# Menard County, Illinois

Menard County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 12,297. Its county seat is Petersburg. Menard County is part of the Springfield, Illinois metropolitan area.

## History

Menard County was formed in 1839 out of Sangamon County. The County was named for Pierre Menard, the first lieutenant governor of Illinois.
* Menard County at the time of its creation in 1839
* Menard County in 1841, reduced to its present borders

## Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of 315 square miles (820 km$^2$), of which 314 square miles (810 km$^2$) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km$^2$) (0.3%) is water.

### Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Petersburg have ranged from a low of 17 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −24 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in February 1905 and a record high of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.62 inches (41 mm) in January to 4.06 inches (103 mm) in May.

### Major highways

* Illinois Route 29
* Illinois Route 97
* Illinois Route 123

### Adjacent counties

* Mason County - north
* Logan County - east
* Sangamon County - south
* Cass County - west

## Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 12,705 people, 5,140 households, and 3,683 families living in the county. The population density was 40.4 inhabitants per square mile (15.6/km$^2$). There were 5,654 housing units at an average density of 18.0 per square mile (6.9/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 97.5% white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.5% were German, 20.8% were American, 15.6% were Irish, and 14.3% were English.
Of the 5,140 households, 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.3% were non-families, and 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 42.6 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $56,230 and the median income for a family was $65,882. Males had a median income of $42,408 versus $36,735 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,281. About 6.1% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities
### Cities

* Athens
* Petersburg (seat)

### Villages

* Greenview
* Oakford
* Tallula

### Census-designated place

* Lake Petersburg

### Other unincorporated communities

* Atterberry
* Bobtown
* Croft
* Culver
* Curtis
* Fancy Prairie
* Hill Top
* Hilltop
* Hubly
* Lewisburg
* Loyd
* New Salem
* Old Salem Chautauqua
* Sweet Water
* Tice

## Politics and county government

Illinois counties have the option of using or rejecting the township form of providing local services. In Illinois, only 16 of the state's 102 counties have opted out of the township system; Menard County is one of the sixteen.
In the years before World War I, Menard was a German Catholic and thus Democratic county, opposed to the pietism of Yankee Protestant Northern Illinois. Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 was the only Republican to carry the county in this time span.
However, resistance against Woodrow Wilson’s participatory attitude during World War I allowed Charles Evans Hughes to carry Menard County in 1916 by a mere four votes (Hughes lost the national election). Since then, as German hostility to Wilson hardened, Menard has become a strongly Republican county. The only Democrats who have carried Menard County since 1916 have been Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, and Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Apart from these three 400-electoral vote Democratic landslides, George H. W. Bush in 1992 is the sole Republican candidate since 1920 to fail to win a majority in Menard County. Jimmy Carter and Illinois-bred Barack Obama are the only Democrats since 1964 to reach forty percent of Menard County’s vote. The last two elections have seen a large swing against the Democrats, common to all of rural downstate Illinois.
United States presidential election results for Menard County, Illinois :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 4,499 | 69.69% | 1,834 | 28.41% | 123 | 1.91% |
| 2020 | 4,764 | 68.51% | 2,022 | 29.08% | 168 | 2.42% |
| 2016 | 4,231 | 64.94% | 1,817 | 27.89% | 467 | 7.17% |
| 2012 | 3,948 | 64.18% | 2,100 | 34.14% | 103 | 1.67% |
| 2008 | 3,672 | 56.69% | 2,706 | 41.78% | 99 | 1.53% |
| 2004 | 4,408 | 67.05% | 2,137 | 32.51% | 29 | 0.44% |
| 2000 | 3,862 | 62.27% | 2,164 | 34.89% | 176 | 2.84% |
| 1996 | 3,106 | 52.93% | 2,204 | 37.56% | 558 | 9.51% |
| 1992 | 2,834 | 44.99% | 2,264 | 35.94% | 1,201 | 19.07% |
| 1988 | 3,560 | 62.40% | 2,103 | 36.86% | 42 | 0.74% |
| 1984 | 3,925 | 68.07% | 1,826 | 31.67% | 15 | 0.26% |
| 1980 | 3,622 | 65.45% | 1,589 | 28.71% | 323 | 5.84% |
| 1976 | 3,137 | 57.25% | 2,301 | 42.00% | 41 | 0.75% |
| 1972 | 3,657 | 69.49% | 1,587 | 30.15% | 19 | 0.36% |
| 1968 | 2,980 | 59.66% | 1,640 | 32.83% | 375 | 7.51% |
| 1964 | 2,322 | 48.24% | 2,491 | 51.76% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 3,120 | 60.08% | 2,068 | 39.82% | 5 | 0.10% |
| 1956 | 3,188 | 63.44% | 1,833 | 36.48% | 4 | 0.08% |
| 1952 | 3,307 | 62.92% | 1,946 | 37.02% | 3 | 0.06% |
| 1948 | 2,899 | 58.35% | 2,043 | 41.12% | 26 | 0.52% |
| 1944 | 3,013 | 61.17% | 1,888 | 38.33% | 25 | 0.51% |
| 1940 | 3,531 | 54.68% | 2,894 | 44.81% | 33 | 0.51% |
| 1936 | 3,067 | 48.86% | 3,152 | 50.22% | 58 | 0.92% |
| 1932 | 2,327 | 39.96% | 3,453 | 59.30% | 43 | 0.74% |
| 1928 | 3,243 | 64.54% | 1,742 | 34.67% | 40 | 0.80% |
| 1924 | 2,931 | 56.18% | 1,954 | 37.45% | 332 | 6.36% |
| 1920 | 2,882 | 59.19% | 1,864 | 38.28% | 123 | 2.53% |
| 1916 | 2,693 | 48.45% | 2,689 | 48.38% | 176 | 3.17% |
| 1912 | 620 | 19.53% | 1,530 | 48.19% | 1,025 | 32.28% |
| 1908 | 1,600 | 45.56% | 1,748 | 49.77% | 164 | 4.67% |
| 1904 | 1,705 | 49.46% | 1,506 | 43.69% | 236 | 6.85% |
| 1900 | 1,632 | 43.25% | 2,078 | 55.08% | 63 | 1.67% |
| 1896 | 1,642 | 44.28% | 2,018 | 54.42% | 48 | 1.29% |
| 1892 | 1,278 | 39.03% | 1,748 | 53.39% | 248 | 7.57% |

## Education

K-12 School districts include:
* A-C Central Community Unit School District 262
* Athens Community Unit School District 213
* Greenview Community Unit School District 200
* Mount Pulaski Community Unit District 23
* Porta Community Unit School District 202
* Pleasant Plains Community Unit School District 8
* Williamsville Community Unit School District 15
There is also an elementary school district, New Holland-Middletown Elementary School District 88, and a secondary school district, Lincoln Community High School District 404.