Menard County, Illinois

Last updated

Menard County
County
Menard County Courthouse, IL (4504031312).jpg
Menard County Courthouse, Petersburg, Illinois
Map of Illinois highlighting Menard County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois in United States.svg
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°02′N89°48′W / 40.03°N 89.8°W / 40.03; -89.8
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Illinois.svg Illinois
Founded1839
Named after Pierre Menard
Seat Petersburg
Largest cityPetersburg
Area
 • Total
315 sq mi (820 km2)
 • Land314 sq mi (810 km2)
 • Water1.0 sq mi (3 km2)  0.3%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
12,297
 • Estimate 
(2024)
11,963 Decrease2.svg [1]
 • Density39/sq mi (15/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district 15th
Website www.menardcountyil.com

Menard County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 12,297. [2] Its county seat is Petersburg. Menard County is part of the Springfield, Illinois metropolitan area.

Contents

History

Menard County was formed in 1839 out of Sangamon County. The County was named for Pierre Menard, the first lieutenant governor of Illinois. [3]

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of 315 square miles (820 km2), of which 314 square miles (810 km2) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2) (0.3%) is water. [4]

Climate and weather

Petersburg, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
1.6
 
 
33
17
 
 
1.8
 
 
39
22
 
 
3.2
 
 
51
32
 
 
3.4
 
 
63
42
 
 
4.1
 
 
74
53
 
 
3.8
 
 
83
62
 
 
3.5
 
 
87
66
 
 
3.4
 
 
85
64
 
 
2.8
 
 
79
55
 
 
2.6
 
 
67
44
 
 
2.9
 
 
51
34
 
 
2.5
 
 
38
23
█ 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
 
 
41
 
 
1
−8
 
 
46
 
 
4
−6
 
 
80
 
 
11
0
 
 
85
 
 
17
6
 
 
103
 
 
23
12
 
 
96
 
 
28
17
 
 
90
 
 
31
19
 
 
87
 
 
29
18
 
 
72
 
 
26
13
 
 
67
 
 
19
7
 
 
73
 
 
11
1
 
 
65
 
 
3
−5
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
█ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Petersburg have ranged from a low of 17 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −24 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in February 1905 and a record high of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.62 inches (41 mm) in January to 4.06 inches (103 mm) in May. [5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1840 4,431—
1850 6,34943.3%
1860 9,58451.0%
1870 11,73522.4%
1880 13,02411.0%
1890 13,1200.7%
1900 14,3369.3%
1910 12,796−10.7%
1920 11,694−8.6%
1930 10,575−9.6%
1940 10,6630.8%
1950 9,639−9.6%
1960 9,248−4.1%
1970 9,6854.7%
1980 11,70020.8%
1990 11,164−4.6%
2000 12,48611.8%
2010 12,7051.8%
2020 12,297−3.2%
2023 (est.)11,954 [6] −2.8%
US Decennial Census [7]
1790-1960 [8] 1900-1990 [9]
1990-2000 [10] 2010 [11]

2020 census

Menard County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980 [12] Pop 1990 [13] Pop 2000 [14] Pop 2010 [15] Pop 2020 [16] % 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020
White alone (NH)11,62711,07512,24012,32011,50299.38%99.20%98.03%96.97%93.54%
Black or African American alone (NH)594874800.04%0.08%0.38%0.58%0.65%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4292427180.03%0.26%0.19%0.21%0.15%
Asian alone (NH)11142129490.09%0.13%0.17%0.23%0.40%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x [17] x [18] 012xx0.00%0.01%0.02%
Other race alone (NH)20124250.02%0.00%0.10%0.03%0.20%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x [19] x [20] 47129461xx0.38%1.02%3.75%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)5137941211600.44%0.33%0.75%0.95%1.30%
Total11,70011,16412,48612,70512,297 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 12,705 people, 5,140 households, and 3,683 families living in the county. [21] The population density was 40.4 inhabitants per square mile (15.6/km2). There were 5,654 housing units at an average density of 18.0 per square mile (6.9/km2). [4] The racial makeup of the county was 97.5% white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population. [21] In terms of ancestry, 32.5% were German, 20.8% were American, 15.6% were Irish, and 14.3% were English. [22]

Of the 5,140 households, 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.3% were non-families, and 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 42.6 years. [21]

The median income for a household in the county was $56,230 and the median income for a family was $65,882. Males had a median income of $42,408 versus $36,735 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,281. About 6.1% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over. [23]

Communities

Cities

Villages

Census-designated place

Other unincorporated communities

Politics and county government

Illinois counties have the option of using or rejecting the township form of providing local services. [24] In Illinois, only 16 of the state's 102 counties have opted out of the township system; Menard County is one of the sixteen.

In the years before World War I, Menard was a German Catholic and thus Democratic county, opposed to the pietism of Yankee Protestant Northern Illinois.[ citation needed ] Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 was the only Republican to carry the county in this time span.

However, resistance against Woodrow Wilson’s participatory attitude during World War I allowed Charles Evans Hughes to carry Menard County in 1916 by a mere four votes (Hughes lost the national election). Since then, as German hostility to Wilson hardened, Menard has become a strongly Republican county. The only Democrats who have carried Menard County since 1916 have been Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, and Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Apart from these three 400-electoral vote Democratic landslides, George H. W. Bush in 1992 is the sole Republican candidate since 1920 to fail to win a majority in Menard County. Jimmy Carter and Illinois-bred Barack Obama are the only Democrats since 1964 to reach forty percent of Menard County’s vote. The last two elections have seen a large swing against the Democrats, common to all of rural downstate Illinois.

United States presidential election results for Menard County, Illinois [25]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
1892 1,27839.03%1,74853.39%2487.57%
1896 1,64244.28%2,01854.42%481.29%
1900 1,63243.25%2,07855.08%631.67%
1904 1,70549.46%1,50643.69%2366.85%
1908 1,60045.56%1,74849.77%1644.67%
1912 62019.53%1,53048.19%1,02532.28%
1916 2,69348.45%2,68948.38%1763.17%
1920 2,88259.19%1,86438.28%1232.53%
1924 2,93156.18%1,95437.45%3326.36%
1928 3,24364.54%1,74234.67%400.80%
1932 2,32739.96%3,45359.30%430.74%
1936 3,06748.86%3,15250.22%580.92%
1940 3,53154.68%2,89444.81%330.51%
1944 3,01361.17%1,88838.33%250.51%
1948 2,89958.35%2,04341.12%260.52%
1952 3,30762.92%1,94637.02%30.06%
1956 3,18863.44%1,83336.48%40.08%
1960 3,12060.08%2,06839.82%50.10%
1964 2,32248.24%2,49151.76%00.00%
1968 2,98059.66%1,64032.83%3757.51%
1972 3,65769.49%1,58730.15%190.36%
1976 3,13757.25%2,30142.00%410.75%
1980 3,62265.45%1,58928.71%3235.84%
1984 3,92568.07%1,82631.67%150.26%
1988 3,56062.40%2,10336.86%420.74%
1992 2,83444.99%2,26435.94%1,20119.07%
1996 3,10652.93%2,20437.56%5589.51%
2000 3,86262.27%2,16434.89%1762.84%
2004 4,40867.05%2,13732.51%290.44%
2008 3,67256.69%2,70641.78%991.53%
2012 3,94864.18%2,10034.14%1031.67%
2016 4,23164.94%1,81727.89%4677.17%
2020 4,76468.51%2,02229.08%1682.42%
2024 4,49969.69%1,83428.41%1231.91%

Education

K-12 School districts include: [26]

There is also an elementary school district, New Holland-Middletown Elementary School District 88, and a secondary school district, Lincoln Community High School District 404. [26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020–2024". United States Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce. March 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Menard County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  3. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 205.
  4. 1 2 "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Monthly Averages for Petersburg IL". The Weather Channel. 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. ↑ "US Decennial Census". US 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". US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  11. ↑ "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  12. ↑ "1980 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Illinois- Table 14 - Persons by Race and Table 16 (p. 18-28) - Total Persons and Spanish Origin Persons by Type of Spanish Origin and Race (p. 29-39)" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
  13. ↑ "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Illinois - Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Orogin" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
  14. ↑ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Menard County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau .
  15. ↑ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Menard County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau .
  16. ↑ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Menard County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau .
  17. ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
  18. ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
  19. ↑ not an option in the 1980 Census
  20. ↑ not an option in the 1990 Census
  21. 1 2 3 "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.
  22. ↑ "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.
  23. ↑ "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.
  24. ↑ 60 ILCS 1/Art. 5
  25. ↑ Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  26. 1 2 "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Menard County, IL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved October 29, 2024. - Text list

40°02′N89°48′W / 40.03°N 89.80°W / 40.03; -89.80

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.