and 1964, and no Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976 has reached 35 percent of the county’s vote. Currently Effingham County is one of Illinois’ most Republican counties, rivalled by a number of southern counties like Edwards. In the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, John McCain carried the county by a 36% margin over Barack Obama, making it McCain's strongest county in the state, with Obama carrying his home state by a 25.1% margin over McCain.[12]

United States presidential election results for Effingham County, Illinois[13] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2020 | 15,006  | 78.78% | 3,716  | 19.51%  | 327  | 1.72%
2016 | 13,635  | 77.85% | 3,083  | 17.60%  | 796  | 4.54%
2012 | 12,501  | 75.25% | 3,861  | 23.24%  | 251  | 1.51%
2008 | 11,323  | 67.08% | 5,262  | 31.17%  | 295  | 1.75%
2004 | 11,774  | 72.33% | 4,388  | 26.96%  | 116  | 0.71%
2000 | 9,855  | 68.04% | 4,225  | 29.17%  | 405  | 2.80%
1996 | 7,696  | 54.18% | 4,825  | 33.97%  | 1,683  | 11.85%
1992 | 6,329  | 42.25% | 5,221  | 34.85%  | 3,431  | 22.90%
1988 | 8,431  | 64.53% | 4,553  | 34.85%  | 82  | 0.63%
1984 | 9,617  | 71.22% | 3,841  | 28.44%  | 46  | 0.34%
1980 | 9,104  | 65.93% | 4,229  | 30.63%  | 475  | 3.44%
1976 | 7,194  | 53.72% | 5,952  | 44.45%  | 245  | 1.83%
1972 | 8,752  | 66.34% | 4,431  | 33.59%  | 10  | 0.08%
1968 | 6,698  | 55.95% | 4,496  | 37.55%  | 778  | 6.50%
1964 | 5,044  | 42.65%  | 6,782  | 57.35% | 0  | 0.00%
1960 | 6,410  | 53.01% | 5,676  | 46.94%  | 6  | 0.05%
1956 | 6,904  | 60.67% | 4,455  | 39.15%  | 21  | 0.18%
1952 | 6,530  | 57.79% | 4,745  | 41.99%  | 25  | 0.22%
1948 | 4,823  | 48.92%  | 4,940  | 50.11% | 96  | 0.97%
1944 | 5,441  | 53.77% | 4,587  | 45.33%  | 91  | 0.90%
1940 | 5,941  | 49.48%  | 5,988  | 49.88% | 77  | 0.64%
1936 | 4,293  | 40.57%  | 6,030  | 56.98% | 260  | 2.46%
1932 | 2,933  | 30.65%  | 6,503  | 67.96% | 133  | 1.39%
1928 | 3,882  | 47.26%  | 4,239  | 51.61% | 93  | 1.13%
1924 | 3,159  | 39.18%  | 3,814  | 47.30% | 1,090  | 13.52%
1920 | 4,176  | 57.47% | 2,985  | 41.08%  | 106  | 1.46%
1916 | 3,207  | 40.36%  | 4,529  | 57.00% | 210  | 2.64%
1912 | 1,002  | 23.25%  | 2,575  | 59.76% | 732  | 16.99%
1908 | 1,877  | 38.86%  | 2,826  | 58.51% | 127  | 2.63%
1904 | 1,863  | 42.68%  | 2,303  | 52.76% | 199  | 4.56%
1900 | 1,853  | 37.95%  | 2,979  | 61.01% | 51  | 1.04%
1896 | 1,895  | 38.57%  | 2,953  | 60.11% | 65  | 1.32%
1892 | 1,472  | 32.92%  | 2,744  | 61.37% | 255  | 5.70%

## See also

[edit | edit source]

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Effingham County, Illinois

## References

[edit | edit source]

Specific

1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ a b "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
4. ^ a b "Monthly Averages for Effingham, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
5. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
6. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
7. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
8. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
9. ^ a b c "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
10. ^ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
11. ^ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
12. ^ U.S. Election Atlas
13. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 1, 2018.

General

* History of Southern Illinois, George Washington Smith, 1912.
* United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
* United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
* United States National Atlas

## External links

[edit | edit source]

* Effingham County History & Genealogy

Places adjacent to Effingham County, Illinois

| Shelby County |  | Cumberland County

|
|

|  |
Fayette County |

Effingham County, Illinois

| Jasper County
|  |
| Clay County |

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Effingham County, Illinois, United States

County seat: Effingham

Cities|

* Altamont
* Effingham

Map of Illinois highlighting Effingham County

Town|

* Mason

Villages|

* Beecher City
* Dieterich
* Edgewood
* Montrose‡
* Shumway
* Teutopolis
* Watson

Townships|

* Banner
* Bishop
* Douglas
* Jackson
* Liberty
* Lucas
* Mason
* Moccasin
* Mound
* St. Francis
* Summit
* Teutopolis
* Union
* Watson
* West

Unincorporated
communities|

* Dexter
* Elliottstown
* Funkhouser
* Gilmore
* Moccasin

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

* United States portal

* v
* t
* e

State of Illinois

Springfield (capital)

Topics|

* Index
* Buildings and structures
* Census areas
* Communications
* Culture
* Delegations
* Earthquakes
* Economy
* Education
* Energy
* Environment
* Geography
* Government
* Health
* History
* Languages
* Law
* Music
* People
* Politics
* Portal
* Protected areas
* Society
* Sports
* Symbols
* Tourism
* Transportation
* Windmills

Regions|

* American Bottom
* Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area
* Central Illinois
* Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area
* Chicago metropolitan area
* Collar counties
* Corn Belt
* Driftless Area
* Forgottonia
* Fox Valley
* Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area
* Metro East
* Metro Lakeland
* Mississippi Alluvial Plain
* North Shore
* Northern Illinois
* Northwestern Illinois
* Peoria metropolitan area
* Quad Cities
* River Bend
* Rockford metropolitan area
* Southern Illinois
* Wabash Valley

Municipalities|

* Alton/Granite City/Edwardsville
* Arlington Heights/Palatine
* Aurora/Naperville/Oswego/Plainfield
* Bartlett/Hanover Park/Streamwood
* Belleville/East St. Louis/Collinsville/O'Fallon
* Berwyn/Cicero
* Bloomington/Normal
* Bolingbrook/Romeoville
* Buffalo Grove/Wheeling
* Calumet City
* Canton
* Carbondale
* Carol Stream/Glendale Heights
* Centralia
* Champaign/Urbana
* Charleston/Mattoon
* Chicago
* Chicago Heights
* Crystal Lake/Algonquin
* Danville
* Decatur
* DeKalb/Sycamore
* Des Plaines/Mount Prospect/Park Ridge
* Dixon
* Downers Grove/Woodridge
* Effingham
* Elgin/Carpentersville
* Elmhurst/Lombard/Addison
* Evanston/Skokie
* Freeport
* Galesburg
* Glenview/Northbrook
* Harrisburg
* Jacksonville
* Joliet
* Kankakee/Bradley/Bourbonnais
* Lincoln
* Macomb
* Marion/Herrin
* Moline/East Moline/Rock Island
* Mount Vernon
* Mundelein
* Oak Lawn
* Oak Park
* Orland Park/Tinley Park
* Ottawa/Streator/LaSalle/Peru
* Peoria/Pekin/East Peoria/Morton/Washington
* Pontiac
* Quincy
* Rochelle
* Rockford/Belvidere/Machesney Park/Loves Park
* St. Charles
* Schaumburg/Hoffman Estates/Elk Grove Village
* Springfield
* Sterling/Rock Falls
* Taylorville
* Waukegan/North Chicago/Gurnee
* Wheaton

Counties|

* Adams
* Alexander
* Bond
* Boone
* Brown
* Bureau
* Calhoun
* Carroll
* Cass
* Champaign
* Christian
* Clark
* Clay
* Clinton
* Coles
* Cook
* Crawford
* Cumberland
* DeKalb
* DeWitt
* Douglas
* DuPage
* Edgar
* Edwards
* Effingham
* Fayette
* Ford
* Franklin
* Fulton
* Gallatin
* Greene
* Grundy
* Hamilton
* Hancock
* Hardin
* Henderson
* Henry
* Iroquois
* Jackson
* Jasper
* Jefferson
* Jersey
* Jo Daviess
* Johnson
* Kane
* Kankakee
* Kendall
* Knox
* Lake
* LaSalle
* Lawrence
* Lee
* Livingston
* Logan
* Macon
* Macoupin
* Madison
* Marion
* Marshall
* Mason
* Massac
* McDonough
* McHenry
* McLean
* Menard
* Mercer
* Monroe
* Montgomery
* Morgan
* Moultrie
* Ogle
* Peoria
* Perry
* Piatt
* Pike
* Pope
* Pulaski
* Putnam
* Randolph
* Richland
* Rock Island
* Saline
* Sangamon
* Schuyler
* Scott
* Shelby
* St. Clair
* Stark
* Stephenson
* Tazewell
* Union
* Vermilion
* Wabash
* Warren
* Washington
* Wayne
* White
* Whiteside
* Will
* Williamson
* Winnebago
* Woodford

Coordinates: 39°04′N 88°35′W﻿ / ﻿39.06°N 88.59°W﻿ / 39.06; -88.59
*[Pop.]: Population
*[%±]: Percent change
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template