# Edgar County, Illinois

Edgar County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,866. Its county seat is Paris.

## History

Edgar County was formed out of Clark County in 1823. It was named for John Edgar, an Irish-born officer in the Royal Navy who resigned rather than fight against the Americans in the Revolutionary War. Edgar moved to Kaskaskia, Illinois, in 1784, becoming a miller and merchant in that town.
* Edgar County (1823), with unorganized territory attached to it.
* Edgar County (1825–1826)
* Edgar County (1826–1830)
* Edgar County (1830–present), with the additional territory incorporated into Coles County

## Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 624 square miles (1,620 km$^2$), of which 623 square miles (1,610 km$^2$) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km$^2$) (0.1%) is water.
There is one recreational area in the county, on the north edge of Paris. Twin Lakes Park and Reservoir began in 1895 upon completion of the dam compounding the Twin Lakes Reservoir.

### Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paris have ranged from a low of 16 °F (−9 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −23 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1930 and a record high of 109 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.23 inches (57 mm) in January to 4.43 inches (113 mm) in July.

### Adjacent counties

* Vermilion County – north
* Vermillion County, Indiana – northeast
* Vigo County, Indiana – southeast
* Clark County – south
* Coles County – southwest
* Douglas County – west
* Champaign County – northwest

## Transportation
### Major highways

* US Route 36
* US Route 150
* Illinois Route 1
* Illinois Route 16
* Illinois Route 49
* Illinois Route 133

### Rail

Three railroad lines run through the county. Two are operated by CSX Transportation and the third by the Eastern Illinois Railroad Company.

### Transit

* Rides Mass Transit District

### Airport

The county contains one public-use airport: Edgar County Airport (PRG), six miles (10 km) north of Paris.

## Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 18,576 people, 7,839 households, and 5,148 families residing in the county. The population density was 29.8 inhabitants per square mile (11.5/km$^2$). There were 8,803 housing units at an average density of 14.1 per square mile (5.4/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 98.3% white, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 23.6% were German, 15.3% were Irish, 13.0% were English, and 12.3% were American.
Of the 7,839 households, 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.3% were non-families, and 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age was 43.2 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,904 and the median income for a family was $51,588. Males had a median income of $38,945 versus $29,951 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,175. About 9.7% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.2% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities
### Cities

* Chrisman
* Paris (seat)

### Villages

* Brocton
* Hume
* Kansas
* Metcalf
* Redmon
* Vermilion

### Unincorporated communities

* Borton
* Edgar
* Isabel
* Logan
* Nevins
* Oliver
* Patton
* Raven
* Scottland
* Woodyard

### Former communities

* Bell Ridge
* Bloomfield
* Catfish
* Cherry Point
* Clays Prairie
* Conlogue
* Dudley
* Ferrel
* Garland
* Grandview
* Harris
* Hildreth
* Horace
* Huffmanville
* Hughes
* Illiana
* Kentucky
* Kidley
* Logan
* Mabel
* Marley
* Mays
* McCown
* Melwood
* Mortimer
* New Athens
* Palermo
* Quaker
* Scotts
* Warrington
* West Sandford
* Wetzel

### Townships

* Brouilletts Creek
* Buck
* Edgar
* Elbridge
* Embarrass
* Grandview
* Hunter
* Kansas
* Paris
* Prairie
* Ross
* Shiloh
* Stratton
* Symmes
* Young America

## Notable people

* Basil Bennett, Bronze Medalist in the Hammer Throw at the 1920 Olympics
* Offa Neal, professional baseball player with the New York Giants
* Edward Adelbert Doisy, biochemist and Nobel Prize winner
* Frank Fletcher (baseball), professional baseball player with the Philadelphia Phillies

## Politics

A swing county in the first eight decades after the Civil War, Edgar County has since become powerfully Republican. It has been carried by only two Democrats since 1940 – Lyndon Johnson in 1964 by just 139 votes, and Bill Clinton in 1992 by a 41.1 percent plurality. Hillary Clinton’s 22.7 percent vote share in 2016 was by 9.3 percent the worst ever by a Democrat in the county.
United States presidential election results for Edgar County, Illinois :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 5,955 | 75.11% | 1,816 | 22.91% | 157 | 1.98% |
| 2020 | 6,193 | 75.41% | 1,887 | 22.98% | 132 | 1.61% |
| 2016 | 5,645 | 71.46% | 1,793 | 22.70% | 461 | 5.84% |
| 2012 | 5,132 | 65.50% | 2,565 | 32.74% | 138 | 1.76% |
| 2008 | 4,398 | 53.09% | 3,743 | 45.18% | 143 | 1.73% |
| 2004 | 5,258 | 62.38% | 3,093 | 36.69% | 78 | 0.93% |
| 2000 | 4,833 | 58.71% | 3,216 | 39.07% | 183 | 2.22% |
| 1996 | 3,746 | 45.12% | 3,552 | 42.78% | 1,004 | 12.09% |
| 1992 | 3,790 | 38.77% | 4,014 | 41.06% | 1,972 | 20.17% |
| 1988 | 5,538 | 58.55% | 3,880 | 41.02% | 41 | 0.43% |
| 1984 | 6,821 | 67.54% | 3,241 | 32.09% | 37 | 0.37% |
| 1980 | 6,639 | 63.14% | 3,394 | 32.28% | 482 | 4.58% |
| 1976 | 5,842 | 53.01% | 5,058 | 45.89% | 121 | 1.10% |
| 1972 | 7,195 | 64.73% | 3,889 | 34.99% | 32 | 0.29% |
| 1968 | 6,281 | 56.33% | 3,565 | 31.97% | 1,305 | 11.70% |
| 1964 | 5,827 | 49.41% | 5,966 | 50.59% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 7,348 | 59.37% | 5,024 | 40.59% | 4 | 0.03% |
| 1956 | 7,942 | 64.52% | 4,362 | 35.44% | 5 | 0.04% |
| 1952 | 8,323 | 64.56% | 4,558 | 35.36% | 10 | 0.08% |
| 1948 | 6,282 | 54.77% | 5,121 | 44.65% | 67 | 0.58% |
| 1944 | 6,961 | 57.68% | 5,054 | 41.88% | 54 | 0.45% |
| 1940 | 7,985 | 54.03% | 6,713 | 45.42% | 82 | 0.55% |
| 1936 | 6,929 | 46.51% | 7,822 | 52.50% | 147 | 0.99% |
| 1932 | 5,953 | 43.03% | 7,745 | 55.98% | 138 | 1.00% |
| 1928 | 7,509 | 58.27% | 5,325 | 41.32% | 52 | 0.40% |
| 1924 | 6,297 | 52.31% | 5,222 | 43.38% | 518 | 4.30% |
| 1920 | 6,750 | 53.29% | 5,694 | 44.95% | 223 | 1.76% |
| 1916 | 6,099 | 46.37% | 6,710 | 51.01% | 345 | 2.62% |
| 1912 | 2,430 | 32.84% | 3,479 | 47.02% | 1,490 | 20.14% |
| 1908 | 3,757 | 50.46% | 3,433 | 46.11% | 255 | 3.43% |
| 1904 | 3,753 | 50.33% | 3,443 | 46.17% | 261 | 3.50% |
| 1900 | 3,766 | 48.90% | 3,783 | 49.12% | 153 | 1.99% |
| 1896 | 3,822 | 49.80% | 3,729 | 48.59% | 123 | 1.60% |
| 1892 | 3,197 | 47.64% | 3,164 | 47.15% | 350 | 5.22% |