Marshall 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
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 ...
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 11,742. 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
Lacon.
Marshall County is part of the
Peoria metropolitan area.
History
Marshall County was formed in 1839 out of
Putnam County. It was named in honor of
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...
, Chief Justice of the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
, who died in 1835.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.9%) is water.
The county is distinctly bisected by the
Illinois River
The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...
, splitting the county into two uneven sections.
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Lacon have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of was recorded in July 2005. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.
Major highways
*
Interstate 39
*
U.S. Highway 51
*
Illinois Route 17
Illinois Route 17 (IL 17) is a rural, arterial east–west state highway that runs east from a former ferry crossing in New Boston, Illinois, New Boston along the banks of the Mississippi RiverIllinois Highway EndsIllinois 17. Retrieved Apri ...
*
Illinois Route 18
*
Illinois Route 26
Illinois Route 26 (IL 26, Illinois 26) is a north–south state highway in central and north-central Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 116 just north of East Peoria to Highway 69 at the Wisconsin border near Orangeville. This is a d ...
*
Illinois Route 29
*
Illinois Route 40
Illinois Route 40 (IL 40) is a north–south route in central portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. It runs from Interstate 74 (I-74) in East Peoria, Illinois, East Peoria north to Illinois Route 78, IL 78 at Mount Carroll, Illinois, Mt. ...
*
Illinois Route 89
*
Illinois Route 117
*
Illinois Route 251
Adjacent counties
*
Bureau County - northwest
*
Putnam County - north
*
LaSalle County - east
*
Woodford County - south
*
Peoria County - southwest
*
Stark County - west
National protected area
*
Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Demographics
As of the
2010 United States census, there were 12,640 people, 5,161 households, and 3,549 families living in the county.
The population density was . There were 5,914 housing units at an average density of .
The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 1.1% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.5% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 43.0% were
German, 16.7% were
Irish, 14.4% were
English, 7.2% 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 ...
, 6.2% were
American, and 6.1% were
Polish.
Of the 5,161 households, 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.2% were non-families, and 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 44.8 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $49,116 and the median income for a family was $64,781. Males had a median income of $46,793 versus $28,549 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,991. About 6.8% of families and 9.5% 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 11.4% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
*
Henry
*
Lacon
*
Toluca
Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...
*
Wenona
Villages
*
Hopewell
*
La Rose
*
Sparland
*
Varna
*
Washburn
Unincorporated communities
*
Camp Grove
*
Hopewell Estates
*
La Prairie Center
*
Lawn Ridge
*
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
*
Pattonsburg
*
Saratoga Center
*
Wilbern
Townships
*
Bell Plain
*
Bennington
*
Evans
*
Henry
*
Hopewell
*
Lacon
*
La Prairie
*
Richland
*
Roberts
*
Saratoga
*
Steuben
*
Whitefield
Politics
In its early days Marshall County was a
swing county, voting for winning Whig candidate William Henry Harrison in 1840 but otherwise supporting the Democratic Party until 1852. Its reputation as a swing county was to be sustained with the growth of the Republican Party: it voted for the winning candidate in every election from 1852 to 1912 except 1884 and 1888.
Since
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Marshall has generally been a strongly Republican county. Only two Democrats – Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 plus Lyndon Johnson in 1964 – have gained an absolute majority in Marshall County over the past twenty-six elections, 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, ...
won pluralities in both his elections.
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Marshall County, Illinois
References
{{Coord, 41.03, -89.34, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990
Illinois counties
1839 establishments in Illinois
Peoria metropolitan area, Illinois
Populated places established in 1839