Johnson County, Illinois

Johnson County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 13,308.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Vienna.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as "Little Egypt".

History

File:RichardJohnsonVP.jpg

Richard M. Johnson

Johnson County was organized in 1812 out of Randolph County. It was named for Richard Mentor Johnson, who was then a U.S. Congressman from Kentucky.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1813, Johnson commanded a Kentucky regiment at the Battle of the Thames, after which he claimed to have killed Tecumseh in hand-to-hand combat. Johnson went on to become Vice President of the United States.

• Johnson County at the time of its creation to 1816
  Johnson County at the time of its creation to 1816
• Johnson County between 1816 and 1818
  Johnson County between 1816 and 1818
• Johnson County between 1818 and 1843
  Johnson County between 1818 and 1843
• Johnson County in 1843, when it was reduced to its present size
  Johnson County in 1843, when it was reduced to its present size

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (1.4%) is water.<ref name="census-density"/>

Climate and weather

Template:Climate chart In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Vienna have ranged from a low of Template:Convert in January to a high of Template:Convert in July, although a record low of Template:Convert was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of Template:Convert was recorded in August 2007. Average monthly precipitation ranged from Template:Convert in October to Template:Convert in May.<ref name="weather"/>

Major highways

• File:I-24.svg Interstate 24
• File:I-57.svg Interstate 57
• File:US 45.svg U.S. Route 45
• File:Illinois 37.svg Illinois Route 37
• File:Illinois 146.svg Illinois Route 146
• File:Illinois 147.svg Illinois Route 147
• File:Illinois 166.svg Illinois Route 166

Transit

• List of intercity bus stops in Illinois

Adjacent counties

• Williamson County - north
• Saline County - northeast
• Pope County - east
• Massac County - southeast
• Pulaski County - southwest
• Union County - west

National protected areas

• Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Shawnee National Forest (part)

Demographics

2010

Whereas, according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:

• 89.0% White
• 8.0% Black
• 0.2% Native American
• 0.2% Asian
• 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• 1.0% Two or more races
• 1.6% Other races
• 3.0% Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

2010

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 12,582 people, 4,584 households, and 3,270 families residing in the county.<ref name="census-dp1">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 5,598 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name="census-density">Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 89.0% white, 8.0% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.6% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.0% of the population.<ref name="census-dp1"/> In terms of ancestry, 17.6% were German, 11.5% were Irish, 10.9% were English, and 6.5% were American.<ref name="census-dp2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 4,584 households, 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.7% were non-families, and 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 42.2 years.<ref name="census-dp1"/>

The median income for a household in the county was $41,619 and the median income for a family was $47,423. Males had a median income of $48,047 versus $30,904 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,402, the lowest of all 102 counties in Illinois and 57th in the U.S. About 11.1% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="census-dp3">Template:Cite web</ref>

Communities

Cities

• Marion (mostly in Williamson County)
• Vienna

Villages

• Belknap
• Buncombe
• Cypress
• Goreville
• New Burnside
• Simpson

Unincorporated communities

• Bloomfield
• Crossroads
• Dixon Springs
• Elvira
• Ganntown
• Grantsburg
• Ozark
• Parker City
• Pleasant Grove
• Pond
• Reevesville
• Reynoldsburg
• Tunnel Hill
• West Vienna
• White Hill

Politics

In its early days Johnson County, being strongly Southern in its culture, was fiercely Democratic. In fact, in the 1860 presidential election, the county gave Illinois native and Northern Democrat Stephen A. Douglas a higher proportion of its votes than any other county in the United States.Template:Citation needed

However, during the Civil War, under the influence of Congressman John Logan, this region of dubious initial loyalty was to provide a number of Union soldiers rivaled on a per capita basis only by a few fiercely Unionist counties in Appalachia.<ref>Wells, Damon; Stephen Douglas: The Last Years, 1857–1861, p. 285 Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Copeland, James E.; ‘Where Were the Kentucky Unionists and Secessionists’; The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, volume 71, no. 4 (October 1973), pp. 344-363</ref> This level of Union service has meant that despite its historic hostility towards Yankee culture, Johnson County has been powerfully Republican ever since the Civil War.Template:Citation needed Douglas in 1860 remains the last Democrat to win a majority of the county's vote: the solitary Democratic victory since was when Bill Clinton won a plurality against Republican George H. W. Bush and independent Ross Perot.

Education

School districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

K-12:

• Century Community Unit School District 100
• Goreville Community Unit School District 1
• Marion Community Unit School District 2

Secondary:

• Vienna High School District 133

Elementary:

• Buncombe Consolidated School District 43
• Cypress School District 64
• New Simpson Hill Consolidated District 32
• Vienna School District 55

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Johnson County, Illinois

Further reading

• P.T. Chapman, A History of Johnson County, Illinois. Herrin, IL: Press of the Herrin News, 1925.