Pope County is the southeasternmost

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 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 ...

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 3,763, making it the second-least populous county in Illinois. 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 ...

Golconda Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani ...

. The county was organized in 1816 from portions of Gallatin and Johnson counties and named after

Nathaniel Pope Nathaniel Pope (January 5, 1784 – January 23, 1850) was an American government leader in the early history of the State of Illinois. He served as the Secretary of the Illinois Territory, then as a Non-voting members of the United States House of ...

, a politician and jurist from the

Illinois Territory The Territory of Illinois was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Illinois. Its ...

and State of Illinois.

History

The first permanent settlement in future Pope County was established in 1798 at the modern-day site of

, then a part 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 ...

which operated as a ferry point across the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. The county was formed in 1816 from portions of Gallatin and Johnson Counties. File:Pope County Illinois 1816.png, Pope County from the time of its creation in 1816 to 1839 File:Pope County Illinois 1839.png, Pope County between 1839 and 1843 File:Pope County Illinois 1843.png, Pope County between 1843 and 1847 File:Pope County Illinois 1847.png, In 1847, Pope's border with Hardin County was adjusted, bringing both to their present borders Nathaniel Pope

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water. The entire county is hilly and during rainy weather rivulets cascade down the hills in the park forming

waterfalls A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

of varying sizes and heights. The county contains Dixon Springs State Park, one of many state parks in the Illinois Shawnee Hills, and is part of the Shawnee National Forest. It is bordered to the south and east by the

, which marks the state's border with

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Golconda 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 2007. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in October to in May.

Transit

* Rides Mass Transit District

Major highways

* Illinois Route 34 * Illinois Route 145 * Illinois Route 146 * Illinois Route 147

Adjacent counties

* Saline County - north * Hardin County - east * Livingston County,

- southeast * Massac County - southwest * Johnson County - west * Williamson County - northwest

National protected area

* Shawnee National Forest (part)

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,470 people, 1,829 households, and 1,209 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 2,491 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.7% white, 6.0% black or African American, 0.6% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 31.8% were German, 19.1% were Irish, 11.4% were English, and 5.4% were American. Of the 1,829 households, 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.9% were non-families, and 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 46.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $39,672 and the median income for a family was $51,500. Males had a median income of $45,865 versus $28,519 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,134. About 6.6% of families and 12.4% 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 18.4% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In its early days Pope County, being strongly Southern in its culture and opposed to

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

, was powerfully Democratic, giving a majority to that party in every pre-war Presidential election. However, during the Civil War, under the influence of Congressman John A. Logan, this region of dubious initial loyalty was to provide a number of Union soldiers rivalled on a per capita basis only by a few fiercely Unionist counties in

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

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

in 1860 remains the last Democrat to win a majority of the county's vote, 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 1992 and 1996 due to

Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot ( ; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an Independent politician ...

siphoning votes from Republican opponents George Bush senior and

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

. Hillary Clinton in 2016 fared extremely poorly, carrying fewer than eighteen percent of Pope County's votes.Cohn, Nate
‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', April 24, 2014

Communities

City

Village

* Eddyville

Unincorporated communities

* Allens Spring * Bay City * Brownfield * Dixon Springs * Glendale * Hamletsburg * Herod * Homberg * Lusk's Ferry * McCormick * New Liberty * Rising Sun * Robbs

Notable people

* James Lusk Alcorn (1816-1894), born near Golconda, American Civil War general in the Confederate Army *

John R. Hodge General John Reed Hodge (12 June 1893 – 12 November 1963) was an American military officer of the United States Army. Hodge commanded Operation Blacklist Forty in 1945. He served as the governor of the American military government in Korea fr ...

(1893-1963), born in Golconda; Military Governor of South Korea preceding the Korean War and Commanding General of the U.S. Third Army * C. L. McCormick (1919-1987), born in McCormick, Illinois state representative and businessman * Green B. Raum (1820-1909), born in Golconda, American Civil War general in the Union Army * James A. Rose (1850-1912), born in Golconda, Illinois Secretary of State * Mason Ramsey (2006-), born in Golconda, star of viral video “Walmart Kid Singing” and country singer * Victor Belenko (1947-2023) born in the USSR, served in the Soviet Air Force until he stole a MiG-25 and flew to Japan providing the West with invaluable intelligence. He became an American and settled in the town of Rosebud, where he died in 2023.

References

External links

* http://genealogytrails.com/ill/pope/cohist.htm * http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/shawnee {{Coord, 37.41, -88.57, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties 1816 establishments in Illinois Territory Populated places established in 1816 Illinois counties on the Ohio River Pope County, Illinois Pre-statehood history of Illinois