Marshall County, Illinois

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Marshall County, Illinois
Lacon Bridge in the county seat
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 19, 1839
Named for	John Marshall
Seat	Lacon
Largest city	Henry
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	399 sq mi (1,033 km²) 387 sq mi (1,002 km²) 12 sq mi (31 km²), 2.9
Population  - (2020)  - Density	11,742
Congressional district	18th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.marshallcountyillinois.com

Marshall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 11,742. Its county seat is Lacon.

Marshall County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Marshall County was formed in 1839 out of Putnam County. It was named in honor of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, who died in 1835.

Marshall County at the time of its creation

Marshall County in 1843, when its eastern border was extended to bring it to its current size

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 399 square miles (1,030 km²), of which 387 square miles (1,000 km²) is land and 12 square miles (31 km²) (2.9%) is water. The county is distinctly bisected by the Illinois River, splitting the county into two uneven sections.

Climate and weather

Climate chart for Lacon, Illinois
J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
1.55   32 15	1.61   38 21	3.08   51 31	3.84   64 41	4.20   75 51	4.14   84 60	4.12   87 64	3.53   85 62	3.49   79 54	2.99   67 43	3.03   50 32	2.32   37 21
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm source: The Weather Channel

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Lacon have ranged from a low of 15 °F (−9 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −27 °F (−32.8 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 103 °F (39 °C) was recorded in July 2005. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.55 inches (39 mm) in January to 4.20 inches (107 mm) in May.

Major highways

• Interstate 39
• U.S. Highway 51
• Illinois Route 17
• Illinois Route 18
• Illinois Route 26
• Illinois Route 29
• Illinois Route 40
• Illinois Route 89
• Illinois Route 117
• Illinois Route 251

Adjacent counties

• Bureau County - northwest
• Putnam County - north
• LaSalle County - east
• Woodford County - south
• Peoria County - southwest
• Stark County - west

National protected area

• Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	1,849		—
1850	5,180		180.2%
1860	13,437		159.4%
1870	16,956		26.2%
1880	15,055		−11.2%
1890	13,653		−9.3%
1900	16,370		19.9%
1910	15,679		−4.2%
1920	14,760		−5.9%
1930	13,023		−11.8%
1940	13,179		1.2%
1950	13,025		−1.2%
1960	13,334		2.4%
1970	13,302		−0.2%
1980	14,479		8.8%
1990	12,846		−11.3%
2000	13,180		2.6%
2010	12,640		−4.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 12,640 people, 5,161 households, and 3,549 families living in the county. The population density was 32.7 inhabitants per square mile (12.6 /km²). There were 5,914 housing units at an average density of 15.3 per square mile (5.9 /km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 1.1% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 43.0% were German, 16.7% were Irish, 14.4% were English, 7.2% were Italian, 6.2% were American, and 6.1% were Polish.

Of the 5,161 households, 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.2% were non-families, and 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 44.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,116 and the median income for a family was $64,781. Males had a median income of $46,793 versus $28,549 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,991. About 6.8% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Henry
• Lacon
• Toluca
• Wenona

Villages

• Hopewell
• La Rose
• Sparland
• Varna
• Washburn

Unincorporated communities

• Camp Grove
• Hopewell Estates
• La Prairie Center
• Lawn Ridge
• Leeds
• Pattonsburg
• Saratoga Center
• Wilbern

Townships

• Bell Plain
• Bennington
• Evans
• Henry
• Hopewell
• Lacon
• La Prairie
• Richland
• Roberts
• Saratoga
• Steuben
• Whitefield

Politics

In its early days Marshall County was a swing county, voting for winning Whig candidate William Henry Harrison in 1840 but otherwise supporting the Democratic Party until 1852. Its reputation as a swing county was to be sustained with the growth of the Republican Party: it voted for the winning candidate in every election from 1852 to 1912 except 1884 and 1888.

Since World War I, Marshall has generally been a strongly Republican county. Only two Democrats – Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 plus Lyndon Johnson in 1964 – have gained an absolute majority in Marshall County over the past twenty-six elections, although Bill Clinton won pluralities in both his elections.

United States presidential election results for Marshall County, Illinois

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	4,197	66.15%	2,005	31.60%	143	2.25%
2016	3,785	63.25%	1,789	29.90%	410	6.85%
2012	3,290	56.06%	2,455	41.83%	124	2.11%
2008	3,145	49.54%	3,081	48.53%	122	1.92%
2004	3,734	56.71%	2,806	42.62%	44	0.67%
2000	3,145	53.24%	2,570	43.51%	192	3.25%
1996	2,453	42.93%	2,640	46.20%	621	10.87%
1992	2,491	38.35%	2,819	43.40%	1,186	18.26%
1988	3,588	56.35%	2,742	43.07%	37	0.58%
1984	4,060	62.53%	2,386	36.75%	47	0.72%
1980	4,349	64.80%	1,903	28.36%	459	6.84%
1976	4,017	60.30%	2,570	38.58%	75	1.13%
1972	4,452	67.43%	2,141	32.43%	9	0.14%
1968	3,897	58.36%	2,455	36.77%	325	4.87%
1964	3,209	47.40%	3,561	52.60%	0	0.00%
1960	4,150	58.14%	2,981	41.76%	7	0.10%
1956	4,764	67.92%	2,245	32.01%	5	0.07%
1952	4,850	67.35%	2,343	32.54%	8	0.11%
1948	3,785	59.91%	2,514	39.79%	19	0.30%
1944	4,195	61.68%	2,596	38.17%	10	0.15%
1940	4,527	57.23%	3,343	42.26%	40	0.51%
1936	3,544	45.67%	4,149	53.47%	67	0.86%
1932	3,166	43.10%	4,133	56.27%	46	0.63%
1928	4,029	58.69%	2,828	41.19%	8	0.12%
1924	3,776	58.41%	1,836	28.40%	853	13.19%
1920	3,734	67.61%	1,568	28.39%	221	4.00%
1916	3,579	55.83%	2,593	40.45%	238	3.71%
1912	790	20.97%	1,685	44.72%	1,293	34.32%
1908	1,893	50.13%	1,714	45.39%	169	4.48%
1904	2,190	55.97%	1,545	39.48%	178	4.55%
1900	2,210	52.78%	1,908	45.57%	69	1.65%
1896	2,216	53.26%	1,888	45.37%	57	1.37%
1892	1,590	44.99%	1,834	51.90%	110	3.11%

See also

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