Hardin, Illinois

Not to be confused with Hardin County, Illinois.

Hardin
Village
Calhoun County Courthouse
Location of Hardin in Calhoun County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 39°9′30″N90°37′6″W / 39.15833°N 90.61833°W / 39.15833; -90.61833
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Calhoun
Area [1]
• Total	2.302 sq mi (5.96 km2)
• Land	2.128 sq mi (5.51 km2)
• Water	0.174 sq mi (0.45 km2)
Elevation [2]	463 ft (141 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	801
• Density	350/sq mi (130/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)	62047
Area code	618
FIPS code	17-32850
GNIS feature ID	2398247 [2]
Wikimedia Commons	Hardin, Illinois

Hardin is a village and county seat of Calhoun County, Illinois, United States. The population was 801 at the 2020 census, down from 967 at the 2010 census. ^[3]

Geography

Hardin is located at 39°9′30″N90°37′6″W / 39.15833°N 90.61833°W / 39.15833; -90.61833 (39.158271, −90.618239). ^[4]

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Hardin has a total area of 2.30 square miles (5.96 km²), of which 2.13 square miles (5.52 km²) (or 92.44%) is land and 0.17 square miles (0.44 km²) (or 7.56%) is water. ^[1]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	300		—
1890	311		3.7%
1900	494		58.8%
1910	654		32.4%
1920	694		6.1%
1930	733		5.6%
1940	838		14.3%
1950	928		10.7%
1960	1,040		12.1%
1970	1,035		−0.5%
1980	1,107		7.0%
1990	1,071		−3.3%
2000	959		−10.5%
2010	967		0.8%
2020	801		−17.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [5]

As of the 2020 census ^[6] there were 801 people, 263 households, and 192 families residing in the village. The population density was 347.96 inhabitants per square mile (134.35/km²). There were 370 housing units at an average density of 160.73 per square mile (62.06/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 95.01% White, 0.12% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 1.50% from other races, and 2.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.62% of the population.

There were 263 households, out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.88% were married couples living together, 5.32% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.00% were non-families. 25.86% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.41% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.47 and the average family size was 2.82.

The village's age distribution consisted of 21.1% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 16.5% from 25 to 44, 31% from 45 to 64, and 26.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $55,938, and the median income for a family was $78,846. Males had a median income of $37,917 versus $27,450 for females. The per capita income for the village was $24,596. About 15.1% of families and 20.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Early history

Hardin was first known as Terry's Landing, after its first settler, Dr. William Terry, according to John Lammy's American Centennial celebration speech in Hardin on July 4, 1876. Benjamin F. Childs bought the landing in 1835 and renamed it Childs' Landing. The village name was changed to Hardin when it became the county seat of Calhoun County in 1847. The new name honored John J. Hardin, a former congressman and a colonel in the First Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, who was killed earlier that year in the Mexican–American War. ^[7] Hardin became the seat of Calhoun County after the county courthouse had burned down in Gilead. The seat was temporarily moved to Hamburg, but after an offer from Benjamin Childs of five acres of land and fifty thousand bricks for the new courthouse, as well as a free barbeque dinner, it was decided in a vote that the county seat would be moved in 1847. ^[8]

Notable people

• Thomas D. Bare (1867–1931), Illinois newspaper editor and state senator, lived in Hardin ^[9]
• Jerry Corbett (1917–1997), businessman, baseball player, and politician, was born in Hardin ^[10]
• Bill McGee (1909–1987), major league baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Giants ^[11]

References

1. Bureau, US Census. "Gazetteer Files". Census.gov. Retrieved June 29, 2022.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Hardin, Illinois
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
5. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
6. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
7. Calhoun County ILGenWeb, https://calhoun.illinoisgenweb.org/index.htm
8. Carpenter, George Wilbur (1933). History of Calhoun County and its people up to the year 1910. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
9. 'Illinois Blue Book 1907–1908,' Biographical Sketch of Thomas D. Bare, pg. 276–277
10. 'Former state Rep. Jerry Corbett recalled as "hard-working," Alton Telegraph, Steve Whitworth, October 22, 1997, pg. A-11
11. "Bill McGee, Baseball Reference, https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgeebi01.shtml

External links

• Great River Road: Hardin Archived April 14, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
• Masonic Lodge of Hardin