Clinton County, Illinois

Clinton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. At the 2020 census, the population was 36,899. Its county seat is Carlyle. In 1960, the United States Census Bureau placed the mean center of U.S. population in Clinton County. Clinton County is part of the St. Louis, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In 1805, prior to the establishment of the county, the territorial government established a post road from its capital ( Vincennes, Indiana) to St. Louis, Missouri, passing through the county.

In 1808 a wagon road was laid out through the future Clinton County. It extended from the Goshen Settlement to the Ohio salt works and crossed the Kaskaskia River at Carlyle. Clinton County became the home to early settlers by 1814, when the first land entries were made.

Clinton County was created on December 27, 1824, from portions of Washington, Fayette, and Bond Counties. It was named for the seventh governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton, who helped build the Erie Canal.

Crossing the Kaskaskia became much easier when the bridge now known as the General Dean Suspension Bridge was built in 1859, at a cost of $40,000. Before the bridge was constructed, crossings involved a ferry or a mud bridge. The Illinois General Assembly set aside $20,000 for bridge restoration in 1951, and in 1953 the bridge was named after William F. Dean.Attractions & Outdoor Recreation
, City of Carlyle, Official site

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (5.8%) is water. Eldon Hazlet State Recreation Area and South Shore State Park are in Clinton County. Its southern border is the Kaskaskia River.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Carlyle 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 1980. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in June.

Transit

* South Central Transit

Major highways

* Interstate 64
* US Route 50
* Illinois Route 127
* Illinois Route 160
* Illinois Route 161
* Illinois Route 177

Adjacent counties

* Bond County - north
* Fayette County - northeast
* Madison County - northwest
* Marion County - east
* St. Clair County - west
* Washington County - south

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 37,762 people, 14,005 households, and 9,760 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,311 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.4% white, 3.5% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.2% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 54.8% were German, 9.8% were Irish, 5.8% were English, and 5.6% were American.

Of the 14,005 households, 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.3% were non-families, and 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 39.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $55,278 and the median income for a family was $66,682. Males had a median income of $45,119 versus $34,051 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,392. About 5.2% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

* Carlyle Community Unit School District 1
* Patoka Community Unit School District 100
* Sandoval Community Unit School District 501
* Wesclin Community Unit School District 3
* Central Community High School, Breese
* Mater Dei Catholic High School, Breese

Communities

Cities

* Breese
* Carlyle
* Centralia (partial)
* Trenton
* Wamac (partial)

Villages

* Albers
* Aviston
* Bartelso
* Beckemeyer
* Damiansville
* Germantown
* Hoffman
* Huey
* Keyesport (partial)
* New Baden (partial)
* Saint Rose

Townships

* Breese
* Brookside
* Carlyle
* Clement
* Germantown
* Irishtown
* Lake
* Looking Glass
* Meridian
* Saint Rose
* Santa Fe
* Sugar Creek
* Wade
* Wheatfield

Unincorporated Communities

* Boulder
* Ferrin
* Harbor Light Bay
* Jamestown
* Marydale
* New Memphis
* New Memphis Station
* North Harbor
* Panorama Hills
* Posey
* Royal Lake Resort
* Shattuc
* Snearlyille
* Stottletown
* Wertenberg

Politics

As of February 2025, the county is one of seven that voted to join the state of Indiana.https://www.wsj.com/opinion/illinois-counties-secession-vote-indiana-j-b-pritzker-todd-huston-5a93d624

See also

* Clinton County Board
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Clinton County, Illinois

References

;Specific

;General

United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles

United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)

United States National Atlas

External links

*
*

Clinton County IL Genealogy Web Project

{{Coord, 38.61, -89.42, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990

1824 establishments in Illinois
Illinois counties
Southern Illinois
Metro East
Populated places established in 1824