| Calhoun County, Illinois | |
Location in the state of Illinois |
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Illinois's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1825 |
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| Seat | Hardin |
| Largest city | Hardin |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
283.58 sq mi (734 km²) 253.82 sq mi (657 km²) 29.75 sq mi (77 km²), 10.49% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
5,089 20/sq mi (8/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Calhoun County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 5,089, which is an increase of 0.1% from 5,084 in 2000.[1] Its county seat is Hardin.[2] It is part of the Metro-East portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area.
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The territory was originally settled by indigenous people who focused their settlement along the resource-rich river valleys. The remains of their occupation have provided some of the most valuable archaeological information in the country. The county's archaeological record chronicles more than 10,000 years of continuous human settlement by Native Americans.
Calhoun County was settled by European Americans during the 19th century, and organized in 1825. It was named for Vice President John C. Calhoun. The southern side of the county, covered in thick forest, was untouched until the population began to expand in the 1840s with the arrival of German immigrants. Land was cleared for farming, exporting lumber and constructing spacious log barns, typically 200 square feet (19 m2) in size, which were a "trademark of successful German farmers."[3]
According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 283.58 square miles (734.5 km2), of which 253.82 square miles (657.4 km2) (or 89.51%) is land and 29.75 square miles (77.1 km2) (or 10.49%) is water.[4]
Calhoun County is a narrow 37-mile (60 km)-long peninsula of mostly high, rolling ground located between the Mississippi River and the Illinois River. The rolling hills escaped the leveling of glaciers.
County transportation is served by two state-operated, free ferries crossing the Illinois River (the Brussels Ferry in the south and the Kampsville ferry in the north). The Golden Eagle ferry, which is privately operated and charges a toll, crosses the Mississippi River to St. Charles County, Missouri. A bridge spans the Illinois River at Hardin. Land routes connect to the north to bordering Pike County.
When transportation was mainly by river, the county had many prosperous farms and orchards. It still produces a major portion of the peach crop of Illinois, and farmers raise corn and other commodities. The hotel in Brussels dates from 1847, when it was a stagecoach stop.
The county is popular with tourists due to the natural beauty of the Illinois River valley and its proximity to the Great River Road. It includes part of the Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge and attracts thousands of birds in migration seasons as part of the Mississippi Flyway. The county has several designated historic districts in the villages and properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Calhoun County was added to the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2003, along with Bond and Macoupin counties in Illinois, and Washington County, Missouri.
The Center for American Archeology is located in Kampsville in the northern part of the county. It has been the center for study of prehistoric indigenous culture in the area. It has created educational opportunities for children and adults to participate in its archaeological digs.
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 8,917 |
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| 1910 | 8,610 | −3.4% | |
| 1920 | 8,245 | −4.2% | |
| 1930 | 8,034 | −2.6% | |
| 1940 | 8,207 | 2.2% | |
| 1950 | 6,898 | −15.9% | |
| 1960 | 5,933 | −14.0% | |
| 1970 | 5,675 | −4.3% | |
| 1980 | 5,867 | 3.4% | |
| 1990 | 5,322 | −9.3% | |
| 2000 | 5,084 | −4.5% | |
| Est. 2007 | 5,167 | 1.6% | |
| IL Counties 1900-1990 | |||
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 5,084 people, 2,046 households, and 1,438 families residing in the county. The population density was 20 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 2,681 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.80% White, 0.04% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. 0.63% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 53.5% were of German, 13.5% American, 6.3% Irish and 6.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 98.5% spoke English and 1.3% Spanish as their first language.
There were 2,046 households out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% were married couples living together, 5.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the county the population was spread out with 22.90% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 19.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,375, and the median income for a family was $43,107. Males had a median income of $32,281 versus $20,943 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,785. About 7.30% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.10% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.
According to the TransUnion credit bureau Calhoun County is the only county in the United States to have a 0% delinquency rate on both credit cards and mortgages as of October 2008.
| Hardin, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Hardin have ranged from a low of 19 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 90 °F (32 °C) in July, although a record low of −24 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1979 and a record high of 116 °F (47 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.01 inches (51 mm) in January to 4.10 inches (104 mm) in May.[6]
| Pike County, Missouri | Pike County | Greene County | ||
| Lincoln County, Missouri | Jersey County | |||
| Calhoun County, Illinois | ||||
| St. Charles County, Missouri |
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