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Johnson County, Illinois
Johnson County Courthouse in Vienna
Location in the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1812
Named for	Richard Mentor Johnson
Seat	Vienna
Largest city	Vienna
Area
• Total	349 sq mi (904 km2)
• Land	344 sq mi (891 km2)
• Water	4.9 sq mi (13 km2), 1.4%
Population
• (2010)	12,582
• Density	37/sq mi (14/km2)
Congressional district	15th
Time zone	Central: UTC−6/−5

Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 12,582.^[1] Its county seat is Vienna.^[2] It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as "Little Egypt".

History

Richard M. Johnson

Johnson County was organized in 1812 out of Randolph County. It was named for Richard M. Johnson, who was then a U.S. Congressman from Kentucky.^[3] 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 be Vice President of the United States.

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  Johnson County at the time of its creation to 1816
  

  
  

  
  


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  Johnson County between 1816 and 1818
  

  
  

  
  


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  Johnson County between 1818 and 1843
  

  
  

  
  


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  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 349 square miles (900 km²), of which 344 square miles (890 km²) is land and 4.9 square miles (13 km²) (1.4%) is water.^[4]

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Vienna have ranged from a low of 25 °F (−4 °C) in January to a high of 90 °F (32 °C) in July, although a record low of −20 °F (−29 °C) was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of 103 °F (39 °C) was recorded in August 2007. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 3.16 inches (80 mm) in October to 5.16 inches (131 mm) in May.^[5]

Major highways

• 
  Interstate 24
  


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  Interstate 57
  


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  U.S. Route 45
  


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  Illinois Route 37
  


• 
  Illinois Route 146
  


• 
  Illinois Route 147
  


• 
  Illinois Route 166
  

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

2000 census age pyramid for Johnson County, skewed toward male because of the Vienna Correctional Center, an Illinois State Prison for men.^[11]

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)

2000

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 12,582 people, 4,584 households, and 3,270 families residing in the county.^[12] The population density was 36.6 inhabitants per square mile (14.1/km²). There were 5,598 housing units at an average density of 16.3 per square mile (6.3/km²).^[4] 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.^[12] In terms of ancestry, 17.6% were German, 11.5% were Irish, 10.9% were English, and 6.5% were American.^[13]

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.^[12]

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.^[14]

Communities

City

• Vienna

Villages

• Belknap


• Buncombe


• Cypress


• Goreville


• New Burnside


• Simpson

Unincorporated communities

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.

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 rivalled on a per capita basis only by a few fiercely Unionist counties in Appalachia.^[15][16]

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. Douglas in 1860 remains the last Democrat to win a majority of the county’s vote: the solitary Democratic victory since was by Bill Clinton in 1992 and was due to Ross Perot taking many votes from Republican incumbent George Bush senior. In 2016, as was typical of the rural Upland South, Hillary Clinton fared extremely badly in Johnson County: despite the long-time Republican traditions of the county, her vote percentage was the lowest by any Democrat in the county’s history, but was very typical of her performance in the region due to opposition to the Democratic Party’s liberal views on social issues like homosexuality.^[17]

See also

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

References

Further reading

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

Coordinates: 37°28′N 88°52′W / 37.46°N 88.87°W / 37.46; -88.87