Christian County, Illinois

Christian County
County
Christian County Courthouse in Taylorville
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°33′N89°17′W / 39.55°N 89.28°W / 39.55; -89.28
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1839
Named for	Christian County, Kentucky
Seat	Taylorville
Largest city	Taylorville
Area
• Total	716 sq mi (1,850 km2)
• Land	709 sq mi (1,840 km2)
• Water	6.3 sq mi (16 km2)  0.9%
Population  (2020)
• Total	34,032
• Density	48/sq mi (18/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	15th
Website	christiancountyil.com

Christian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,032. ^[1] Its county seat is Taylorville. ^[2]

History

Christian County was formed February 15, 1839, out of Sangamon, Montgomery and Shelby counties. It was named for Christian County, Kentucky. It was originally named Dane County and was called Dane County until 1840. ^[3]

• 
  Christian County at its creation in 1839

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 716 square miles (1,850 km²), of which 709 square miles (1,840 km²) is land and 6.3 square miles (16 km²) (0.9%) is water. ^[4] The county is bounded on the north by Sangamon River, and intersected by the south fork of that stream. ^[5]

Adjacent counties

• Macon County (northeast)
• Shelby County (southeast)
• Montgomery County (southwest)
• Sangamon County (northwest)

Major highways

• US Route 51
• Illinois Route 16
• Illinois Route 29
• Illinois Route 48
• Illinois Route 104

Climate and weather

Taylorville, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.8     32 16     1.8     39 21     3     50 31     3.5     63 41     3.8     74 52     3.7     83 61     3.7     86 65     2.8     85 63     2.8     79 54     2.3     67 42     3.6     51 33     2.4     38 22 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel [6]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     45     0 −9     45     4 −6     76     10 −1     88     17 5     96     23 11     93     28 16     93     30 18     70     29 17     72     26 12     59     19 6     91     11 1     62     3 −6 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Taylorville have ranged from a low of 16 °F (−9 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −23 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.78 inches (45 mm) in January to 3.77 inches (96 mm) in May. ^[6]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	1,878		—
1850	3,203		70.6%
1860	10,492		227.6%
1870	20,363		94.1%
1880	28,227		38.6%
1890	30,531		8.2%
1900	32,790		7.4%
1910	34,594		5.5%
1920	38,458		11.2%
1930	37,538		−2.4%
1940	38,564		2.7%
1950	38,816		0.7%
1960	37,207		−4.1%
1970	35,948		−3.4%
1980	36,446		1.4%
1990	34,418		−5.6%
2000	35,372		2.8%
2010	34,800		−1.6%
2020	34,032		−2.2%
2023 (est.)	33,228	[7]	−2.4%
U.S. Decennial Census [8] 1790-1960 [9] 1900-1990 [10] 1990-2000 [11] 2010 [12]

2000 census age pyramid for Christian County

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 34,800 people, 14,055 households, and 9,211 families residing in the county. ^[13] The population density was 49.1 inhabitants per square mile (19.0/km²). There were 15,563 housing units at an average density of 21.9 per square mile (8.5/km²). ^[4] The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% white, 1.4% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. ^[13] In terms of ancestry, 21.9% were German, 12.7% were Irish, 10.6% were American, and 9.9% were English. ^[14]

Of the 14,055 households, 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.5% were non-families, and 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 41.6 years. ^[13]

The median income for a household in the county was $41,712 and the median income for a family was $52,680. Males had a median income of $42,897 versus $30,027 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,519. About 12.7% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.6% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over. ^[15]

Communities

Map of Christian County, Illinois

Cities

• Assumption
• Pana
• Taylorville

Villages

• Bulpitt
• Edinburg
• Harvel
• Jeisyville
• Kincaid
• Morrisonville
• Mount Auburn
• Moweaqua
• Owaneco
• Palmer
• Stonington
• Tovey

Census-designated places

• Langleyville

Other unincorporated places

• Bolivia
• Clarksdale
• Dunkel
• Ellis
• Grove City
• Hewittsville
• Midway
• Millersville
• Old Stonington
• Osbernville
• Radford
• Roby
• Rosamond
• Sharpsburg
• Sicily
• Vanderville
• Velma
• Willey Station
• Zenobia

Townships

Christian County is divided into these seventeen townships:

• Assumption
• Bear Creek
• Buckhart
• Greenwood
• Johnson
• King
• Locust
• May
• Mosquito
• Mount Auburn
• Pana
• Prairieton
• Ricks
• Rosamond
• South Fork
• Stonington
• Taylorville

Notable people

• Jon Corzine, former governor of New Jersey, former resident of Willey Station.
• Roy A. Corzine (1882-1957), Illinois state representative and farmer, was born in Stonington.
• Harry Forrester, member of the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame and Quincy University Hall of Fame.
• Brant Hansen, Christian radio host and author, graduated from high school in Assumption.
• Tom Candy Ponting (1824-1916), cattleman who drove the first herd of cattle from Texas to New York City
• Frank P. Sadler (1872–1931), Illinois state senator and lawyer, lived on a farm near Grove City.
• John Wesley Fribley (1906–2002), state senate (1934–1952), born in Pana
• Yvonne Craig (1937–2015) was born in Taylorville, Illinois. American actress renowned for her role as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl in the 1960s television series Batman.

Politics

Like most of German-settled Central Illinois, Christian County was solidly Democratic until Woodrow Wilson’s response to German defeat in World War I turned the county over to the Republican Party in its 1920, 1924 and 1928 landslides. The county remained Democratic-leaning through the rest of the twentieth century, only voting Republican in landslide wins. However, since 2000 Christian County has become reliably Republican.

United States presidential election results for Christian County, Illinois ^[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	11,278	72.55%	4,026	25.90%	241	1.55%
2020	11,563	71.24%	4,335	26.71%	333	2.05%
2016	10,543	68.12%	3,992	25.79%	942	6.09%
2012	8,885	60.33%	5,494	37.31%	348	2.36%
2008	7,872	51.94%	6,918	45.65%	365	2.41%
2004	9,044	59.24%	6,112	40.03%	111	0.73%
2000	7,537	51.03%	6,799	46.03%	435	2.94%
1996	5,563	37.49%	7,431	50.08%	1,843	12.42%
1992	5,087	28.92%	9,042	51.40%	3,461	19.68%
1988	7,040	45.61%	8,295	53.74%	101	0.65%
1984	8,534	52.84%	7,541	46.69%	77	0.48%
1980	8,770	54.69%	6,625	41.31%	641	4.00%
1976	7,445	43.90%	9,306	54.87%	209	1.23%
1972	10,072	56.98%	7,556	42.75%	47	0.27%
1968	7,486	42.31%	8,465	47.84%	1,743	9.85%
1964	6,153	34.09%	11,898	65.91%	0	0.00%
1960	9,263	47.54%	10,207	52.38%	15	0.08%
1956	10,282	52.91%	9,093	46.79%	59	0.30%
1952	9,906	50.11%	9,844	49.80%	17	0.09%
1948	7,576	44.40%	9,366	54.89%	120	0.70%
1944	8,995	48.79%	9,360	50.77%	82	0.44%
1940	10,255	46.91%	11,457	52.41%	150	0.69%
1936	8,145	39.69%	11,400	55.55%	976	4.76%
1932	6,096	33.42%	11,515	63.12%	631	3.46%
1928	9,896	56.77%	7,345	42.14%	190	1.09%
1924	7,398	46.08%	5,826	36.29%	2,832	17.64%
1920	7,535	52.75%	5,398	37.79%	1,352	9.46%
1916	6,923	44.12%	7,982	50.87%	787	5.02%
1912	1,994	25.30%	3,821	48.48%	2,067	26.22%
1908	3,686	43.63%	4,156	49.19%	607	7.18%
1904	3,856	49.15%	3,297	42.02%	693	8.83%
1900	3,686	43.59%	4,519	53.44%	252	2.98%
1896	3,857	44.74%	4,639	53.82%	124	1.44%
1892	2,941	40.12%	3,655	49.86%	735	10.03%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Christian County, Illinois
• List of counties in Illinois

References

Specific

1. "Christian County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved June 8, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Adams, James N. (compiler) (1989), Keller, William E. (ed.), Illinois Place Names , Springfield: Illinois State Historical Society, pp.  575, ISBN   0-912226-24-2
4. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
5. Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). "Christian. II. A central county of Illinois"  . The American Cyclopædia .
6. "Monthly Averages for Taylorville, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
7. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
9. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
10. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
11. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
12. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
13. "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.
14. "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.
15. "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.
16. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved October 30, 2018.

General

• United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
• United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
• United States National Atlas

39°33′N89°17′W / 39.55°N 89.28°W / 39.55; -89.28