Tazewell County () is 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 ...

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 131,343. 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 ...

and largest city is Pekin. It is pronounced with a short "a", to rhyme with "razz" rather than "raze." Tazewell County is part of the Peoria metropolitan area. The majority of the population lives along the county's western border.

History

Tazewell County was formed out of Peoria County in 1827. The consensus appears to be that it was named in honor of Littleton Tazewell, who served in the U.S. Senate, and who became Governor of Virginia in 1834. It is, however, possible that it was named after Littleton's father, prominent Virginia politician

Henry Tazewell Henry Tazewell (November 27, 1753January 24, 1799) was an American politician who was instrumental in the early government of Virginia, and a US senator from Virginia. He was a slave owner, and served as President pro tempore of the United Stat ...

, after whom Tazewell County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, was named. The first county seat was in Mackinaw from 1827 to 1836. It was moved temporarily from Mackinaw to Pekin in June 1831, with the county court proceedings in the Snell schoolhouse. It moved to Tremont in 1836. After a political struggle between Tremont and Pekin, the county seat was reassigned to Pekin in 1849. File:Tazewell County Illinois 1827.png, Tazewell from the time of its creation to 1829, including a large tract of unorganized territory temporarily attached to it, whose precise border was not defined. File:Tazewell County Illinois 1829.png, Tazewell County between 1829 and 1830: the creation of Mason County established a southern border for Tazewell's additional territory. File:Tazewell County Illinois 1830.png, Tazewell County between 1830 and 1831: the additional territory to the east became McLean County. File:Tazewell County Illinois 1831.png, Tazewell County between 1831 and 1841: the last of the county's additional territory became part of LaSalle County. File:Tazewell County Illinois 1841.png, Tazewell County in 1841, reduced to its present borders.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water.

State Fish & Wildlife Areas

The following Illinois State Park & Natural Areas are located in Tazewell County: * Spring Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area - an 8.5-mile (13.7 km) long alluvial lake that lies parallel to 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 ...

. * Powerton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area - 1,426-acre (577 ha) area of semi-protected habitat on the

. * Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area - 1,448-acre (586 ha) state park

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Pekin have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1884 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.

Adjacent counties

* Peoria County (northwest) * Woodford County (north) * McLean County (east) * Logan County (south) * Mason County (southwest) * Fulton County (west)

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 74 Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange with I-75 in ...

* Interstate 155 * Interstate 474 * U.S. Highway 24 * U.S. Highway 150 *

Illinois Route 8 Illinois Route 8 (IL 8) is an east–west state route in central Illinois. It runs east from Illinois Route 97 south of Maquon to the intersection of U.S. Route 24 (McClugage Avenue) and Business U.S. 24 near Washington. Illinois 8 i ...

* Illinois Route 9 *

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 98 * Illinois Route 116 * Illinois Route 122

Airports

The following public-use airports are located in Tazewell County: * Pekin Municipal Airport (C15) - serves Pekin (Located by the Village of South Pekin, Illinois) * Manito Mitchell Airport (C45) - serves Manito, a village in Mason County

Public Transportation

Bus and paratransit service in Tazewell County is provided by Peoria's “CityLink” system, operating six routes (four originating from Peoria) seven days a week.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 135,394 people, 54,146 households, and 37,163 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 57,516 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.2% white, 1.0% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 35.6% were German, 15.6% were American, 14.4% were Irish, and 12.0% were English. Of the 54,146 households, 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.4% were non-families, and 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 39.8 years. The median income for a household in the county was $54,232 and the median income for a family was $66,764. Males had a median income of $50,372 versus $34,747 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,036. About 6.3% of families and 7.9% 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 11.2% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Delavan * East Peoria * Marquette Heights * Pekin (seat) * Washington

Villages

* Creve Coeur * Deer Creek * Hopedale * Mackinaw * Minier * Morton * North Pekin * Tremont

Census-designated place

* Armington * Heritage Lake

Other unincorporated communities

* Groveland * Schaeferville

Townships

Tazewell County is divided into these townships: * Boynton *

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

* Deer Creek * Delavan * Dillon * Elm Grove * Fondulac * Groveland * Hittle * Hopedale * Little Mackinaw * Mackinaw * Malone * Morton * Pekin * Sand Prairie * Spring Lake * Tremont * Washington

Politics

Tazewell County has been solidly Republican on the national level, voting for the Republican candidate for U.S. president since 1996 and in all but two elections since 1952. For the purposes of Illinois law, as of the 2022 general primary election, the three established political parties in the county are the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and the Libertarian Party as all have received 5% or greater of the vote in a recent election. A relative rarity, Tazewell is one of only five counties where the Libertarian Party was an established political party in 2022. The Libertarian Party's established political party status allows it to have the same reduced barriers to ballot access as the Democratic and Republican parties and to hold primary elections. In the 2022 primary, 20 voters requested a Libertarian primary ballot.

Education

Notable people

* Charles "Buffalo" Jones, Cowboy and Naturalist * Everett Dirkson US Senator * Gary Richrath, Lead Guitarist - REO Speedwagon * John Theodore McNaughton, Government Official

References

{{Coord, 40.51, -89.51, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties Peoria metropolitan area, Illinois 1827 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1827