Montgomery County, Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Montgomery County, Illinois | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Illinois |
|
 Illinois's location in the U.S. |
|
| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1821 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Hillsboro |
| Largest city | Litchfield |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
710 sq mi (1,838 km²) 704 sq mi (1,823 km²) 6 sq mi (15 km²), 0.84% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
30,652 44/sq mi (17/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website: www.montgomeryco.com | |
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 30,652. Its county seat is Hillsboro, Illinois[1].
Contents |
[edit] History
Montgomery County was formed in 1821 out of Bond and Madison Counties. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada.[2] Perrin's 1882 History of Montgomery County relates that the County was named in honor of Gen. Montgomery, but goes on to say that "others are dubious as to whence it received its name."
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 710 square miles (1,838 km²), of which, 704 square miles (1,823 km²) of it is land and 6 square miles (15 km²) of it (0.84%) is water.
[edit] Townships
Audubon, Bois d'Arc, Butler Grove, East Fork, Fillmore, Grisham, Harvel, Hillsboro, Irving, Nokomis, North Litchfield, Pitman, Raymond, Rountree, South Fillmore, South Litchfield, Walshville, Witt, Zanesville
[edit] Adjacent Counties
- Sangamon County - north
- Christian County - northeast
- Shelby County - east
- Fayette County - southeast
- Bond County - south
- Madison County - southwest
- Macoupin County - west
 |
Sangamon County | Christian County |
|
||||
| Macoupin County |  |
Shelby County | |||||
 Montgomery County, Illinois  |
|||||||
 |
|||||||
| Madison County | Bond County | Fayette County |
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 30,836 |
|
|
| 1910 | 35,311 | 14.5% | |
| 1920 | 41,403 | 17.3% | |
| 1930 | 35,278 | −14.8% | |
| 1940 | 34,499 | −2.2% | |
| 1950 | 32,460 | −5.9% | |
| 1960 | 31,244 | −3.7% | |
| 1970 | 30,260 | −3.1% | |
| 1980 | 31,686 | 4.7% | |
| 1990 | 30,728 | −3.0% | |
| 2000 | 30,652 | −0.2% | |
| IL Counties 1900-1990 | |||
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 30,652 people, 11,507 households, and 7,928 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile (17/km²). There were 12,525 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.88% White, 3.73% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 33.7% were of German, 19.3% American, 12.6% English and 9.2% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 11,507 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.10% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.10% were non-families. 27.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.70% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 17.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 106.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $33,123, and the median income for a family was $39,923. Males had a median income of $30,657 versus $20,563 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,272. About 10.60% of families and 13.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.40% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Cities and towns
- Butler
- Coalton
- Coffeen
- Donnellson
- Farmersville
- Fillmore
- Harvel
- Hillsboro
- Irving
- Litchfield
- Nokomis
- Ohlman
- Panama
- Raymond
- Schram City
- Taylor Springs
- Waggoner
- Walshville
- Wenonah
- Witt
[edit] Census designated places
[edit] Notable natives
- Otto Funk (1868-1934) Violinist who achieved fame (and a Guinness Book of Records entry) by walking from New York to San Francisco in the depression-era, "playing the fiddle every step of the way." When he died in 1934 at the age of 65, he was accorded the biggest funeral in the history of Montgomery County.
[edit] External references
- History of Montgomery County, Illinois, Perrin, 1882
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Allan H. Keith, Historical Stories: About Greenville and Bond County, IL. Consulted on August 15, 2007.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
