Marion County is a county located 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 ...

. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 37,729. 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 Salem. Marion County comprises the Centralia, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the St. Louis- St. Charles- Farmington, MO-IL Combined Statistical Area.

History

Marion County was organized on January 24, 1823, from portions of Jefferson and Fayette counties. It was named in honor of Revolutionary War Gen.

Francis Marion Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the "Swamp Fox", was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and t ...

, the "Swamp Fox". File:Marion County Illinois 1823.png, Marion County at the time of its creation in 1823

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water. The southwest corner of Marion County is the intersection of the Baseline with the Third Principal Meridian, the point of origin for the third survey of the Northwest Territory under the Land Ordinance of 1785. The origin is marked with a boulder south of Centralia just off U.S. 51.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Salem 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 1983. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.

Transit

* South Central Transit

Major highways

Interstate 57 * US 50

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 ...

U.S. Route 51 * Illinois 37

Illinois Route 37 * Illinois 161

Illinois Route 161

Adjacent counties

* Fayette County - north * Clay County - east * Wayne County - southeast * Jefferson County - south * Washington County - southwest * Clinton County - west

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 39,437 people, 16,148 households, and 10,746 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 18,296 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.1% white, 3.9% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 27.5% were German, 15.8% were Irish, 13.6% were English, and 10.8% were American. Of the 16,148 households, 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.5% were non-families, and 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 41.4 years. The median income for a household in the county was $38,974 and the median income for a family was $50,518. Males had a median income of $41,428 versus $28,042 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,493. About 12.2% of families and 16.5% 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 23.9% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Centralia * Kinmundy * Salem * Wamac

Villages

* Alma * Central City * Iuka * Junction City * Kell * Odin * Patoka * Sandoval * Vernon * Walnut Hill

Townships

Marion County is divided into seventeen townships: * Alma * Carrigan * Centralia * Foster * Haines * Iuka * Kinmundy * Meacham * Odin * Omega * Patoka *

Raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

* Romine * Salem * Sandoval * Stevenson * Tonti

Unincorporated Communities

* Greendale * Tonti

Politics

Initially a strongly Democratic anti- Yankee county, Marion County has undergone two transitions. Between 1912 and 2004 it was a perfect bellwether apart from the Catholicism-influenced 1960 election when substantial anti-Catholic voting by its largely southern white population caused it to support Republican

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century it has voted consistently for Republican presidential candidates.

References

{{Coord, 38.65, -88.92, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties 1823 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1823 Marion County, Illinois