Wabash County | |
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Coordinates: 38°26′N87°50′W / 38.44°N 87.84°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Illinois |
Founded | 1824 |
Named for | Wabash River |
Seat | Mount Carmel |
Largest city | Mount Carmel |
Area | |
• Total | 228 sq mi (590 km2) |
• Land | 223 sq mi (580 km2) |
• Water | 4.3 sq mi (11 km2) 1.9% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 11,361 |
• Estimate (2021) | 11,202 |
• Density | 50/sq mi (19/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
Congressional district | 12th |
Wabash County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 11,361. [1] Its county seat is Mount Carmel. [2] It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as "Little Egypt".
Wabash County was formed in 1824 out of Edwards County. This averted to an armed confrontation between the militias of Albion and Mt. Carmel after the county seat was moved from a town near the current city of Mount Carmel to Albion.
The county is named for the Wabash River, which forms its eastern and southern borders. The name "Wabash" is an English spelling of the French name for the river, "Ouabache."' French traders named the river after the Miami Indian word for the river, "Wabashike," (pronounced "Wah-bah-she-keh"), the word for "pure white." Much of the river bottom is white limestone, now obscured by mud.
A 329 acres (1.33 km2) remnant of the county's original Eastern Woodlands ecosystem can be found in the Forest of the Wabash, located within the county's Beall Woods State Park.
In the 1920s a notable hotel and resort operated in Wabash County nearby the Grand Rapids Dam on the Wabash River. Named the Grand Rapids Hotel, it was owned by Frederick Hinde Zimmerman. During the hotel's nine-year existence, it catered to individuals from all over the United States. In July 2011, John Matthew Nolan published a detailed history of the Grand Rapids Hotel.
On the morning of April 18, 2008, at 4:37am local time, one of the largest earthquakes in Illinois history hit the area. The epicenter of this tremor was in Lick Prairie Township, near the middle of the county. The tremor was felt for a wide radius, more than 400 miles away in Nebraska. [3]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 228 square miles (590 km2), of which 223 square miles (580 km2) is land and 4.3 square miles (11 km2) (1.9%) is water. [4] It is the fifth-smallest county in Illinois by area.
The Wabash River to the east and the Bonpas Creek to the west join at the southern tip of the county; the Bonpas Creek separating the two counties, Wabash County from the Edwards County.
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In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Mount Carmel have ranged from a low of 21 °F (−6 °C) in January to a high of 89 °F (32 °C) in July, although a record low of −19 °F (−28 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded in July 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.73 inches (69 mm) in February to 5.12 inches (130 mm) in May. [5]
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1830 | 2,710 | — | |
1840 | 4,240 | 56.5% | |
1850 | 4,690 | 10.6% | |
1860 | 7,313 | 55.9% | |
1870 | 8,841 | 20.9% | |
1880 | 9,945 | 12.5% | |
1890 | 11,866 | 19.3% | |
1900 | 12,583 | 6.0% | |
1910 | 14,913 | 18.5% | |
1920 | 14,034 | −5.9% | |
1930 | 13,197 | −6.0% | |
1940 | 13,724 | 4.0% | |
1950 | 14,651 | 6.8% | |
1960 | 14,047 | −4.1% | |
1970 | 12,841 | −8.6% | |
1980 | 13,713 | 6.8% | |
1990 | 13,111 | −4.4% | |
2000 | 12,937 | −1.3% | |
2010 | 11,947 | −7.7% | |
2020 | 11,361 | −4.9% | |
2023 (est.) | 10,942 | [6] | −3.7% |
U.S. Decennial Census [7] 1790-1960 [8] 1900-1990 [9] 1990-2000 [10] 2010-2013 [1] |
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 11,947 people, 5,012 households, and 3,310 families residing in the county. [11] The population density was 53.5 inhabitants per square mile (20.7/km2). There were 5,585 housing units at an average density of 25.0 per square mile (9.7/km2). [4] The racial makeup of the county was 96.9% white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. [11] In terms of ancestry, 25.6% were German, 12.3% were English, 11.7% were American, and 8.4% were Irish. [12]
Of the 5,012 households, 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.0% were non-families, and 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 42.0 years. [11]
The median income for a household in the county was $46,026 and the median income for a family was $55,611. Males had a median income of $44,932 versus $28,292 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,350. About 7.2% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over. [13]
Wabash County is one of 17 Illinois counties that use the term precinct instead of township.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 4,237 | 75.57% | 1,253 | 22.35% | 117 | 2.09% |
2016 | 4,047 | 74.07% | 1,151 | 21.07% | 266 | 4.87% |
2012 | 3,478 | 67.74% | 1,590 | 30.97% | 66 | 1.29% |
2008 | 3,254 | 56.16% | 2,462 | 42.49% | 78 | 1.35% |
2004 | 4,212 | 70.13% | 1,752 | 29.17% | 42 | 0.70% |
2000 | 3,406 | 61.84% | 1,987 | 36.07% | 115 | 2.09% |
1996 | 2,381 | 45.15% | 2,177 | 41.28% | 716 | 13.58% |
1992 | 2,485 | 39.82% | 2,436 | 39.04% | 1,319 | 21.14% |
1988 | 3,453 | 60.30% | 2,241 | 39.14% | 32 | 0.56% |
1984 | 3,639 | 66.73% | 1,795 | 32.92% | 19 | 0.35% |
1980 | 3,571 | 61.18% | 1,975 | 33.84% | 291 | 4.99% |
1976 | 3,388 | 54.41% | 2,781 | 44.66% | 58 | 0.93% |
1972 | 4,310 | 68.35% | 1,985 | 31.48% | 11 | 0.17% |
1968 | 3,529 | 55.21% | 2,244 | 35.11% | 619 | 9.68% |
1964 | 2,905 | 43.84% | 3,721 | 56.16% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 4,261 | 58.55% | 3,013 | 41.40% | 4 | 0.05% |
1956 | 4,425 | 61.92% | 2,713 | 37.97% | 8 | 0.11% |
1952 | 4,246 | 61.38% | 2,661 | 38.47% | 10 | 0.14% |
1948 | 2,916 | 49.44% | 2,857 | 48.44% | 125 | 2.12% |
1944 | 3,496 | 52.95% | 3,026 | 45.83% | 81 | 1.23% |
1940 | 3,659 | 45.94% | 4,187 | 52.57% | 119 | 1.49% |
1936 | 2,860 | 39.59% | 4,214 | 58.33% | 150 | 2.08% |
1932 | 2,309 | 34.49% | 4,280 | 63.93% | 106 | 1.58% |
1928 | 2,373 | 37.26% | 3,955 | 62.10% | 41 | 0.64% |
1924 | 2,564 | 45.61% | 2,442 | 43.44% | 615 | 10.94% |
1920 | 2,871 | 52.40% | 2,514 | 45.88% | 94 | 1.72% |
1916 | 2,600 | 42.41% | 3,264 | 53.24% | 267 | 4.35% |
1912 | 601 | 18.08% | 1,676 | 50.41% | 1,048 | 31.52% |
1908 | 1,511 | 43.06% | 1,814 | 51.70% | 184 | 5.24% |
1904 | 1,298 | 44.57% | 1,300 | 44.64% | 314 | 10.78% |
1900 | 1,226 | 40.96% | 1,643 | 54.89% | 124 | 4.14% |
1896 | 1,321 | 42.22% | 1,739 | 55.58% | 69 | 2.21% |
1892 | 1,112 | 40.69% | 1,428 | 52.25% | 193 | 7.06% |
School districts include: [15]
Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana in the United States. The oldest county in Indiana, it was one of two original counties created in the Northwest Territory in 1790, alongside St. Clair County, Illinois. Knox County was gradually reduced in size as subsequent counties were established. It was established in its present configuration when Daviess County was partitioned off. At the 2020 United States Census, the county population was 36,282. The county seat is Vincennes.
Gibson County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 33,011. The county seat is Princeton.
White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 13,877. Its county seat is Carmi. It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as "Little Egypt".
Edwards County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,245. Its county seat is Albion.
Albion is a city in and the county seat of Edwards County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,971 at the 2020 census. The city was named "Albion" after an ancient and poetic reference to the island of Great Britain.
Grayville is a city in Edwards and White counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 1,550, down from 1,666 at the 2010 census. Grayville is the birthplace of naval hero James Meredith Helm.
Allendale is a village in Wabash Precinct, Wabash County, Illinois. The population was 475 at the 2010 census.
Bellmont is a village in Bellmont Precinct, Wabash County, Illinois, United States. The population was 297 at the 2000 census.
Keensburg is a village in Coffee Precinct, Wabash County, Illinois. The population was 192 at the 2010 census.
For other uses, see Mount Carmel (disambiguation)
The White River is an American two-forked river that flows through central and southern Indiana and is the main tributary to the Wabash River. Via the west fork, considered to be the main stem of the river by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, the White River is 362 miles (583 km) long. Indiana's capital, Indianapolis, is located on the river. The two forks meet just north of Petersburg and empty into the Wabash River at Mount Carmel, Illinois.
Mount Carmel High School is a public high school in Mt. Carmel, Illinois. It is a part of Wabash Community Unit School District 348. It is the only high school in Wabash County, Illinois, which is in southern Illinois, just across the Wabash River from Gibson and Knox Counties of Indiana.
Beall Woods State Park is an Illinois state park on 635 acres (257 ha) bordering the Wabash River and Keensburg in Wabash County, Illinois in the United States. 329 acres (133 ha) of the state park is an old-growth forest designated as a Natural Area by the state of Illinois. The trees within the forest consist overwhelmingly of hardwoods of the former Eastern Woodlands ecosystem. Portions of Beall Woods State Park have been designated a National Natural Landmark as the Forest of the Wabash. The state park was created in 1966. The nearest towns with any sizable commercial infrastructure, including hotels and grocery stores, are Grayville and Mount Carmel. The park does host a small primitive campground and maintains a visitor center which opened in April 2001. The park maintains 6+1⁄4 miles (10.1 km) of hiking trails, primarily through the Forest of the Wabash portion of the park.
Bonpas Creek is a tributary of the Wabash River in Illinois. It rises to the east of Olney in Richland County, Illinois. Flowing south, it forms the boundary between Edwards and Wabash counties. The creek is 58.4 miles (94.0 km) long. It joins the Wabash near Grayville, Illinois. In the last 2 miles (3 km) of its watercourse, it occupies part of a former Wabash oxbow bend. As such, the creek now also forms part of the state boundary between White County, Illinois, and Gibson County, Indiana, as flows past Grayville in the former channel.
The Grand Rapids Hotel also known as The Grand Rapids Resort, was a hotel that existed outside of Mount Carmel, Illinois, in Wabash County, Illinois, United States in Southern Illinois from 1922 to 1929. The hotel was located on the Wabash River next to the Grand Rapids Dam on land that was originally purchased by Thomas S. Hinde. Before the hotel was built, the property where the hotel was located was a site of a former homestead, and was used by Frederick Hinde Zimmerman for multiple small shops that sold goods to fisherman and tourists.
Frederick Hinde Zimmerman was an American banker, farmer, real estate entrepreneur, businessman, and hotel owner. Due to his large land holdings and expertise in farming, Zimmerman became a notable farmer, breeder, and real estate entrepreneur. Zimmerman's farm, originally purchased by his grandfather Thomas S. Hinde from the federal government in 1815, included the Grand Rapids Dam, Hanging Rock, and Buttercrust. His first experience running a business was in 1883 when he ran a grocery store in Fort Smith, Arkansas with his cousin Harry Hinde. Many of his businesses centered on his family farm, but in later years Zimmerman achieved success through his ownership and investment in mines, banks, and real estate. He also owned or invested in the Hanging Rock and Grand Rapids Dam Farm Company, the Grand Rapids Hotel Park Company, and the Wabash Bull-Frog Mines Company.
Ira Glenn Goodart was an American railroad conductor, hotel manager, county commissioner and county treasurer. Goodart was raised in Friendsville, Illinois, a small community outside of Mount Carmel, Illinois, in a German Catholic family. After trying a variety of menial jobs Goodart took a position on the New York Central Railroad as a conductor. He held the position with the New York Central until he lost his right leg during a violent train crash in the early 1920s.
Jacob Zimmerman was an Illinois state legislator, newspaper editor, and businessman. Zimmerman was a pioneer in the newspaper business in Illinois and Ohio, and a businessman who invested in mining, land, and banks in the Midwest. Zimmerman held a number of elected political offices in Illinois before his death in 1912.
Oscar Luscher Rapson was an American farmhand, hotel manager and store owner. Rapson is best known for being the first manager of the Grand Rapids Hotel, which was the first major resort on the Wabash River.
Hanging Rock is a natural sandstone rock formation overhanging the Wabash River in Wabash County, Illinois, in the United States. The rock formation is north of the town of Mount Carmel, Illinois, and located on land originally purchased by Thomas S. Hinde. The formation was formed while the glaciers melted and carved the landscapes of North America. The Native Americans were the first group of people to settle around Hanging Rock. Later the Hinde family purchased the property and used it for tourism and business.
It was the kind of tremor that might be ignored in earthquake-savvy California, but the temblor shook things up from Nebraska to Atlanta and rattled nerves in Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky., where bricks toppled to the pavement... Dozens of aftershocks followed, including one with a magnitude of 4.6.