Massac County, Illinois

Massac County, Illinois

Massac County Courthouse
Map of Illinois highlighting Massac County
Location in the U.S. state of Illinois
Map of the United States highlighting Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded February 8, 1843
Seat Metropolis
Largest city Metropolis
Area
 • Total 242 sq mi (627 km2)
 • Land 237 sq mi (614 km2)
 • Water 4.6 sq mi (12 km2), 1.9%
Population
 • (2010) 15,429
 • Density 65/sq mi (25/km²)
Congressional district 15th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5

Massac County is a county located in the state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 15,429.[1] Its county seat is Metropolis.[2]

Massac County is included in the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is located along the Ohio River, in the portion of the state known locally as "Little Egypt".

History

This area was occupied by various cultures of indigenous peoples for thousands of years before European contact. The most complex and last was that of the Mississippian culture, which built the complex mounds and plaza at the Kincaid Site (now a National Historic Landmark). They abandoned the site in about 1500, centuries before European contact.

Part of the Illinois Country was claimed by French explorers; this area was barely settled, with most French colonial villages close to the Mississippi River. During the French and Indian War against the British, the French built a fort here in 1757. It was named Fort Massac after Claude Louis d'Espinchal, Marquis de Massiac, the French Naval Minister.[3] Massiac is a commune in Cantal, France. Although beginning to be settled by Americans after the American Revolution, Massac County was formally organized on February 8, 1843, out of territory from both Johnson and Pope counties. In the mid-19th century, after the revolutions of 1848, the Midwest received many German immigrants. Their descendants today comprise nearly one-third of the population of the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 242 square miles (630 km2), of which 237 square miles (610 km2) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km2) (1.9%) is water.[4]

Climate and weather

Metropolis, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
3.5
 
 
42
25
 
 
3.9
 
 
48
29
 
 
4.4
 
 
58
38
 
 
4.7
 
 
69
47
 
 
4.8
 
 
77
56
 
 
4
 
 
86
64
 
 
4.3
 
 
90
68
 
 
3
 
 
88
66
 
 
3.3
 
 
82
59
 
 
3.2
 
 
71
47
 
 
4.5
 
 
58
38
 
 
4.4
 
 
47
29
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Source: The Weather Channel[5]

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Metropolis have ranged from a low of 25 °F (−4 °C) in January to a high of 90 °F (32 °C) in July, although a record low of −21 °F (−29 °C) was recorded in January 1984 and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in July 1999. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 3.00 inches (76 mm) in August to 4.76 inches (121 mm) in May.[5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18504,092—
18606,21351.8%
18709,58154.2%
188010,4439.0%
189011,3138.3%
190013,11015.9%
191014,2008.3%
192013,559−4.5%
193014,0813.8%
194014,9376.1%
195013,594−9.0%
196014,3415.5%
197013,889−3.2%
198014,9907.9%
199014,752−1.6%
200015,1612.8%
201015,4291.8%
Est. 201614,658[6]−5.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9]
1990-2000[10] 2010-2013[1]

2010

Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:

2000

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 15,429 people, 6,362 households, and 4,242 families residing in the county.[11] The population density was 65.0 inhabitants per square mile (25.1/km2). There were 7,113 housing units at an average density of 30.0 per square mile (11.6/km2).[4] The racial makeup of the county was 91.0% white, 5.9% black or African American, 0.4% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population.[11] In terms of ancestry, 25.7% were German, 16.1% were Irish, 8.5% were English, and 8.5% were American.[12]

Of the 6,362 households, 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.3% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 42.1 years.[11]

The median income for a household in the county was $41,077 and the median income for a family was $51,794. Males had a median income of $46,231 versus $25,717 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,216. About 9.7% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.5% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.[13]

Communities

Cities

Village

Unincorporated communities

Politics

Presidential Elections Results[14]
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2016 72.4% 4,846 23.3% 1,558 4.4% 293
2012 65.9% 4,278 32.2% 2,092 1.9% 125
2008 60.6% 4,371 37.4% 2,693 2.0% 145
2004 61.7% 4,578 37.8% 2,805 0.6% 41
2000 54.5% 3,676 43.2% 2,912 2.3% 156
1996 41.4% 2,507 46.9% 2,841 11.7% 710
1992 39.0% 2,754 47.4% 3,347 13.5% 955
1988 51.9% 3,507 47.7% 3,227 0.4% 29
1984 54.3% 3,827 45.3% 3,194 0.4% 28
1980 58.9% 4,284 38.8% 2,821 2.3% 167
1976 46.5% 3,226 52.9% 3,666 0.7% 45
1972 70.0% 4,313 29.7% 1,831 0.3% 18
1968 55.5% 3,578 30.0% 1,934 14.5% 934
1964 47.5% 3,078 52.5% 3,396
1960 63.1% 4,521 36.9% 2,644 0.1% 6
1956 64.3% 4,265 35.6% 2,359 0.1% 5
1952 60.8% 4,212 39.1% 2,711 0.1% 7
1948 62.5% 3,201 35.9% 1,842 1.6% 82
1944 67.5% 3,814 31.1% 1,758 1.4% 76
1940 62.3% 4,722 37.1% 2,813 0.5% 39
1936 55.8% 3,894 43.5% 3,039 0.7% 50
1932 51.6% 2,851 46.9% 2,593 1.5% 81
1928 72.9% 3,405 26.6% 1,241 0.6% 27
1924 71.4% 3,227 20.4% 920 8.2% 370
1920 83.0% 3,731 15.3% 688 1.7% 77
1916 73.8% 3,926 23.2% 1,236 3.0% 161
1912 48.1% 1,341 21.5% 599 30.4% 850
1908 73.7% 2,084 23.1% 652 3.3% 93
1904 74.7% 2,078 21.2% 589 4.1% 114
1900 71.2% 2,057 27.5% 796 1.3% 37
1896 69.6% 2,046 29.6% 869 0.8% 23
1892 62.5% 1,652 30.2% 799 7.2% 191

In its pre-Civil War history, Massac County, like all of Southern-leaning Southern Illinois, was powerfully Democratic as it was opposed to the abolitionist Yankee politics of the northern regions of the state. The county’s electorate gave a Democratic majority in every Presidential election up to and including 1860. However, the region was ultimately to provide a number of Union soldiers rivalled on a per capita basis only by a few fiercely Unionist counties in Appalachia[15][16] and this was to make Massac County overwhelmingly Republican for the next century. During this period, the county’s voters gave a plurality to every Republican nominee, even supporting William Howard Taft in 1912 when the GOP was mortally divided. Between 1896 and 1928 no Democrat managed thirty percent of the county’s vote.

The 1964 election saw Lyndon Johnson become the first Democrat in 104 years to carry Massac County due to opposition to Barry Goldwater’s economic policies and to his Deep Southern orientation, and Southern Evangelical Jimmy Carter was to marginally better LBJ’s performance in 1976, whilst Bill Clinton was to win a larger plurality in 1992 due to a third-party challenge from Ross Perot. However, since 2000 overwhelming opposition by the county’s almost universally southern white population to the Democratic Party’s liberal views on social issues like homosexuality has caused a reversion to very strong Republican voting in Massac County.[17] Hillary Clinton’s 23.3 percent share of the county’s vote is the lowest by a Democrat since John W. Davis in his landslide 1924 loss.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 202.
  4. 1 2 "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  5. 1 2 "Monthly Averages for Metropolis, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  6. ↑ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  7. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  12. ↑ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  13. ↑ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  14. ↑ http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS
  15. ↑ Wells, Damon; Stephen Douglas: The Last Years, 1857–1861, p. 285 ISBN 0292776357
  16. ↑ Copeland, James E.; ‘Where Were the Kentucky Unionists and Secessionists’; The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, volume 71, no. 4 (October, 1973), pp. 344-363
  17. ↑ Cohn, Nate; ‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’, New York Times, April 24, 2014

Coordinates: 37°13′N 88°43′W / 37.22°N 88.71°W / 37.22; -88.71

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