County in Illinois, United States
County in Illinois
Washington County
is a
county
located in the
U.S. state
of
Illinois
. As of the
2020 census
, it had a population of 13,761.
[1]
Its
county seat
is
Nashville
.
[2]
It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as "
Little Egypt
".
History
[
edit
]
Washington County was formed on January 2, 1818, out of
St. Clair County
. It was named for
George Washington
. Despite its relative proximity to the Illinois suburbs of
St. Louis, Missouri
, the county is not considered part of the
St. Louis metropolitan area
, also known as the Metro-East. In 1813, the
Lively Massacre
occurred near Little Crooked Creek. In 1959, the state established the
Washington County State Recreation Area
.
[3]
Washington County was initially settled by immigrants from Kentucky who moved northward out of that state in the early 1800s. In the late 1800s there were (relatively) large numbers of immigrants who settled in Washington County, and by the early 1900s there were large numbers of first-generation immigrants still living in Washington County. They primarily came from the four countries of
Germany
,
Poland
,
Ireland
and
England
.
[4]
-
Washington County from its 1818 creation to 1824
-
Washington County in 1824, reduced to its current borders by the creation of Clinton County
Geography
[
edit
]
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
, the county has a total area of 564 square miles (1,460 km
2
), of which 563 square miles (1,460 km
2
) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km
2
) (0.2%) is water.
[5]
There are many lakes, rivers, streams, and creeks in this area, including the
Kaskaskia River
, which is the county's northern border.
Climate and weather
[
edit
]
Nashville, Illinois
|
Climate chart (
explanation
)
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
|
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Precipitation totals in inches
| Source: The Weather Channel
[6]
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Metric conversion
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
|
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Precipitation totals in mm
|
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In recent years, average temperatures in Nashville have ranged from a low of 22 °F (?6 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of ?21 °F (?29 °C) was recorded in December 1989 and a record high of 106 °F (41 °C) was recorded in July 1980. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.18 inches (55 mm) in January to 4.10 inches (104 mm) in May.
[6]
On
November 17, 2013
, an EF4 tornado swept through the area, destroying homes and causing two fatalities.
Public transit
[
edit
]
Major highways
[
edit
]
Adjacent counties
[
edit
]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Census
| Pop.
| Note
| %±
|
1820
| 1,517
| | ?
|
---|
1830
| 1,675
| | 10.4%
|
---|
1840
| 4,810
| | 187.2%
|
---|
1850
| 6,953
| | 44.6%
|
---|
1860
| 13,731
| | 97.5%
|
---|
1870
| 17,599
| | 28.2%
|
---|
1880
| 21,112
| | 20.0%
|
---|
1890
| 19,262
| | ?8.8%
|
---|
1900
| 19,526
| | 1.4%
|
---|
1910
| 18,759
| | ?3.9%
|
---|
1920
| 18,035
| | ?3.9%
|
---|
1930
| 16,286
| | ?9.7%
|
---|
1940
| 15,801
| | ?3.0%
|
---|
1950
| 14,460
| | ?8.5%
|
---|
1960
| 13,569
| | ?6.2%
|
---|
1970
| 13,780
| | 1.6%
|
---|
1980
| 15,472
| | 12.3%
|
---|
1990
| 14,965
| | ?3.3%
|
---|
2000
| 15,148
| | 1.2%
|
---|
2010
| 14,716
| | ?2.9%
|
---|
2020
| 13,761
| | ?6.5%
|
---|
2023 (est.)
| 13,536
| [7]
| ?1.6%
|
---|
As of the
2010 United States Census
, there were 14,716 people, 5,926 households, and 4,112 families residing in the county.
[13]
The population density was 26.2 inhabitants per square mile (10.1/km
2
). There were 6,534 housing units at an average density of 11.6 per square mile (4.5/km
2
).
[5]
The racial makeup of the county was 97.7% white, 0.7% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population.
[13]
In terms of ancestry, 53.6% were
German
, 14.0% were
Polish
, 13.1% were
Irish
, 7.7% were
English
, and 6.1% were
American
.
[14]
Of the 5,926 households, 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.6% were non-families, and 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 42.3 years.
[13]
The median income for a household in the county was $51,440 and the median income for a family was $64,171. Males had a median income of $44,272 versus $30,683 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,846. About 5.5% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the
poverty line
, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.
[15]
Education
[
edit
]
The county is served by six school districts:
[16]
Communities
[
edit
]
Cities
[
edit
]
Villages
[
edit
]
Unincorporated communities
[
edit
]
Townships
[
edit
]
Washington County is divided into these
townships
:
Politics
[
edit
]
Washington is a rural conservative county in Southern Illinois that has always trended Republican in presidential elections. The only Democrat to win a majority of the county's ballots since
the Civil War
was
Franklin D. Roosevelt
in his 1932 landslide. Historically, the county was dominated by organized labor and family farms. The area tends to be economically and socially conservative.
United States presidential election results for Washington County, Illinois
[17]
Year
|
Republican
|
Democratic
|
Third party
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
2020
|
6,115
|
77.20%
|
1,641
|
20.72%
|
165
|
2.08%
|
2016
|
5,571
|
74.90%
|
1,448
|
19.47%
|
419
|
5.63%
|
2012
|
4,792
|
64.45%
|
2,450
|
32.95%
|
193
|
2.60%
|
2008
|
4,473
|
56.39%
|
3,342
|
42.13%
|
117
|
1.48%
|
2004
|
5,072
|
62.59%
|
2,986
|
36.85%
|
46
|
0.57%
|
2000
|
4,353
|
60.98%
|
2,638
|
36.96%
|
147
|
2.06%
|
1996
|
3,339
|
48.20%
|
2,744
|
39.61%
|
844
|
12.18%
|
1992
|
3,003
|
39.75%
|
2,986
|
39.52%
|
1,566
|
20.73%
|
1988
|
4,127
|
60.04%
|
2,689
|
39.12%
|
58
|
0.84%
|
1984
|
5,129
|
68.24%
|
2,363
|
31.44%
|
24
|
0.32%
|
1980
|
5,354
|
68.98%
|
2,158
|
27.80%
|
250
|
3.22%
|
1976
|
4,485
|
57.18%
|
3,222
|
41.08%
|
137
|
1.75%
|
1972
|
5,179
|
68.85%
|
2,327
|
30.94%
|
16
|
0.21%
|
1968
|
4,793
|
63.32%
|
2,093
|
27.65%
|
683
|
9.02%
|
1964
|
3,840
|
51.13%
|
3,670
|
48.87%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1960
|
5,053
|
61.95%
|
3,093
|
37.92%
|
11
|
0.13%
|
1956
|
5,299
|
65.14%
|
2,820
|
34.67%
|
16
|
0.20%
|
1952
|
5,546
|
66.17%
|
2,824
|
33.70%
|
11
|
0.13%
|
1948
|
4,544
|
61.99%
|
2,737
|
37.34%
|
49
|
0.67%
|
1944
|
5,428
|
66.31%
|
2,723
|
33.26%
|
35
|
0.43%
|
1940
|
5,701
|
61.82%
|
3,479
|
37.73%
|
42
|
0.46%
|
1936
|
4,540
|
51.20%
|
4,119
|
46.45%
|
209
|
2.36%
|
1932
|
3,076
|
38.81%
|
4,696
|
59.25%
|
154
|
1.94%
|
1928
|
3,638
|
55.90%
|
2,848
|
43.76%
|
22
|
0.34%
|
1924
|
3,444
|
56.43%
|
1,717
|
28.13%
|
942
|
15.44%
|
1920
|
4,519
|
70.76%
|
1,102
|
17.26%
|
765
|
11.98%
|
1916
|
4,657
|
60.95%
|
2,794
|
36.57%
|
190
|
2.49%
|
1912
|
1,058
|
24.99%
|
1,654
|
39.06%
|
1,522
|
35.95%
|
1908
|
2,355
|
53.87%
|
1,830
|
41.86%
|
187
|
4.28%
|
1904
|
2,374
|
57.30%
|
1,504
|
36.30%
|
265
|
6.40%
|
1900
|
2,351
|
51.81%
|
2,081
|
45.86%
|
106
|
2.34%
|
1896
|
2,351
|
53.30%
|
1,979
|
44.87%
|
81
|
1.84%
|
1892
|
1,956
|
47.35%
|
1,868
|
45.22%
|
307
|
7.43%
|
Media
[
edit
]
WNSV
in Nashville is the only radio station in the county.
The two weekly newspapers in the county are
The Nashville News
, located in Nashville, and
The Okawville Times
, which is based in Okawville.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- Specific
- ^
"Washington County, Illinois"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
June 10,
2023
.
- ^
"Find a County"
. National Association of Counties. Archived from
the original
on May 31, 2011
. Retrieved
June 7,
2011
.
- ^
"About"
.
www.dnr.illinois.gov
. Retrieved
April 7,
2018
.
- ^
History of Washington County, Illinois: With Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers by McDonough
- ^
a
b
"Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Archived from
the original
on February 12, 2020
. Retrieved
July 12,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"Monthly Averages for Nashville, Illinois"
. The Weather Channel
. Retrieved
January 27,
2011
.
- ^
"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
April 2,
2024
.
- ^
"U.S. Decennial Census"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
July 9,
2014
.
- ^
"Historical Census Browser"
. University of Virginia Library
. Retrieved
July 9,
2014
.
- ^
"Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
July 9,
2014
.
- ^
"Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000"
(PDF)
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
July 9,
2014
.
- ^
"State & County QuickFacts"
. United States Census Bureau. Archived from
the original
on September 6, 2011
. Retrieved
July 9,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
"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 12,
2015
.
- ^
"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 12,
2015
.
- ^
"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 12,
2015
.
- ^
Education, Illinois State Board of.
"Illinois Public School Districts by County"
(XLS)
. Retrieved
May 28,
2009
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
Leip, David.
"Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections"
.
uselectionatlas.org
. Retrieved
November 13,
2018
.
- General
External links
[
edit
]
Places adjacent to Washington County, Illinois
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International
| |
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National
| |
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Other
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38°21′08″N
89°24′38″W
/
38.35222°N 89.41056°W
/
38.35222; -89.41056