| Ford County, Illinois | |
Location in the state of Illinois |
|
Illinois's location in the U.S. |
|
| Founded | 1859 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Paxton |
| Largest city | Paxton |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
486.24 sq mi (1,259 km²) 485.62 sq mi (1,258 km²) 0.63 sq mi (2 km²), 0.13% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
14,081 29/sq mi (11/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Ford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 14,081, which is a decrease of 1.1% from 14,241 in 2000.[1] Its county seat is Paxton.[2]
Ford County is part of the Champaign–Urbana Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Contents |
Ford County was formed February 17, 1859. It was the last of Illinois' 102 counties to be formed, and was created at the behest of some residents of Vermilion County, who complained to the General Assembly that they were located too far from the Iroquois County county seat. Ford County was named in honor of Thomas Ford, who served as Governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846.[1]
President Gerald Ford visited Ford County on October 24, 1974, on the occasion of the retirement of Congressman Leslie C. Arends of Melvin who served in congress for 40 years, including over 30 years as Republican Minority Whip.[3]
The Libertarian Party has performed well enough in recent elections to gain "established party" status, making it easier for Libertarian candidates to appear on the ballot. This is the only county in Illinois where this is the case.[2]
According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 486.24 square miles (1,259.4 km2), of which 485.62 square miles (1,257.8 km2) (or 99.87%) is land and 0.63 square miles (1.6 km2) (or 0.13%) is water.[4]
Ford County is divided into twelve townships:
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 18,359 |
|
|
| 1910 | 17,096 | −6.9% | |
| 1920 | 16,466 | −3.7% | |
| 1930 | 15,489 | −5.9% | |
| 1940 | 15,007 | −3.1% | |
| 1950 | 15,901 | 6.0% | |
| 1960 | 16,606 | 4.4% | |
| 1970 | 16,382 | −1.3% | |
| 1980 | 15,265 | −6.8% | |
| 1990 | 14,275 | −6.5% | |
| 2000 | 14,241 | −0.2% | |
| 2010 | 14,081 | −1.1% | |
| IL Counties 1900-1990 | |||
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 14,241 people, 5,639 households, and 3,902 families residing in the county. The population density was 29 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 6,060 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.18% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.40% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 1.24% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 41.0% were of German, 11.2% English, 10.5% Irish and 10.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 98.4% spoke English as their first language.
There were 5,639 households out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 28.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.80% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 19.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $38,073, and the median income for a family was $44,947. Males had a median income of $32,085 versus $22,320 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,860. About 5.70% of families and 7.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.60% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or over.
| Paxton, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate chart (explanation) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paxton have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.40 inches (36 mm) in February to 4.38 inches (111 mm) in May.[6]
| Kankakee County | ||||
| Livingston County | Iroquois County | |||
| Ford County, Illinois | ||||
| McLean County | Champaign County | Vermilion County |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||