Christian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the population was 34,800. Its county seat is Taylorville. Christian County comprises the Taylorville, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

- Jacksonville- Lincoln, IL Combined Statistical Area.

History

Christian County was formed February 15, 1839 out of Sangamon, Montgomery and Shelby counties. It was named for Christian County, Kentucky. It was originally named Dane County and was called Dane County until 1840. File:Christian County Illinois 1839.png, Christian County at its creation in 1839

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 (0.9%) is water. The county is bounded on the north by Sangamon River, and intersected by the south fork of that stream.

Adjacent counties

* Macon County (northeast) * Shelby County (southeast) *

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Mon ...

(southwest) * Sangamon County (northwest)

Major highways

* US Route 51 *

Illinois Route 16 Illinois Route 16 (IL 16) is an east–west highway in central Illinois. Its western terminus is at the Joe Page Bridge over the Illinois River in Hardin, while its eastern terminus is at Paris at Illinois Route 1 and U.S. Route 150, with I ...

* Illinois Route 29 * Illinois Route 48 *

Illinois Route 104 Illinois Route 104 is a state highway in central and western Illinois. It extends from Illinois Route 29 near Taylorville, west over the Illinois River at Meredosia to its western terminus in downtown Quincy. This is a distance of . Route d ...

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Taylorville 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 August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.

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 servin ...

, there were 34,800 people, 14,055 households, and 9,211 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,563 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% white, 1.4% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 21.9% 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 **Ger ...

, 12.7% were Irish, 10.6% 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 ...

, and 9.9% were English. Of the 14,055 households, 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.5% were non-families, and 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 41.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $41,712 and the median income for a family was $52,680. Males had a median income of $42,897 versus $30,027 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,519. About 12.7% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.6% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

Pana Pana or PANA may refer to: *Pana (mythology), a god in Inuit religion *PANA, in telecommunications, a Plain ANAlog loop Alarm circuit *Protocol for carrying Authentication for Network Access, a network access authentication protocol *Pana, used fo ...

* Taylorville

Villages

* Bulpitt * Edinburg * Harvel * Jeisyville * Kincaid * Morrisonville * Mount Auburn * Moweaqua * Owaneco * Palmer * Stonington * Tovey

Census-designated places

* Langleyville

Other unincorporated places

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

* Clarksdale * Dunkel *

Ellis Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. Surname A * Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series ' ...

* Grove City * Hewittsville * Midway * Millersville * Old Stonington * Osbernville * Radford * Roby * Rosamond * Sharpsburg * Sicily * Vanderville * Velma * Willey Station * Zenobia

Townships

Christian County is divided into these seventeen townships: *

* Bear Creek * Buckhart *

Greenwood Green wood is unseasoned wood. Greenwood or Green wood may also refer to: People * Greenwood (surname) Settlements Australia * Greenwood, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region * Greenwood, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth C ...

* Johnson * King * Locust *

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...

* Mosquito * Mount Auburn *

* Prairieton *

Ricks Ricks may refer to: People * Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player * Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief * Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar * Doug Ricks, American politician and member ...

* Rosamond * South Fork * Stonington * Taylorville

Notable people

* Jon Corzine, Former governor of New Jersey, former resident of Willey Station. *

Roy A. Corzine Roy Allen Corzine, Sr. (December 22, 1882 – June 2, 1957) was an American farmer and politician. Biography Corzine was born in Stonington, Illinois and attended public schools in Stonington. He attended the University of Illinois and took ...

(1882-1957), Illinois state representative and farmer, was born in Stonington. * Harry Forrester, member of the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame and Quincy University Hall of Fame. * Brant Hansen, Christian radio host and author, graduated from high school in Assumption. *

Frank P. Sadler Frank Prather Sadler (June 30, 1872 – April 30, 1931) was an American politician and lawyer. Biography Sadler was born in Springfield, Illinois, and had lived on a farm, near Grove City, Illinois, in Christian County, Illinois. He went to th ...

(1872–1931), Illinois state senator and lawyer, lived on a farm near Grove City. *

John Wesley Fribley John Wesley Fribley (August 3, 1906 – March 20, 2002) was born on a farm near Assumption, Illinois, in 1906, and died in Shelbyville, Illinois, in 2002. He represented the 40th Senate District in the Illinois State Senate from 1934 through 19 ...

(1906–2002), state senate (1934–1952), born in

Politics

Like most of German-settled

Central Illinois Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the ''Heart of Illinois'', it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agri ...

, Christian County was solidly Democratic until Woodrow Wilson’s response to German defeat in World War I turned the county over to the Republican Party in its 1920, 1924 and 1928 landslides. The county remained Democratic-leaning through the rest of the twentieth century, only voting Republican in landslide wins. However, since 2000 Christian County has become reliably Republican.

References

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

United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)

United States National Atlas
{{Coord, 39.55, -89.28, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 1839 establishments in Illinois Illinois counties Populated places established in 1839