Hardin County, Illinois

Hardin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 4,320,[1] making it the least populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Elizabethtown.[2] Hardin County is located in the part of the state known as Little Egypt. Hardin County was named for Hardin County, Kentucky, which was named in honor of Colonel John Hardin, an officer in the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War.

Not to be confused with Hardin, Illinois.

Hardin County
U.S. county
Hardin County Courthouse in Elizabethtown
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°31′53″N 88°22′06″W
Country United States
State Illinois
Founded1839
Named forJohn Hardin
SeatElizabethtown
Largest cityRosiclare
Area
 • Total182 sq mi (470 km2)
 • Land178 sq mi (460 km2)
 • Water4.1 sq mi (11 km2)  2.2%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total4,320
 • Estimate 
(2018)
3,910
 • Density24/sq mi (9.2/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district15th
Websitewww.hardincountyil.org
Topology of Hicks Dome in Hardin and Pope counties

History

Hardin County was formed in 1839 from Pope County. Additional area was later added from Gallatin County. Hardin County was named for Hardin County, Kentucky, which was named in honor of Colonel John Hardin, an officer in the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. Hardin was murdered by Shawnee Indians while he was on a peace mission in 1792 for President George Washington, in what is now Shelby County, Ohio. In the 1790s and early 1800s, the Hardin County area, especially Cave-In-Rock, was notorious as a stronghold used by outlaws, bandits, river pirates, and counterfeiters.

  • Hardin County between 1839 and 1847
  • Hardin in 1847, when it was enlarged to its current size

Geography
Fluorite mineral specimen from Hardin County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 182 square miles (470 km2), of which 178 square miles (460 km2) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km2) (2.2%) is water.[3] It is the second-smallest county in Illinois by area.

Hicks Dome (37.53139°N 88.36833°W / 37.53139; -88.36833) is a geological feature in Hardin County. The Hicks Dome is underlain by ultramafic igneous rocks and igneous diatremes or breccia pipes. Most geologists accept the theory that the older rocks at the center of the uplift are a result of this deep-seated igneous activity. This activity may also have provided the fluorine in the fluorspar deposits in the region. Fluorspar, or calcium fluoride, was mined in Hardin County until the early 1990s.

Climate and weather
Elizabethtown, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
3.5
 
 
41
21
 
 
3.7
 
 
47
24
 
 
4.7
 
 
57
33
 
 
4.8
 
 
68
42
 
 
5
 
 
76
52
 
 
4.2
 
 
84
60
 
 
4.2
 
 
87
65
 
 
3.5
 
 
87
63
 
 
3.2
 
 
80
55
 
 
3.2
 
 
70
43
 
 
4.4
 
 
57
34
 
 
4.3
 
 
46
25
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Source: The Weather Channel[4]

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Elizabethtown have ranged from a low of 21 °F (−6 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −22 °F (−30 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in August 2007. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 3.22 inches (82 mm) in October to 5.02 inches (128 mm) in May.[4]

Adjacent counties

Major highways

National protected area

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18401,378—
18502,887109.5%
18603,75930.2%
18705,11336.0%
18806,02417.8%
18907,23420.1%
19007,4483.0%
19107,015−5.8%
19207,5337.4%
19306,955−7.7%
19407,75911.6%
19507,530−3.0%
19605,879−21.9%
19704,914−16.4%
19805,3839.5%
19905,189−3.6%
20004,800−7.5%
20104,320−10.0%
Est. 20183,910[5]−9.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2017[1]
2000 census age pyramid for Hardin County

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,320 people, 1,915 households, and 1,234 families residing in the county.[10] The population density was 24.3 inhabitants per square mile (9.4/km2). There were 2,488 housing units at an average density of 14.0 per square mile (5.4/km2).[3] The racial makeup of the county was 97.3% white, 0.6% American Indian, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population.[10] In terms of ancestry, 26.5% were Irish, 23.8% were German, 10.4% were English, and 4.3% were American.[11]

Of the 1,915 households, 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.6% were non-families, and 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.78. The median age was 46.3 years.[10]

The median income for a household in the county was $27,578 and the median income for a family was $38,576. Males had a median income of $42,955 versus $26,683 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,515. About 17.4% of families and 22.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.4% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.[12]

Communities

City

Villages

Unincorporated communities

Precincts

Ghost towns

Notable people

Politics
Presidential elections results[14]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 77.0% 1,653 19.6% 420 3.5% 75
2012 65.9% 1,535 31.9% 742 2.3% 53
2008 58.8% 1,330 39.4% 892 1.8% 40
2004 61.6% 1,501 37.9% 923 0.5% 13
2000 51.8% 1,366 44.9% 1,184 3.3% 87
1996 30.2% 790 50.6% 1,323 19.3% 504
1992 31.0% 985 52.5% 1,665 16.5% 523
1988 53.3% 1,504 46.3% 1,308 0.4% 12
1984 58.3% 1,689 41.6% 1,205 0.2% 5
1980 55.3% 1,721 42.2% 1,314 2.5% 79
1976 46.2% 1,393 53.1% 1,602 0.7% 22
1972 62.5% 1,915 37.2% 1,140 0.2% 7
1968 51.8% 1,492 41.6% 1,199 6.7% 192
1964 44.7% 1,324 55.3% 1,639
1960 57.0% 1,944 42.9% 1,465 0.1% 4
1956 56.9% 1,919 42.8% 1,444 0.2% 8
1952 55.8% 1,984 44.0% 1,563 0.2% 6
1948 55.5% 1,713 44.0% 1,358 0.5% 16
1944 59.3% 2,037 39.9% 1,370 0.9% 31
1940 53.8% 2,333 45.6% 1,974 0.6% 26
1936 50.1% 2,008 49.5% 1,984 0.5% 19
1932 48.4% 1,559 50.0% 1,610 1.7% 54
1928 64.4% 1,758 34.2% 933 1.5% 41
1924 49.1% 1,378 48.3% 1,358 2.6% 73
1920 61.5% 1,555 37.3% 943 1.2% 29
1916 51.7% 1,419 46.0% 1,264 2.3% 63
1912 43.6% 691 40.6% 644 15.8% 250
1908 52.5% 813 43.9% 680 3.6% 55
1904 49.1% 756 41.7% 642 9.2% 142
1900 46.3% 753 51.6% 839 2.1% 34
1896 46.2% 780 53.3% 900 0.6% 10
1892 43.1% 660 45.7% 700 11.2% 171

In its early history, Hardin County was opposed to the “Yankee” Republican Party and its Civil War against the South – with whom it was closely allied both culturally and economically. It did not vote for a Republican presidential candidate until Theodore Roosevelt’s 1904 landslide.

Since 1904, however, Hardin County has turned powerfully Republican. Like the nearby counties of Johnson, Massac and Pope, it managed to remain loyal to William Howard Taft during the 1912 election when the Republican Party was mortally divided. Hardin County would next be carried by a Democratic Presidential candidate in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1932 landslide victory, and not after that until Lyndon Johnson in 1964. The county did trend Democratic in the following three decades, actually voting more Democratic than the nation at-large between 1972 and 1996. Nonetheless, since 2000 Hardin County has followed the same political trajectory as Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia and Appalachian regions of adjacent states, whereby the Democratic Party's liberal views on social issues have produced dramatic swings to the Republican Party amongst its almost entirely Southern white population.[15] The past six Presidential elections have observed a swing totalling 79 percentage points to the GOP, with Hillary Clinton in 2016 receiving barely half the proportion of the worst-performing Democrat from before 2010.

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See also

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  4. "Monthly Averages for Elizabethtown, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  5. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  8. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  9. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  10. "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  11. "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  12. "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  13. "Hardin County Histories".
  14. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  15. Cohn, Nate; ‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’, New York Times, April 24, 2014
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