Clark County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the southeastern part of

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, along the Indiana state line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,455. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

. The county was named for

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...

, an officer who served in the American Revolution.Perrin, p. 237

History

Clark County was formed in 1819 out of

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * 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 Coles County is a County (United States), county in Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 46,863. Its county seat is Charleston, Illinois, Charleston, which is also the home of Eastern Illinois Universit ...

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

(older brother of

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

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 gro ...

), an officer of the army of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

that captured the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

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 United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, 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 Wabash River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana, and a significant part of Illinois, in the United ...

. 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,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

- northeast * Sullivan County,

- southeast *

- south * Jasper County - southwest *

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

- west *

- northwest

Transit

* Rides Mass Transit District

Major highways

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...

Illinois Route 1 Illinois Route 1 (IL 1) is a state highway (US), state highway in the U.S. state of Illinois. Running parallel to the Indiana border, the highway starts at the Cave-In-Rock Ferry, free ferry crossing to Kentucky at Cave-In-Rock, Illinois, ...

* 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 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 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 four school districts with territory in Clark County: Casey-Westfield Community Unit School District 4C, Marshall Community Unit School District 2C, Martinsville Community Unit School District 3C, and Hutsonville Community Unit School District 1. They have 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 *

(seat) * Martinsville

Village

* Westfield

Census designated places

* West Union

Unincorporated communities

* Adenmoor * Allright * Castle Fin *

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

* Clark Center * Clarksville * Cleone * Darwin * Dennison * Doyles * Ernst * Farrington * Hogue Town * Livingston * McKeen * Melrose *

Moonshine Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...

Moriah Moriah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , ''Mōrīyya''; Arabic: ﻣﺮﻭﻩ, ''Marwah'') is the name given to a region in the Book of Genesis, where the binding of Isaac by Abraham is said to have taken place. Jews identify the region mentioned in G ...

* Neadmore * Oak Point * Oakcrest *

Oilfield A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...

* 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 entertainmen ...

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 water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Townships

Clark County is divided into fifteen

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

: * Anderson * Auburn * Casey * Darwin * Dolson * Douglas *

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

* Martinsville * Melrose * Orange * Parker * Wabash * Westfield *

Former Settlement

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

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), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

’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