Saline 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 ...

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 23,768. The largest city and

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 ...

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

. This area of Southern Illinois is known locally as " Little Egypt". Three major towns in Saline County are connected by U.S. Route 45, and formerly by the now-abandoned Cairo and Vincennes/ Big Four/ New York Central Line, from north to south: Eldorado,

, and Carrier Mills.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.8%) is water. The Saline County area is mostly rolling hills throughout gradually rising to the

Hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall und ...

of the Shawnee National Forest. The Saline River flows through the central point of the county in three forks: North, Middle, and South. To the north of Eldorado there are flat lowlands.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Harrisburg have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1951 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in September to in May.

Adjacent counties

* Hamilton County (north) * White County (northeast) * Gallatin County (east) * Hardin County (southeast) * Pope County (south) * Johnson County (southwest) * Williamson County (west) * Franklin County (northwest)

National protected area

* Shawnee National Forest (part)

State protected areas

* Sahara Woods State Fish and Wildlife Area * Saline County State Fish and Wildlife Area

Transportation

Transit

* Rides Mass Transit District

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 45 * Illinois Route 13 * Illinois Route 34 * Illinois Route 142 * Illinois Route 145

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 24,913 people, 10,379 households, and 6,631 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 11,697 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.0% white, 4.0% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.4% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 17.8% were Irish, 16.6% were German, 12.9% were American, and 11.1% were English. Of the 10,379 households, 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.1% were non-families, and 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 41.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $35,644 and the median income for a family was $46,314. Males had a median income of $41,108 versus $28,464 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,903. About 13.4% of families and 18.4% 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 26.5% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Eldorado *

Villages

* Carrier Mills (Morrilsville) *

Galatia Galatia (; , ''Galatía'') was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (cf. Tylis), who settled here ...

* Muddy *

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

* Stonefort (partly in Williamson County)

Unincorporated communities

* Buena Vista * Cottage Grove *

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

* Harco * Lakeview (Pond Settlement) * Ledford *

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

* Mitchellsville * New Hope * Pankeyville * Rudement *

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

* Texas City *

Wasson Wasson (c. 1730 – c. 1790s) was an Ojibwa chief during the siege of Fort Detroit The siege of Fort Detroit was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt by Indigenous peoples of the Americas#North America, North American Natives to capture Fort ...

* West End

Townships

Saline County is divided into thirteen townships: * Brushy * Carrier Mills *

Cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

* East Eldorado *

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

* Long Branch *

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

* Rector * Stone Fort *

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

Politics

References

External links

Saline County Chamber of Commerce

Saline County Official Website (Under Development)
* "Tails and Trails of Illinois", Stu Fliege, University of Illinois Press,2002. * "https://web.archive.org/web/20120206132243/http://www.iltrails.org/saline/towns_cities.html, © 2000-2001 by Debbie Woolard, Illinois Trails History and Genealogy. * Gillum Ferguson. 2007. ''The Perilous Infancy of Saline County'', Journal of Illinois History, Vol. 10, p. 49. {{Coord, 37.75, -88.54, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties 1847 establishments in Illinois Saline County, Illinois Saline County, Illinois Populated places established in 1847