Gallatin County, Illinois

County in Illinois, United States

U.S. county in Illinois

Gallatin County

U.S. county

Gallatin County Courthouse in Shawneetown

Location within the U.S. state of Illinois

Illinois's location within the U.S.

Country|  United States
State|  Illinois
Founded| 1812
Named for| Albert Gallatin
Seat| Shawneetown
Largest city| Shawneetown
Area

• Total| 328 sq mi (850 km2)
• Land| 323 sq mi (840 km2)
• Water| 5.1 sq mi (13 km2)  1.6%
Population

(2010)

• Total| 5,589
• Estimate

(2018)

| 5,058
• Density| 17/sq mi (6.6/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district| 15th

Gallatin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4,828, making it the third-least populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Shawneetown.[1] It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as "Little Egypt".

Located at the mouth of the Wabash River, Gallatin County, along with neighboring Posey County, Indiana, and Union County, Kentucky form the tri-point of the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Geography
* 2.1 Climate and weather
* 2.2 Major highways
* 2.3 Adjacent counties
* 2.4 National protected area
* 3 Government
* 3.1 Politics
* 4 Demographics
* 4.1 2010
* 4.2 2000
* 5 Communities
* 5.1 City
* 5.2 Villages
* 5.3 Unincorporated communities
* 5.4 Townships
* 6 See also
* 7 References
* 8 Further reading
* 9 External links

## History

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Salt production served as the state's first major industry in the early 19th century. Saltworks developed first by Native Americans, and the French had settled at the Great Salt Spring on the south side of the Saline River, about five miles downstream from Equality. Beginning in 1803, salt works were also developed at Half Moon Lick, southwest of Equality on the north side of the Saline River. Half Moon Lick is now on private land, but the Great Salt Springs are on public lands in the Shawnee National Forest, about one mile west of the Saline River bridge across Illinois Route 1 on Salt Well Road.[2]

Gallatin county was organized in 1812 from land formerly in Randolph County. It was named for Albert Gallatin,[3] who was then Secretary of the Treasury. The bank at Shawneetown was the first in Illinois. It was originally in the John Marshall House, which has been rebuilt and serves as the museum of the Gallatin County Historical Society. This should not be confused with the State Bank of Illinois building, which is a state historic site a block away in Old Shawneetown

* Gallatin County created in the Illinois Territory period between 1812 and 1815

* Gallatin between 1815 and 1816

* Gallatin between 1816 and 1818, including unorganized territory (formerly part of Johnson County) temporarily attached to it.[4]

* Gallatin between 1818 and 1847

* Gallatin in 1847, when a cession to Hardin and the creation of Saline County reduced it to its current territory

## Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 328 square miles (850 km2), of which 323 square miles (840 km2) is land and 5.1 square miles (13 km2) (1.6%) is water.[5]

The Wabash and Ohio rivers join in the northeastern part of the county. The Saline River is a major drainage in the county, and it feeds into the Ohio River.

### Climate and weather

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Shawneetown, Illinois

Climate chart (explanation)

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3.5

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4.7

4.8

4.2

4.2

3.5

3.2

3.2

4.4

4.3

Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Source: The Weather Channel[6]
| Metric conversion

120

121

128

106

107

112

109

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

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Shawneetown have ranged from a low of 21 °F (−6 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −22 °F (−30 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in August 2007. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 3.22 inches (82 mm) in October to 5.02 inches (128 mm) in May.[6]

### Major highways

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* U.S. Highway 45
* Illinois Route 1
* Illinois Route 13
* Illinois Route 141
* Illinois Route 142

### Adjacent counties

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* White County \- north
* Posey County, Indiana \- northeast
* Union County, Kentucky \- east
* Hardin County \- south
* Saline County \- west
* Hamilton County \- northwest

### National protected area

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* Shawnee National Forest (part)

## Government

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Gallatin County government is led by a five-member county board. In addition, the county is divided into ten townships.

### Politics

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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

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As the most culturally Southern of all Illinois counties, Gallatin County was pro-Confederate during the Civil War and even provided a few volunteers to the Confederate Army. It then became solidly Democratic for the next century and a third, voting Republican only in the GOP landslides of 1920, 1952, 1972 and 1980. Even in those four elections, no Republican candidate received more than Richard Nixon’s 53.7 percent in his 3,000-plus-county 1972 triumph.

Since 2000, Gallatin County has followed the same political trajectory as Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia and Appalachian regions of adjacent states, whereby the Democratic Party’s liberal views on social issues have produced dramatic swings to the Republican Party amongst its almost entirely Southern white population.[7] Over the five elections from 2000 to 2016, Gallatin County has seen a swing of 84 percentage points to the Republican Party – an average of 17 percentage points per election – so that Hillary Clinton’s 24.3 percent vote share in 2016 is barely half the worst Democratic percentage from before 2010. However, despite its sharp rightward turn, it followed the wave in 2008 within the state that elected Barack Obama president, who remains the last Democrat to win the county in a presidential election.

In 1994, Gallatin County was the only one in the state to vote for the Democratic candidate for governor. It voted for the Democrat in every gubernatorial election from 1924 to 2006, finally flipping in 2010 and then voting Republican again in 2014 and 2018.

Presidential elections results

Presidential elections results[8] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third parties

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2020 | 75.5% 2,019 | 23.3% 622 | 1.2% 33
2016 | 71.7% 1,942 | 24.3% 657 | 4.0% 108
2012 | 58.0% 1,492 | 40.0% 1,029 | 2.0% 52
2008 | 42.2% 1,212 | 55.3% 1,587 | 2.5% 73
2004 | 50.2% 1,619 | 48.8% 1,573 | 1.0% 33
2000 | 44.7% 1,591 | 52.8% 1,878 | 2.5% 89
1996 | 24.4% 856 | 60.2% 2,113 | 15.5% 544
1992 | 25.1% 990 | 60.1% 2,371 | 14.8% 583
1988 | 38.9% 1,580 | 60.4% 2,455 | 0.7% 28
1984 | 47.2% 1,939 | 52.6% 2,164 | 0.2% 9
1980 | 49.1% 1,700 | 48.4% 1,678 | 2.5% 88
1976 | 36.4% 1,499 | 63.3% 2,611 | 0.3% 13
1972 | 53.7% 2,148 | 46.1% 1,844 | 0.2% 9
1968 | 43.0% 1,802 | 47.3% 1,980 | 9.7% 408
1964 | 32.9% 1,394 | 67.1% 2,845 |
1960 | 47.7% 2,179 | 52.2% 2,386 | 0.1% 5
1956 | 49.4% 2,179 | 50.5% 2,230 | 0.1% 6
1952 | 51.6% 2,300 | 48.3% 2,153 | 0.2% 8
1948 | 42.6% 1,789 | 56.8% 2,385 | 0.6% 26
1944 | 48.3% 2,073 | 50.6% 2,175 | 1.1% 47
1940 | 43.7% 2,588 | 55.5% 3,293 | 0.8% 48
1936 | 34.7% 2,004 | 64.1% 3,701 | 1.2% 69
1932 | 26.6% 1,279 | 72.1% 3,469 | 1.4% 65
1928 | 45.8% 2,002 | 53.6% 2,343 | 0.6% 28
1924 | 39.2% 1,792 | 52.1% 2,385 | 8.7% 399
1920 | 49.9% 2,184 | 45.7% 2,000 | 4.3% 189
1916 | 39.0% 1,985 | 57.4% 2,920 | 3.6% 181
1912 | 33.8% 1,051 | 54.6% 1,697 | 11.7% 363
1908 | 41.8% 1,411 | 54.6% 1,845 | 3.6% 122
1904 | 44.7% 1,401 | 49.1% 1,540 | 6.2% 193
1900 | 40.9% 1,432 | 57.3% 2,004 | 1.8% 62
1896 | 41.0% 1,468 | 57.8% 2,067 | 1.2% 44
1892 | 38.4% 1,211 | 53.0% 1,675 | 8.6% 272

## Demographics

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Historical population

Census | Pop. |  | %±
1820| 3,155| | —
1830| 7,405| | 134.7%
1840| 10,760| | 45.3%
1850| 5,448| | −49.4%
1860| 8,055| | 47.9%
1870| 11,134| | 38.2%
1880| 12,861| | 15.5%
1890| 14,935| | 16.1%
1900| 15,836| | 6.0%
1910| 14,628| | −7.6%
1920| 12,856| | −12.1%
1930| 10,091| | −21.5%
1940| 11,414| | 13.1%
1950| 9,818| | −14.0%
1960| 7,638| | −22.2%
1970| 7,418| | −2.9%
1980| 7,590| | 2.3%
1990| 6,909| | −9.0%
2000| 6,445| | −6.7%
2010| 5,589| | −13.3%
2020| 4,946| | −11.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11]
1990-2000[12] 2010-2017[13]

2000 census age pyramid for Gallatin County

### 2010

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Whereas according to the 2010 census:

* 97.9% White
* 0.2% Black
* 0.3% Native American
* 0.1% Asian
* 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
* 1.2% Two or more races
* 1.2% Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

### 2000

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As of the 2010 census, there were 5,589 people, 2,403 households, and 1,556 families residing in the county.[14] The population density was 17.3 inhabitants per square mile (6.7/km2). There were 2,746 housing units at an average density of 8.5 per square mile (3.3/km2).[5] The racial makeup of the county was 97.9% white, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population.[14] In terms of ancestry, 23.6% were German, 22.9% were Irish, 10.7% were English, and 7.0% were American.[15]

Of the 2,403 households, 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.2% were non-families, and 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 44.4 years.[14]

The median income for a household in the county was $38,003 and the median income for a family was $48,892. Males had a median income of $38,801 versus $22,425 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,537. About 12.4% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.[16]

## Communities

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### City

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* Shawneetown

### Villages

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* Equality
* Junction
* New Haven
* Old Shawneetown
* Omaha
* Ridgway

### Unincorporated communities

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* Cottonwood
* Elba
* Kedron
* Lawler

### Townships

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* Asbury
* Bowlesville
* Eagle Creek
* Equality
* Gold Hill
* New Haven
* North Fork
* Omaha
* Ridgway
* Shawnee

## See also

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

## References

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1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
2. ^ Jon Musgrave. 2004, Rev. ed. 2005. Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw: The Real Story of the Old Slave House and America's Reverse Underground Railroad. Marion, Ill.: IllinoisHistory.com. 57-65.
3. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 133.
4. ^ White, Jesse. Origin and Evolution of Illinois Counties. State of Illinois, March 2010. [1]
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ a b "Monthly Averages for Shawneetown, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
7. ^ Cohn, Nate; ‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’, New York Times, April 24, 2014
8. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
9. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
10. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
11. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
12. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
13. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
14. ^ 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.
15. ^ "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.
16. ^ "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.

## Further reading

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* 1887\. History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties, Illinois. Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Co.
* Musgrave, Jon, ed. 2002. Handbook of Old Gallatin County and Southeastern Illinois. Marion, Ill.: IllinoisHistory.com. 464 pages.
* Musgrave, Jon. 2004, Rev. ed. 2005. Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw: The Real Story of the Old Slave House and America's Reverse Underground R.R.. Marion, Ill.: IllinoisHistory.com. 608 pages.
* Waggoner, Horace Q., interviewer. 1978. "Lucille Lawler Memoir" Shawneetown Bank Project. Sangamon State University. Springfield, Ill.

## External links

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* History of Gallatin County http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilgallat/gch.htm
* History of Gallatin County and its Communities https://web.archive.org/web/20060413162609/http://www.lth6.k12.il.us/schools/gallatin/communities.htm

Places adjacent to Gallatin County, Illinois

| Hamilton County | White County | Posey County, Indiana

|
|

|  |
Saline County |

Gallatin County, Illinois

| Union County, Kentucky
|  |
| Hardin County |

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Gallatin County, Illinois, United States

County seat: Shawneetown

City|

* Shawneetown

Map of Illinois highlighting Gallatin County

Villages|

* Equality
* Junction
* New Haven
* Old Shawneetown
* Omaha
* Ridgway

Townships|

* Asbury
* Bowlesville
* Eagle Creek
* Equality
* Gold Hill
* New Haven
* North Fork
* Omaha
* Ridgway
* Shawnee

Unincorporated
communities|

* Cottonwood
* Elba
* Kedron
* Lawler

* United States portal

* v
* t
* e

State of Illinois

Springfield (capital)

Topics|

* Index
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Regions|

* American Bottom
* Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area
* Central Illinois
* Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area
* Chicago metropolitan area
* Collar counties
* Corn Belt
* Driftless Area
* Forgottonia
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* Metro East
* Metro Lakeland
* Mississippi Alluvial Plain
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* Northwestern Illinois
* Peoria metropolitan area
* Quad Cities
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* 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

* v
* t
* e

Southern Illinois

Counties|

* Alexander
* Bond
* Calhoun
* Clay
* Clinton
* Edwards
* Franklin
* Gallatin
* Hamilton
* Hardin
* Jackson
* Jefferson
* Jersey
* Johnson
* Lawrence
* Madison
* Marion
* Massac
* Monroe
* Perry
* Pope
* Pulaski
* Randolph
* Richland
* Saline
* St. Clair
* Union
* Wabash
* Washington
* Wayne
* White
* Williamson

Mid-sized cities (25,000+)|

* Alton
* Belleville
* Carbondale
* Collinsville
* Edwardsville
* Granite City
* O'Fallon

Small Cities (10,000-25,000)|

* Cahokia Heights
* Centralia
* East St. Louis
* Fairview Heights
* Glen Carbon
* Godfrey
* Herrin
* Marion
* Mt. Vernon
* Swansea
* Wood River

Small Cities (5,000-10,000)|

* Anna
* Benton
* Bethalto
* Carmi
* Carterville
* Chester
* Columbia
* Du Quoin
* East Alton
* Fairfield
* Flora
* Harrisburg
* Highland
* Jerseyville
* Maryville
* Mascoutah
* Metropolis
* Mount Carmel
* Murphysboro
* Olney
* Pinckneyville
* Pontoon Beach
* Salem
* Shiloh
* Staunton
* Troy
* Washington Park
* Waterloo
* West Frankfort

Interstates|

* I-55
* I-64
* I-70
* I-255
* I-270
* I-57
* I-24

Airports/Military bases|

* Scott Air Force Base
* MidAmerica St. Louis Airport
* St. Louis Regional Airport
* St. Louis Downtown Airport
* St. Louis Metro-East Airport
* Williamson County Regional Airport
* Kellums
* Cache River Airstrip
* Pinckneyville Duquoin Airport
* Harrisburg-Raleigh Regional Airport
* Mt. Vernon Outland Airport
* Southern Illinois Airport

Universities|

* Southern Illinois University (Carbondale)
* Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Colleges|

* Southeastern Illinois College
* Rend Lake College
* John A. Logan College
* Shawnee Community College
* Southwestern Illinois College
* Kaskaskia College
* Wabash Valley College
* East St. Louis Community College Center
* McKendree University
* Morthland College
* Olney Central College

Sports teams based in
the Southern Illinois|

* Gateway Grizzlies (baseball, Frontier League)
* Southern Illinois Miners
* Southern Illinois Salukis
* SIU Edwardsville Cougars

Coordinates: 37°46′N 88°14′W﻿ / ﻿37.76°N 88.23°W﻿ / 37.76; -88.23
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