Coles 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 ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,863. 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 ...

is Charleston, which is also the home of

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is a public university in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradual ...

. Coles County is part of the Charleston– Mattoon, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Coles County was organized by on December 25, 1830, from Clark and

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

counties. It was named after

Edward Coles Edward Coles (December 15, 1786 – July 7, 1868) was an American abolitionist and politician, elected as the second Governor of Illinois (1822 to 1826). From an old Virginia family, Coles as a young man was a neighbor and associate of presi ...

, the second governor of Illinois, from 1822 to 1826. The majority of the American settlers who founded Coles County were either from the six

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

states, or were born in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

to parents who had moved to that region from New England shortly after the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. They were part of a wave of farmers who headed west into the frontier of 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 ...

during the early 1800s. The completion of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

led to an increase in such migrants heading west. When these settlers originally reached what is today Coles County, they found dense virgin forest and prairie. The New England settlers laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes. They brought with them many of their "Yankee" values, such as staunch support for

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. ...

as well as a passion for education. They quickly established schools in their communities. They were mostly members of the

Congregationalist Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

, though some were

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. As a result of the

second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the late 18th to early 19th century in the United States. It spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching and sparked a number of reform movements. Revivals were a k ...

, many had become

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

or switched to Protestant denominations such as

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

before moving to what is now Coles County. The prevalence of settlers with New England heritage resulted in their establishing a culture that was continuous with that of New England for the first several decades of its history. As a result of this, county residents largely supported abolitionism in the antebellum period, and also the Republican Party as of the 1850s and 1860s. Beginning in 1849, numerous German immigrants arrived in Coles County, refugees from the rebellions the year before in various principalities. This population overwhelmingly supported the abolition of slavery. Irish Catholic immigrants who had fled the famine in their country also settled here. Illinois Democratic Senator

Stephen Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas ( né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party to run for president in the 1860 ...

was extremely popular amongst Irish Catholic immigrants in Coles County at this time. During the Civil War the Irish Catholic community of Coles County would overwhelmingly be

Copperheads Copperhead may refer to: Snakes * ''Agkistrodon contortrix'', or eastern copperhead, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America * '' Agkistrodon laticinctus'', or broad-banded copperhead, a pit viper species found in the southe ...

. File:Coles_County_Illinois_1830.png, Coles County from the time of its creation to 1843 File:Coles County Illinois 1843.png, Coles County between 1843 and 1859 File:Coles County Illinois 1859.png, Coles County reduced to its current size in 1859 by the creation of Douglas County

Folklore representation in other media

Coles County has generated several well-known legends and folktales, including the Mad Gasser of Mattoon and accounts of the ghost of Mary Hawkins at Pemberton Hall. Michael Kleen has compiled many of these tales, including the "witch's grave" of St. Omer Cemetery and the story of "Rag Doll Cemetery," in his book ''Tales of Coles County, Illinois'' (2010). The legend of "Rag Doll Cemetery" was adapted for the screenplay of the independent film ''Rag Doll'', filmed in 2010 primarily in and around

Mattoon, Illinois Mattoon ( ) is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 16,870 as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Lake Land College and has close ties with its neighbor, Charleston, Illinois, Charleston. Both are principal cit ...

. The novel ''A Family Possessed'' (2000) by L. W. Stevenson, is based on a rural family's account of poltergeist activity at their home in the 1980s. Ashmore Estates has long been a part of local folklore. Originally serving as the almshouse at the Coles County Poor Farm, it is considered a haunted attraction and a place of interest for

paranormal investigators Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. The practice has been heavily criticized for its dismissal of the scientific method. No scientific study has ever been able to confirm the existenc ...

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 (0.4%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Charleston 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 July.

Adjacent counties

* Douglas County - north * Edgar County - northeast * Clark County - southeast *

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 ...

- south * Shelby County - southwest * Moultrie County - west

Major highways

Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in two segments. It runs through Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. I-57 parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route north of Interstate 55, I-55. T ...

* US Route 45 *

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, Illinois, Hardin, while its eastern terminus is at Paris, Illinois, Paris at Illinoi ...

* Illinois Route 49 * Illinois Route 121 * Illinois Route 130 * Illinois Route 133

Public transit

* Dial-A-Ride Rural Public Transportation *

Mattoon station Mattoon station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Mattoon, Illinois, United States. The station is a flag stop on the '' City of New Orleans'' route, served only when passengers have tickets to and from the station. It is a regular stop fo ...

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 53,873 people, 21,463 households, and 11,963 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 23,425 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.9% white, 3.8% black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.6% 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 ...

, 16.4% were Irish, 11.1% were American, 10.0% were English, 3.4% were Polish, 2.9% were

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, 2.5% were French, 2.1% were Dutch and 1.9% were Scots-Irish. Of the 21,463 households, 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 44.3% were non-families, and 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 31.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $36,457 and the median income for a family was $54,170. Males had a median income of $38,915 versus $28,781 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,601. About 10.6% of families and 20.3% 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 20.6% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Charleston (seat) * Mattoon *

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

Villages

* Ashmore * Humboldt *

Lerna In classical Greece, Lerna () was a region of springs and a former lake located in the municipality of the same name, near the east coast of the Peloponnesus, south of Argos. Even though much of the area is marshy, Lerna is located on a geogra ...

Unincorporated Communities

* Bushton * Campbell * Coles * Cooks Mills * Diona * Dorans * Embarrass * Etna * Fairgrange * Fuller * Hutton * Janesville * Jones * Kings * Lipsey * Loxa *

Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

* Newby *

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

* Rardin * Trilla * Wabash Point

Townships

Coles County is divided into these twelve townships: * Ashmore * Charleston * East Oakland * Humboldt * Hutton * Lafayette * Mattoon * Morgan * North Okaw *

* Pleasant Grove * Seven Hickory

Education

Lake Land College Lake Land College is a public community college in Mattoon, Illinois. It was founded in 1966. As of the Fall 2023 semester Lake Land serves 3,699 students, mainly from the east-central Illinois region. The campus has seven major buildings plus ...

* Lakeview College of Nursing (Charleston) * Charleston Community Unit School District 1 * Mattoon Community Unit School District 2 * Oakland Community Unit School District 5

Politics

Coles County leans strongly towards the Republican Party in Presidential elections. Although it was carried by Illinoisian

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

in 2008, the GOP regained the county in 2012 and the next presidential elections.

Notable people

* Thomas Lincoln, father of President Abraham Lincoln, moved to Coles County in 1831 and died there in 1851.

References

External links

County website

Coles County Online Community

* {{Coord, 39, 31, 13, N, 88, 13, 18, W, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:GNIS 1830 establishments in Illinois Charleston–Mattoon, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area Illinois counties Populated places established in 1830