Jefferson 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 southern part of the 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 Rock ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,113. The

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 ...

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

. Jefferson County contains the

Mount Vernon, Illinois micropolitan area The Mount Vernon, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in southern Illinois, anchored by the city of Mount Vernon. As of the 2010 census, this micropolitan sta ...

. It is located in the southern portion known locally as " Little Egypt". The western border of the county adjoins the Greater St. Louis consolidated metropolitan statistical area, the Metro-East region, and the St. Louis commuter region and market and viewing area.

History

The first settler in Jefferson County is believed to have been Andrew Moore. In 1810, he settled near the southeast corner of the county, near where the

Goshen Road Goshen Road was an early road that ran from Old Shawneetown, Illinois, on the Ohio River, northwest to the Goshen Settlement, near Glen Carbon, Illinois, near the Mississippi River. In the early 19th century, this was the main east/west road in Illi ...

emerges from the forest of Hamilton County into what is now known as Moore's Prairie. Moore arrived from the Goshen Settlement, near Edwardsville. His migration was therefore retrograde, from the west toward the interior of the State. In 1814, Andrew Moore departed with his eight-year-old son for Jordan's settlement, a journey from which he never returned. A skull that was believed to have been Moore's was found several years later about two miles from his cabin. Jordan's Settlement, also called Jordan's Fort, was southeast of modern Thompsonville,

, about twenty miles south of Moore's cabin. This episode occurred during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

when many of the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

tribes were allied with the British. In 1816, Carter Wilkey, Daniel Crenshaw and Robert Cook settled in Moore's Prairie. Daniel Crenshaw moved into Moore's cabin. This settlement is believed to be the first permanent settlement in the county. Jefferson County was organized in 1819, out of parts of

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

Edwards Edwards may refer to: People * Edwards (surname) * Edwards family, a prominent family from Chile * Edwards Barham (1937-2014), a former member of the Louisiana State Senate * Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892), an American attorney, jurist, and or ...

and Franklin Counties. It was named in honor of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, principal draftsman of the

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

, among other things. The baseline along the northern border of the County crosses the Third Principal Meridian at the northwest corner of the county. File:Jefferson County Illinois 1819.png, Jefferson County between the time of its creation and 1821 File:Jefferson County Illinois 1821.png, Jefferson County between 1821 and 1823 File:Jefferson County Illinois 1823.png, Jefferson County in 1823, reduced to its current size

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.2%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Mount Vernon have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.

Major highways

Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

* U.S. Highway 51 *

Illinois Route 15 Illinois Route 15 (IL 15) is a east–west highway in southern Illinois with its western terminus at Illinois Route 3, U.S. Route 40, I-55, and I-64, and its eastern terminus at Wabash River at the Illinois/Indiana Border where it meets ...

* Illinois Route 37 * Illinois Route 142 * Illinois Route 148

Transit

* List of intercity bus stops in Illinois

Adjacent counties

* Marion County - north * Wayne County - northeast * Hamilton County - southeast * Franklin County - south *

Perry County Perry County may refer to: United States * Perry County, Alabama * Perry County, Arkansas *Perry County, Illinois * Perry County, Indiana * Perry County, Kentucky * Perry County, Mississippi * Perry County, Missouri *Perry County, Ohio *Perr ...

- southwest * Washington County - west

Demographics

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, there were 38,827 people, 15,365 households, and 10,140 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 16,954 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.4% white, 8.4% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.3% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 15.8% were Irish, 13.6% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, and 10.2% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Of the 15,365 households, 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.0% were non-families, and 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 40.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $41,161 and the median income for a family was $51,262. Males had a median income of $41,193 versus $29,645 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,370. About 12.4% of families and 17.1% 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 24.8% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Agencies

In 2015 the county police department announced that the words "

In God We Trust "In God We Trust" (also rendered as "In God we trust") is the United States national motto, official motto of the United States and of the U.S. state of Florida. It was adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1956, replacing ("Out of many, one"), whic ...

" will be on police squad cars. Jeff Bullard is the current Sheriff of Jefferson County.

Politics

Jefferson is politically a fairly typical “anti-

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United S ...

” Southern Illinois county. Opposition to the “

” Republican Party and that party's

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

meant that Jefferson County voted solidly Democratic 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 ...

carried the county in his 1904 landslide. It was to again vote Republican in the greater landslides of 1920 and 1928, but otherwise was firmly Democratic until World War II. Following the New Deal, Jefferson became something of a

bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...

county, voting for every winning Presidential candidate between 1928 and 2004 except in the Catholicism-influenced 1960 election, and that of 1988 which was heavily influenced by a major Midwestern drought. Disagreement with the Democratic Party's liberal views on social issues since the 1990s has caused a powerful swing to the GOP in the past quarter-century: as is typical of the

Upland South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern and lower Midwestern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, econom ...

, Barack Obama in 2012 and Hillary Clinton did far worse than any previous Democrat.

Communities

Cities

* Nason

Villages

* Belle Rive * Bluford *

Bonnie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

Dix DIX or Dix may refer to: Computing * Danish Internet Exchange Point, in Copenhagen * Data Integrity Extensions, data corruption error-handling field in data storage technology * Device Independent X, part of the 2D graphics device driver in ...

* Ina * Waltonville * Woodlawn

Census-designated place

* Opdyke

Other unincorporated communities

* Bakerville *

Camp Ground A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using te ...

* Dareville * Divide * Drivers *

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howeve ...

* Roaches * Scheller * Texico

Townships

Jefferson County is divided into sixteen townships: * Bald Hill * Blissville * Casner * Dodds * Elk Prairie * Farrington * Field *

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it ...

* McClellan * Moore's Prairie * Mt. Vernon * Pendleton *

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

* Shiloh * Spring Garden *

Webber Webber may refer to: *Webber, Kansas, a US city *Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA *Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA *Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA *Webber (surname) Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) i ...

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> K-12: * Bluford Unit School District 318 * Hamilton County Community Unit School District 10 * Sesser-Valier Community Unit School District 196 * Waltonville Community Unit School District 1 * Wayne City Community Unit School District 100 * Woodlawn Unit District 209 Secondary: * Benton Consolidated High School District 103 * Centralia High School District 200 * Mount Vernon Township High School District 201 *

Nashville Community High School District 99 Nashville Community High School is a public high school located in Nashville, Illinois. The school educates about 400 students in grades 9 to 12. Notable alumni *Kirk Rueter - Retired pitcher for the Montreal Expos and the San Francisco Giants. ...

- Primary school can go to Woodlawn School * Salem Community High School District 600 Elementary: * Ashley Community Consolidated School District 15 - Can attend secondary school in Woodlawn * Bethel School District 82 *

Centralia School District 135 Centralia may refer to: Places Australia *Central Australia, sometimes called "Centralia" Canada * Centralia, Ontario ** RCAF Station Centralia, a former Royal Canadian Air Force training base ** Centralia (Essery Field) Aerodrome United States ...

* Ewing Northern Community Consolidated District 115 *

Farrington Community Consolidated School District 99 Farrington may refer to: Geography Places in the United Kingdom * Farrington, Dorset, England, a settlement in Iwerne Courtney civil parish * Farrington Gurney, Somerset, England Places in the United States * Farrington, Illinois, in Clar ...

- Can attend secondary school at Bluford *

Field Community Consolidated School District 3 Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

* Grand Prairie Community Consolidated School District 6 - Can attend secondary school in Woodlawn *

Kell Consolidated School District 2 Kell may refer to: People * Kell (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Kell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Kell (footballer) (José Clebson Augustinho, ...

* McClellan Community Consolidated School District 12 * Mount Vernon School District 80 - Can attend elementary school at Bluford and Woodlawn * Opdyke-Belle Rive Community Consolidated School District 5 - Can attend secondary school at Bluford * Spring Garden Community Consolidated School District 178 *

Rome Community Consolidated School District 2 , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

- Can attend secondary school in Woodlawn *

Summersville School District 79 Summersville School District 79 or Summersville Grade School 79 (SGS) is a school district, consisting of a single K-8 school, in Mount Vernon, Illinois. In 2013 the district was one of several to receive grants from the 2013 School District Li ...

References

{{Coord, 38.30, -88.92, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties 1819 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1819

Jefferson County, Illinois Jefferson County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,113. The county seat is Mount Vernon. Jefferson County contains the Mount Vernon, Illinois microp ...

Mount Vernon, Illinois micropolitan area