Madison County, Illinois

Madison County
County
Madison County Courthouse in Edwardsville
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°50′N89°55′W / 38.83°N 89.91°W / 38.83; -89.91
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	September 14, 1812
Named for	James Madison
Seat	Edwardsville
Largest city	Granite City
Area
• Total	741 sq mi (1,920 km2)
• Land	716 sq mi (1,850 km2)
• Water	25 sq mi (60 km2)  3.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	264,776
• Estimate  (2023)	262,752
• Density	360/sq mi (140/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	13th, 15th
Website	www.madisoncountyil.gov

Madison County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a part of the Metro East in southern Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 264,776, ^[1] making it the eighth-most populous county in Illinois and the most populous in the southern portion of the state. The county seat is Edwardsville, and the largest city is Granite City. ^[2]

Madison County is part of the Metro East region of Greater St. Louis. The pre-Columbian city of Cahokia Mounds, a World Heritage Site, was located near Collinsville. Edwardsville is home to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. To the north, Alton is known for its abolitionist and American Civil War-era history. It is also the home of the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine. Godfrey, the village named for Captain Benjamin Godfrey, offers Lewis and Clark Community College formerly the Monticello Female Seminary.

History

Madison County was established on September 14, 1812. It was formed from parts of Randolph and St. Clair counties and named for President James Madison. ^[3] At the time of its formation, Madison County included all of the modern State of Illinois north of St. Louis, as well as all of Wisconsin, part of Minnesota, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

In the late 19th century, Madison County became an industrial region, and in the 20th century was known first for Graniteware, and later for its steel mills, oil refineries, and other heavy industries. The county had a large working population, and the county and surrounding area was a center of strength for the Democratic Party.

Industrial restructuring cost many jobs and reduced the population. The county now is part of the eastern St. Louis metropolitan area (nicknamed "Metro East"), as is neighboring St. Clair County.

In 2009, the EPA issued an air pollution report that ranked Madison County as the county with the second-highest cancer risk in the country due to air pollution, second only to Los Angeles County, California.^{[ citation needed ]}

• 
  Madison County between its creation in 1812 and 1815, extending north to Lake Superior and the border with Rupert's Land
• 
  Madison County between 1815 and 1817
• 
  Madison County between 1817 and 1821
• 
  Madison County between 1821 and 1825
• 
  Between 1825 and 1829, Madison included a northern salient that was split off to form part of Macoupin County.
• 
  In 1829, Madison returned to its 1821 borders.
• 
  In 1843, a small amount of land was transferred to Bond County, reducing Madison to its current size.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 741 square miles (1,920 km²), of which 716 square miles (1,850 km²) is land and 25 square miles (65 km²) (3.4%) is water. ^[4] Madison County is on the Mississippi River, while the other major body of water is Horseshoe Lake.

Climate and weather

Edwardsville, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2     36 19     2.3     42 24     3.5     52 34     4.2     64 45     4.2     75 55     3.2     84 64     3.5     90 70     3.2     86 66     3.1     79 58     2.7     68 46     3.8     53 35     2.9     41 25 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel [5]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     51     2 −7     58     6 −4     88     11 1     106     18 7     108     24 13     82     29 18     89     32 21     81     30 19     80     26 14     69     20 8     95     12 2     74     5 −4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Edwardsville have ranged from a low of 19 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 90 °F (32 °C) in July, although a record low of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of 114 °F (46 °C) was recorded in July 2012. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.99 inches (51 mm) in January to 4.24 inches (108 mm) in May. ^[5] Climate Zone 4A per the International Energy Conservation Code.

Adjacent counties and city

• Bond County - east
• Clinton County - southeast
• Jersey County - northwest
• Macoupin County - north
• Montgomery County - northeast
• St. Charles County, Missouri - northwest
• St. Clair County - south
• St. Louis, Missouri - west
• St. Louis County, Missouri - west

Parks and Reserves

• Chouteau Island
• Gabaret Island
• Horseshoe Lake State Park
• Mosenthein Island

Transportation

Madison County Transit serves the county with 25 bus routes and 85 miles (137 km) of bike trails. Intercity rail service is provided by Amtrak at Alton station. Trains on the Lincoln Service route travel between Chicago and St. Louis.

Major highways

• I-55
• I-70
• I-255
• I-270
• US 40
• US 67
• IL 3
• IL 4
• IL 100
• IL 162
• IL 140
• IL 160
• IL 143
• IL 157
• IL 159
• IL 111
• IL 203
• IL 255
• IL 267

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	13,550		—
1830	6,221		−54.1%
1840	14,433		132.0%
1850	20,441		41.6%
1860	31,251		52.9%
1870	44,131		41.2%
1880	50,126		13.6%
1890	51,535		2.8%
1900	64,694		25.5%
1910	89,847		38.9%
1920	106,895		19.0%
1930	143,830		34.6%
1940	149,349		3.8%
1950	182,307		22.1%
1960	224,689		23.2%
1970	250,934		11.7%
1980	247,691		−1.3%
1990	249,238		0.6%
2000	258,941		3.9%
2010	269,282		4.0%
2020	265,859		−1.3%
2023 (est.)	262,752	[6]	−1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [7] 1790-1960 [8] 1900-1990 [9] 1990-2000 [10] 2010-2019 [11]

According to the 2020 census, the racial makeup of the county was 81.4% white (80.4% white non-Hispanic), 9.4% black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 6.3% two or more races, and 1.5% some other race. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.1% of the population. ^[12]

According to the 2010 census, there were 269,282 people, 108,094 households, and 71,756 families residing in the county. ^[13] The population density was 376.3 inhabitants per square mile (145.3/km²). There were 117,106 housing units at an average density of 163.7 per square mile (63.2/km²). ^[4] The racial makeup of the county was 88.2% white, 7.9% black or African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.9% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.7% of the population. ^[13] In terms of ancestry, 32.7% were German, 14.9% were Irish, 10.5% were English, 7.5% were American, and 5.7% were Italian. ^[14]

Of the 108,094 households, 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.6% were non-families, and 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 38.6 years. ^[13]

The median income for a household in the county was $51,941 and the median income for a family was $64,630. Males had a median income of $50,355 versus $35,543 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,127. About 9.1% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over. ^[15]

Communities

Map of Madison County, Illinois

Cities

• Alton
• Collinsville (partly in St. Clair County)
• Edwardsville
• Granite City
• Highland
• Madison
• Troy
• Venice
• Wood River

Villages

• Alhambra
• Bethalto
• East Alton
• Fairmont City
• Glen Carbon
• Godfrey
• Grantfork
• Hamel
• Hartford
• Livingston
• Marine
• Maryville
• New Douglas
• Pontoon Beach
• Pierron
• Roxana
• South Roxana
• St. Jacob
• Williamson
• Worden

Census Designated Places

• Holiday Shores
• Mitchell
• Moro
• Prairietown
• Rosewood Heights

Other unincorporated and historic communities

• Binney
• Cottage Hills
• Donkville
• Dorsey
• Fosterburg
• Gard
• Goshen Settlement
• Kaufman
• Kuhn Station
• LeClaire
• Lincoln Place
• Lumaghi Heights
• Meadowbrook
• Midway
• Newport
• Poag
• St. Morgan
• State Park Place
• Upper Alton
• Wanda

Townships

Madison County is divided into twenty-four townships:

• Alhambra
• Alton
• Chouteau
• Collinsville
• Edwardsville
• Fort Russell
• Foster
• Godfrey
• Granite City
• Hamel
• Helvetia
• Jarvis
• Leef
• Marine
• Moro
• Nameoki
• New Douglas
• Olive
• Omphghent
• Pin Oak
• Saline
• St. Jacob
• Venice
• Wood River

Islands

• Chouteau Island
• Gabaret Island
• Mosenthein Island

Historic Settlements

• Camp Dubois

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Madison County.

†county seat

Rank	Place	Municipal type	Population (2020 Census)
1	Granite City	City	27,549
2	† Edwardsville	City	26,808
3	Alton	City	25,676
4	Collinsville (partially in St. Clair County )	City	24,366
5	Godfrey	Village	17,825
6	Glen Carbon	Village	13,842
7	Troy	City	10,960
8	Wood River	Village	10,464
9	Highland	City	9,991
10	Bethalto	Village	9,310
11	Maryville	Village	8,221
12	Pontoon Beach	Village	5,876
13	East Alton	Village	5,786
14	Rosewood Heights	CDP	3,971
15	Madison (partially in St. Clair County )	City	3,171
16	Holiday Shores	CDP	2,840
17	Fairmont City (partially in St. Clair County )	City	2,265
18	South Roxana	Village	1,891
19	Venice	City	1,498
20	Roxana	Village	1,454
21	St. Jacob	Village	1,358
22	Mitchell	CDP	1,217
23	Hartford	Village	1,185
24	Worden	Village	1,096
25	Hamel	Village	929
26	Marine	Village	912
27	Livingston	Village	763
28	Alhambra	Village	622
29	Pierron	Village	459
30	Moro	CDP	397
31	New Douglas	Village	350
32	Grantfork	Village	341
33	Williamson	Village	183

Politics

Like much of southern Illinois, Madison County was a predominantly Democratic area for much of its history, but in recent elections has been moving toward Republican. Mitt Romney narrowly carried the county in the 2012 presidential election, becoming the first Republican presidential nominee to do so since 1984. In 2016, Donald Trump carried the largest share of the vote for any Republican presidential candidate since 1972. The county also supported the Republican candidates for governor in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022.

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

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	73,925	55.34%	56,341	42.18%	3,317	2.48%
2020	76,031	55.27%	57,836	42.04%	3,691	2.68%
2016	70,490	54.15%	50,587	38.86%	9,102	6.99%
2012	60,608	49.32%	58,922	47.95%	3,355	2.73%
2008	57,177	44.43%	68,979	53.60%	2,534	1.97%
2004	59,384	48.02%	63,399	51.26%	895	0.72%
2000	48,821	43.94%	59,077	53.17%	3,206	2.89%
1996	35,758	35.55%	53,568	53.26%	11,247	11.18%
1992	32,167	28.19%	58,484	51.26%	23,444	20.55%
1988	44,907	45.04%	54,175	54.34%	613	0.61%
1984	57,021	53.94%	48,352	45.74%	340	0.32%
1980	51,160	51.10%	43,860	43.81%	5,104	5.10%
1976	44,183	43.32%	56,457	55.35%	1,358	1.33%
1972	55,385	55.88%	43,289	43.68%	442	0.45%
1968	39,622	39.18%	46,384	45.87%	15,123	14.95%
1964	30,009	31.55%	65,115	68.45%	0	0.00%
1960	42,984	43.90%	54,787	55.96%	133	0.14%
1956	39,413	45.10%	47,897	54.80%	88	0.10%
1952	36,206	41.60%	50,734	58.29%	99	0.11%
1948	25,059	37.79%	40,897	61.68%	350	0.53%
1944	28,399	41.23%	40,114	58.24%	359	0.52%
1940	30,445	40.10%	44,803	59.01%	681	0.90%
1936	22,073	33.60%	42,172	64.20%	1,441	2.19%
1932	19,774	34.55%	35,211	61.52%	2,253	3.94%
1928	28,028	53.48%	23,658	45.14%	720	1.37%
1924	19,926	47.61%	12,863	30.74%	9,062	21.65%
1920	19,249	57.82%	10,149	30.48%	3,894	11.70%
1916	17,594	49.82%	16,302	46.16%	1,421	4.02%
1912	5,462	30.57%	7,155	40.04%	5,251	29.39%
1908	9,463	51.14%	7,812	42.22%	1,228	6.64%
1904	9,009	57.12%	5,429	34.42%	1,333	8.45%
1900	8,106	53.36%	6,753	44.46%	331	2.18%
1896	7,431	53.26%	6,344	45.47%	177	1.27%
1892	5,355	45.89%	5,680	48.68%	634	5.43%

Education

• Alton Community Unit School District 11
• Bethalto Community Unit School District 8
• Collinsville Community Unit School District 10
• East Alton School District 13
• East Alton-Wood River Community High School District 14
• Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7
• Granite City Community Unit School District 9
• Highland Community Unit School District 5
• Madison Community Unit School District 12
• Roxana Community Unit School District 1
• Triad Community Unit School District 2
• Venice Community Unit School District 3
• Wood River-Hartford Elementary School District 15 ^[17]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Madison County, Illinois
• The Invincible Thieves

References

1. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
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.  593, 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 12, 2015.
5. "Monthly Averages for Edwardsville, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
6. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
7. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
9. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
10. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
11. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
12. "Madison County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
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 12, 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 12, 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 12, 2015.
16. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
17. Illinois State Board of Education, ISBE Education Data Systems, Public School District Lookup, accessed May 26, 2023.

External links

• Madison County website
• A History of Madison County Illinois
• Madison Historical: The Online Encyclopedia and Digital Archive for Madison County, Illinois

38°50′N89°55′W / 38.83°N 89.91°W / 38.83; -89.91