Macon County, Illinois

Macon County
County
Wabash Railroad Station and Railway Express Agency in Decatur
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°52′N88°58′W / 39.86°N 88.96°W / 39.86; -88.96
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	January 19, 1829
Named for	Nathaniel Macon
Seat	Decatur
Largest city	Decatur
Area
• Total	586 sq mi (1,520 km2)
• Land	581 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Water	5.2 sq mi (13 km2)  0.9%
Population  (2020)
• Total	103,998
• Density	180/sq mi (69/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	13th, 15th
Website	maconcounty.illinois.gov

Macon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 103,998. ^[1] Its county seat and most populous city is Decatur. ^[2]

Macon County comprises the Decatur, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Macon County was formed on January 19, 1829, out of Shelby County. It was named for Nathaniel Macon, a Colonel in the Revolutionary War. ^[3] Macon later served as senator from North Carolina until his resignation in 1828. In 1830, future US President Abraham Lincoln and his family moved to Macon County.

• 
  Macon County (1829)
• 
  Macon County (1829–1841)
• 
  Macon County (1841–1843)
• 
  Macon County (1843–present)

Geography

Plaque honoring 2,486 Macon County soldiers that fought in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-65

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 586 square miles (1,520 km²), of which 581 square miles (1,500 km²) is land and 5.2 square miles (13 km²) (0.9%) is water. ^[4]

Macon County is primarily flat, as is most of the state and all of the surrounding counties, the result of geological activity during the Pleistocene epoch. During the Illinoian Stage of the Pleistocene, the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered about 85 percent of Illinois, including the Macon County area. The subsequent thaw of the region and retreat of the ice sheet left central Illinois with its present characteristic flat topography. ^[5]

Because of its central location, Macon County is often referred to as "The Heart of Illinois." ^[6]

Climate and weather

Decatur, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.1     35 17     2     41 22     3.2     53 32     3.6     65 42     4.5     76 52     3.9     85 61     4.5     88 65     4.1     86 63     3     80 55     2.7     68 44     3.3     52 34     2.9     39 23 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel [7]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     52     2 −8     50     5 −6     81     12 0     91     18 6     114     24 11     99     29 16     115     31 18     105     30 17     76     27 13     70     20 7     84     11 1     73     4 −5 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Decatur have ranged from a low of 17 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in February 1905 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.95 inches (50 mm) in February to 4.54 inches (115 mm) in July. ^[7]

Major highways

• Interstate 72
• U.S. Route 36
• U.S. Route 51
• Illinois Route 48
• Illinois Route 105
• Illinois Route 121
• Illinois Route 128

Transit

• Decatur Public Transit System
• SHOW Bus
• List of intercity bus stops in Illinois

Adjacent counties

• De Witt - north
• Piatt - northeast
• Moultrie - southeast
• Shelby - south
• Christian - southwest
• Sangamon - west
• Logan - northwest

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	1,122		—
1840	3,039		170.9%
1850	3,988		31.2%
1860	13,738		244.5%
1870	26,481		92.8%
1880	30,665		15.8%
1890	38,083		24.2%
1900	44,003		15.5%
1910	54,186		23.1%
1920	65,175		20.3%
1930	81,731		25.4%
1940	84,693		3.6%
1950	98,853		16.7%
1960	118,257		19.6%
1970	125,010		5.7%
1980	131,375		5.1%
1990	117,206		−10.8%
2000	114,706		−2.1%
2010	110,768		−3.4%
2020	103,998		−6.1%
2023 (est.)	100,591	[8]	−3.3%
US Decennial Census [9] 1790–1960 [10] 1900–1990 [11] 1990–2000 [12] 2010 [13]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 110,768 people, 45,855 households, and 29,326 families residing in the county. ^[14] The population density was 190.8 inhabitants per square mile (73.7/km²). There were 50,475 housing units at an average density of 86.9 per square mile (33.6/km²). ^[4] The racial makeup of the county was 79.3% white, 16.3% black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.7% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population. ^[14] In terms of ancestry, 21.7% were German, 17.0% were American, 12.9% were Irish, and 10.8% were English. ^[15]

Of the 45,855 households, 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.0% were non-families, and 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 40.3 years. ^[14]

The median income for a household in the county was $44,337 and the median income for a family was $57,570. Males had a median income of $48,570 versus $31,568 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,726. About 10.3% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.1% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over. ^[16]

Communities

Cities

• Decatur (county seat and largest municipality)
• Macon
• Maroa

Villages

• Argenta
• Blue Mound
• Forsyth
• Harristown
• Long Creek
• Mount Zion
• Niantic
• Oreana
• Warrensburg

Map of Macon County

Census-designated place

• Boody

Unincorporated communities

• Bearsdale
• Blackland
• Bulldog Crossing
• Casner
• Elwin
• Emery
• Heman
• Hervey City
• Newburg
• Oakley
• Prairie Hall
• Sangamon
• Walker

Ghost Town

• Whistleville

Townships

• Austin
• Blue Mound
• Decatur
• Friends Creek
• Harristown
• Hickory Point
• Illini
• Long Creek
• Maroa
• Milam (former, now defunct, after merger with Mount Zion Township)
• Mount Zion
• Niantic
• Oakley
• Pleasant View
• South Macon
• South Wheatland
• Whitmore

Politics

In its early years Macon County favored the Democratic Party, voting for it in every election through 1860. Republican Abraham Lincoln won the county in the 1864 election, and from then until the Great Depression Macon County became solidly Republican, only giving a narrow plurality to Woodrow Wilson in 1912 when the GOP was mortally divided by Theodore Roosevelt's splinter–party run.

The FDR-era New Deal saw the county become more amenable to the Democratic Party again due to its strong industrial base. Macon County voted for the winner in every election from 1920 through 1996 save in 1960, 1968, and 1988, in two of which it voted for a losing Democrat over a winning Republican (Humphrey over Nixon in 1968 and Dukakis over George H. W. Bush in 1988). In 2000, Macon voted for a losing Democrat for the third time since the New Deal, as Al Gore narrowly held the county, but since then the county has once again trended Republican, as George W. Bush carried the county over John Kerry in 2004 with the same vote share as Reagan in his 1984 national landslide. Illinois native Barack Obama did carry the county with a plurality in his sweeping 2008 triumph, but was convincingly defeated by Mitt Romney in the county in 2012. In 2016, Hillary Clinton got the lowest vote share of any Democrat since George McGovern; and while Joe Biden improved on her vote share in 2020, he still failed to match McGovern's percentage.

United States presidential election results for Macon County, Illinois ^[17]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	28,589	57.72%	19,847	40.07%	1,098	2.22%
2016	26,866	55.90%	18,343	38.17%	2,851	5.93%
2012	25,309	51.62%	22,780	46.46%	941	1.92%
2008	24,948	48.55%	25,487	49.60%	954	1.86%
2004	28,118	54.34%	23,341	45.11%	287	0.55%
2000	23,830	48.14%	24,262	49.02%	1,407	2.84%
1996	18,161	38.45%	24,256	51.35%	4,818	10.20%
1992	18,684	33.62%	27,449	49.39%	9,447	17.00%
1988	23,862	48.22%	25,364	51.25%	263	0.53%
1984	30,457	54.28%	25,463	45.38%	192	0.34%
1980	28,298	52.45%	22,325	41.38%	3,333	6.18%
1976	24,893	46.44%	28,243	52.69%	463	0.86%
1972	29,596	59.16%	20,296	40.57%	137	0.27%
1968	21,027	42.27%	23,369	46.98%	5,345	10.75%
1964	17,957	33.88%	35,045	66.12%	0	0.00%
1960	27,151	50.95%	26,029	48.85%	108	0.20%
1956	27,673	54.51%	23,066	45.43%	32	0.06%
1952	25,744	53.56%	22,277	46.35%	45	0.09%
1948	18,719	46.27%	21,487	53.11%	250	0.62%
1944	19,608	46.06%	22,808	53.58%	153	0.36%
1940	19,998	41.78%	27,589	57.64%	277	0.58%
1936	15,585	35.84%	27,360	62.92%	541	1.24%
1932	16,868	42.87%	21,638	54.99%	840	2.13%
1928	24,492	70.68%	9,932	28.66%	230	0.66%
1924	16,458	60.22%	6,670	24.40%	4,203	15.38%
1920	16,486	65.27%	7,917	31.35%	854	3.38%
1916	13,997	52.90%	11,181	42.25%	1,283	4.85%
1912	3,356	27.33%	4,435	36.12%	4,487	36.55%
1908	6,643	55.98%	4,615	38.89%	608	5.12%
1904	6,284	62.79%	2,952	29.50%	772	7.71%
1900	6,086	54.26%	4,874	43.46%	256	2.28%
1896	6,216	55.73%	4,756	42.64%	182	1.63%
1892	4,575	48.04%	4,303	45.18%	646	6.78%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Macon County, Illinois

References

1. "Macon County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved June 10, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p.  195.
4. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
5. Stiff, B. J., and A.K. Hansel, 2004, Quaternary glaciations in Illinois. in Ehlers, J., and P.L. Gibbard, eds., pp. 71-82, Quaternary Glaciations: Extent and Chronology 2: Part II North America, Elsevier, Amsterdam. ISBN   0-444-51462-7
6. "Visitors Information - Macon County Illinois". www.co.macon.il.us. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
7. "Monthly Averages for Decatur IL". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
8. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
9. "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
11. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
12. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
13. "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
14. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
15. "Selected Social Characteristics in the United States – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
16. "Selected Economic Characteristics – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
17. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.

39°52′N88°58′W / 39.86°N 88.96°W / 39.86; -88.96