Logan County, Illinois

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Logan County, Illinois
Logan County Courthouse
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 15, 1839
Named for	John A. Logan
Seat	Lincoln
Largest city	Lincoln
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	619 sq mi (1,603 km²) 618 sq mi (1,601 km²) 0.9 sq mi (2 km²), 0.1
Population  - (2020)  - Density	27,987
Congressional district	18th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.logan.il.us

Logan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 27,987. Its county seat is Lincoln.

Logan County comprises the Lincoln, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Springfield-Jacksonville-Lincoln, IL Combined Statistical Area.

History

Established in 1839, Logan County was named after physician and State Representative John Logan, father of Union General John Alexander Logan.[1]

Logan County from the time of its creation to 1841

Logan County between 1841 and 1845

In 1845, a portion of Dewitt County was ceded to Logan, bringing it to its current size

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 619 square miles (1,600 km²), of which 618 square miles (1,600 km²) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) (0.1%) is water.

Climate and weather

Climate chart for Lincoln, Illinois
J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
1.70   32 15	1.55   38 19	3.11   50 29	3.63   63 39	4.42   74 50	3.97   83 61	4.35   86 64	4.00   84 62	3.13   78 53	2.81   66 41	3.00   51 31	2.63   38 21
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm source: The Weather Channel

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Lincoln have ranged from a low of 15 °F (−9.4 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −29 °F (−33.9 °C) was recorded in December 1914 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.55 inches (39.4 mm) in February to 4.42 inches (112.3 mm) in May.

Major highways

• Interstate 55
• Interstate 155
• U.S. Highway 136
• Illinois Route 10
• Illinois Route 54
• Illinois Route 121

Adjacent counties

• Mason County - northwest
• Tazewell County - north
• McLean County - northeast
• De Witt County - east
• Macon County - southeast
• Sangamon County - south
• Menard County - west

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	2,634		—
1850	14,226		440.1%
1860	18,257		28.3%
1870	21,014		15.1%
1880	21,296		1.3%
1890	25,489		19.7%
1900	28,680		12.5%
1910	30,216		5.4%
1920	29,562		−2.2%
1930	28,863		−2.4%
1940	29,438		2.0%
1950	30,671		4.2%
1960	33,656		9.7%
1970	33,538		−0.4%
1980	31,802		−5.2%
1990	30,798		−3.2%
2000	31,183		1.3%
2010	30,305		−2.8%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

According to the 2010 United States Census, there were 30,305 people, 11,070 households, and 7,274 families residing in the county. The population density was 49.0 inhabitants per square mile (18.9 /km²). There were 12,107 housing units at an average density of 19.6 per square mile (7.6 /km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.1% white, 7.5% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.2% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 30.9% were German, 17.4% were American, 13.1% were Irish, and 10.8% were English.

Of the 11,070 households, 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.3% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 39.4 years. 14.4% of the population were living in group quarters including 11.4% of the population institutionalized.[2]

The median income for a household in the county was $48,999 and the median income for a family was $63,245. Males had a median income of $43,940 versus $31,783 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,063. About 6.8% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Map of Logan County, Illinois

Cities

• Atlanta
• Lincoln (seat)
• Mount Pulaski

Villages

• Broadwell
• Elkhart
• Emden
• Hartsburg
• Latham
• Middletown
• New Holland
• San Jose

Census-designated places

• Beason
• Chestnut
• Cornland

Unincorporated communities

• Bakerville
• Bell
• Burtonview
• Chestervale
• Croft
• Evans
• Fogarty
• Harness
• Lake Fork
• Lawndale
• Lucas
• Mount Fulcher
• Mountjoy
• Narita
• Skelton
• Union

Townships

• Aetna
• Atlanta
• Broadwell
• Chester
• Corwin
• East Lincoln
• Elkhart
• Eminence
• Hurlbut
• Laenna
• Lake Fork
• Mt. Pulaski
• Oran
• Orvil
• Prairie Creek
• Sheridan
• West Lincoln

Government and infrastructure

Logan County courthouse in Lincoln, Illinois, circa 1901-1907

The Illinois Department of Corrections Logan Correctional Center is located in unincorporated Logan County, near Lincoln.

Politics

In the period following the Civil, War Logan was a swing county, following the popular vote winner in every election up to 1936 except those of 1900 and 1916. Since 1940, when its isolationist sentiment drove voters to Wendell Willkie, Logan has become a strongly Republican county. No Democratic presidential candidate has won Logan County since Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 landslide over Barry Goldwater. In fact, apart from Johnson, Barack Obama in 2008 is the solitary Democrat to reach forty percent in the past nineteen elections.

United States presidential election results for Logan County, Illinois

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	9,136	68.55%	3,840	28.81%	351	2.63%
2016	8,181	65.97%	3,313	26.72%	907	7.31%
2012	7,844	64.89%	3,978	32.91%	266	2.20%
2008	7,429	57.41%	5,250	40.57%	262	2.02%
2004	9,112	67.66%	4,273	31.73%	82	0.61%
2000	8,141	62.31%	4,600	35.21%	324	2.48%
1996	6,518	52.80%	4,618	37.41%	1,209	9.79%
1992	6,567	46.26%	5,169	36.41%	2,459	17.32%
1988	8,490	63.90%	4,727	35.58%	69	0.52%
1984	9,932	70.71%	4,052	28.85%	62	0.44%
1980	9,681	67.39%	3,916	27.26%	769	5.35%
1976	8,623	59.94%	5,686	39.52%	77	0.54%
1972	10,277	69.95%	4,395	29.91%	20	0.14%
1968	8,638	60.45%	4,552	31.86%	1,099	7.69%
1964	6,805	46.88%	7,712	53.12%	0	0.00%
1960	9,383	62.18%	5,691	37.71%	16	0.11%
1956	9,589	66.61%	4,793	33.29%	14	0.10%
1952	9,162	64.39%	5,048	35.48%	19	0.13%
1948	7,431	60.36%	4,832	39.25%	49	0.40%
1944	7,955	61.90%	4,868	37.88%	29	0.23%
1940	8,929	56.78%	6,753	42.94%	43	0.27%
1936	7,019	46.52%	7,886	52.27%	182	1.21%
1932	5,850	41.44%	8,119	57.52%	147	1.04%
1928	7,631	59.97%	5,019	39.44%	75	0.59%
1924	7,063	57.16%	3,708	30.01%	1,585	12.83%
1920	6,957	64.79%	3,232	30.10%	549	5.11%
1916	5,933	48.26%	5,726	46.58%	635	5.17%
1912	1,397	20.85%	3,229	48.19%	2,075	30.97%
1908	3,451	47.44%	3,546	48.74%	278	3.82%
1904	3,626	51.24%	3,005	42.47%	445	6.29%
1900	3,501	47.73%	3,672	50.06%	162	2.21%
1896	3,430	49.30%	3,389	48.71%	138	1.98%
1892	2,619	42.54%	3,150	51.17%	387	6.29%

Notable people

• Brian Cook, NBA player
• Norm Cook, NBA player
• Robert A. Emmitt, Oregon armer and legislator
• Terry Kinney, actor
• Edward Madigan, Former United States Secretary of Agriculture
• William Keepers Maxwell Jr., editor, novelist, short story writeril

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Logan County, Illinois

External links

• Official website