Clark County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the southeastern part of U.S. state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, along the Indiana state line. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,335. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Marshall. The county was named for George Rogers Clark, an officer who served in the American Revolution.Perrin, p. 237

History

Clark County was formed in 1819 out of Crawford County. At the time of its formation, Clark County included about a third of Illinois, and extended as far north as the present state of Wisconsin. In 1821 the northern part of Clark County became part of the newly created Pike County on January 31, and the newly created Fayette County took the western part of Clark County on February 14. Edgar County was created from the northern part of Clark County on January 3, 1823. The creation of Coles County occupied additional land from western Clark County, effective December 25, 1830. "Illinois County Boundaries 1790 - Present."
Hebert, Michael H. Retrieved June 17, 2014. The boundaries of Clark County have been unchanged since. Clark County was named for George Rogers Clark (older brother of William Clark of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

), an officer of the army of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

that captured the Northwest Territory from the British during the Revolutionary War. File:Clark County Illinois 1819.png, Clark County from the time of its creation to 1821 File:Clark County Illinois 1821.png, Clark between 1821 and 1823 File:Clark County Illinois 1823.png, Clark between 1823 and 1830 File:Clark County Illinois 1830.png, Clark reduced to its current size in 1830 by the creation of Coles County The county seat was located in Darwin Township in 1823. A county-wide referendum was held In 1839 to determine whether Auburn or Marshall would be designated as the new seat. Marshall won the election and has remained the county seat since then."Welcome to Clark County, Illinois, Genealogy and History."
Retrieved June 10, 2014.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. Part of the county's eastern border is defined by the Wabash River. The North Fork of the Embarras River and Hurricane Creek are the main streams in western Clark County. Other than the Wabash River, Big Creek is the major stream in the eastern part of the county.Perrin, p.210.

Adjacent counties

* Edgar County - north *

Vigo County Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

- northeast * Sullivan County,

- southeast * Crawford County - south *

Jasper County Jasper County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. All are named in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, a hero of the Revolutionary War. Five counties share a boundary with a Newton County, named for John Newton John ...

- southwest * Cumberland County - west * Coles County - northwest

Major highways

* Interstate 70 *

U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...

Illinois Route 1 Illinois Route 1 (IL 1) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Illinois. Running parallel to the Indiana border, the highway starts at the free ferry crossing to Kentucky at Cave-in-Rock on the Ohio River and runs north to the south s ...

* Illinois Route 49

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Marshall have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1930 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in July.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 16,335 people, 6,782 households, and 4,593 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 7,772 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% white, 0.3% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 27.4% were German, 14.2% were Irish, 14.2% were English, and 10.8% were American. Of the 6,782 households, 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.3% were non-families, and 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 42.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $43,597 and the median income for a family was $52,689. Males had a median income of $39,385 versus $27,426 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,173. About 7.6% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

There are three school districts in Clark County (Marshall, Martinsville and Casey-Westfield) with a total enrollment (2004) of 3,014 students. Each district has one high school (grades 9–12) and one junior high school (grades 7–8). Marshall has two elementary schools and the other districts have one each. :''See'' List of school districts in Clark County

Communities

Cities

* Casey * Marshall (seat) * Martinsville

Village

* Westfield

Census designated places

* West Union

Unincorporated communities

* Adenmoor * Allright * Castle Fin * Choctaw *

Clark Center The James H. Clark Center (also abbreviated to the Clark Center) at Stanford University, California, United States, is a building, completed in 2003, that houses interdisciplinary research in the biological sciences. History The former Stanford ...

* Clarksville * Cleone *

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

* Dennison * Doyles * Ernst * Farrington * Hogue Town * Livingston * McKeen *

Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnet ...

* Moonshine * Moriah * Neadmore * Oak Point * Oakcrest * Oilfield * Orange * Patton * Snyder * Walnut Prairie *

Weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainment ...

Weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

Townships

Clark County is divided into fifteen

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

: * Anderson * Auburn * Casey *

* Dolson * Douglas * Johnson * Marshall * Martinsville *

* Orange *

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado *Parker, Florida *Parker, Idaho *Parker, Kansas *Parker, Missouri *Parker, North Carolina *Parker, Pe ...

* Wabash * Westfield *

Former Settlement

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

Politics

In its early days, Clark County favored the Democratic Party, not supporting a Republican presidential candidate until

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

’s 1904 landslide. Since 1920, it has been a strongly Republican county: the last Democrat to win a majority being Lyndon Johnson in 1964, and only Bill Clinton by plurality in 1992 has won the county since.

Sources

* Perrin, William Henry, ed.. ''History of Crawford and Clark Counties, Illinois'' Chicago, Illinois. O. L. Baskin & Co. (1883).

References

;Specific ;General
United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles

United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)

United States National Atlas

External links

* {{Coord, 39.33, -87.79, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties 1819 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1819