Lawrence County is the easternmost

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 ...

in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,280. 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 Lawrenceville.

History

Lawrence County was formed in 1821 out of Crawford and Edwards counties. It was named for Capt. James Lawrence, who was killed in action during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

while commanding the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

. Mortally wounded, he gave his men the famous last order, "Don't give up the ship." File:Lawrence County Illinois 1821.png, Lawrence County from its creation in 1821 to 1824 File:Lawrence_County_Illinois_1824.png, Lawrence County between 1824 and 1841 File:Lawrence County Illinois 1841.png, Lawrence County in 1841, when the creation of Richland County reduced Lawrence to its current size

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Lawrenceville 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 June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in May.

Transit

* Rides Mass Transit District

Major highways

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

Illinois Route 1 * Illinois 33

Illinois Route 33 * Illinois 250

Illinois Route 250

Adjacent counties

* Crawford County - north * Knox 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 ...

- east * Wabash County - south * Richland County - west

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 16,833 people, 6,130 households, and 4,056 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 6,936 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.3% white, 9.6% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.7% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 12.7% were German, 10.4% were American, 9.5% were Irish, and 7.8% were English. Of the 6,130 households, 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.8% were non-families, and 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 39.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $38,771 and the median income for a family was $45,565. Males had a median income of $40,949 versus $25,991 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,297. About 14.8% of families and 17.5% 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 26.9% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Bridgeport * Lawrenceville (seat) * St. Francisville * Sumner

Village

* Russellville

Unincorporated communities

* Billett *

Birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

* Chauncey * Petrolia * Pinkstaff * Riddleville

Townships

Nine townships make up Lawrence County. They are: *

Allison Allison may refer to: People * Allison (given name) * Allison (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Eugene Allison Smith (1922-1980), American politician and farmer * Allison family, a family of RMS Titanic passengers Compan ...

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Fidelity bond, a type of insurance policy for employers * Chemical bond, t ...

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

* Christy * Denison *

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

Lukin Lukin or Lukins is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrey Lukin (born 1948), Russian chess player and coach * Dean Lukin (born 1960), Australian weightlifter * Evgeny Lukin (born 1950) Russian writer * Henry Lukin (1860–19 ...

Petty Petty may refer to: People * Bruce Petty (1929–2023), Australian political satirist and cartoonist * Bryce Petty (born 1991), American football player * Dini Petty (born 1945), Canadian television and radio host * Eric D. Petty (born 1954), A ...

* Russell

Politics

In its early days, Lawrence County was a Democratic-leaning swing county, voting Republican only twice up to 1892 when it supported

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

in 1872 and

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

in 1888. It did not vote for a losing Republican candidate until

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee for president. Willkie appeale ...

carried the county in 1940 due to isolationist sentiment. Since that time, however, Lawrence County – like so many in Southern Illinois – has become reliably Republican. The only Democrat to gain an absolute majority in the county since 1936 has been

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

in 1964, although

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

obtained pluralities in both 1992 and 1996.

References

External links

Lawrence County official site

Blue Star Emergency Medical Services Official Site
{{Coord, 38.72, -87.73, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990, display=title Illinois counties 1821 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1821

Lawrence County, Illinois Lawrence County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,280. Its county seat is Lawrenceville. History Lawrence County was formed in 1821 out of Crawford and Edwards counties. It ...