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Ford County, Illinois
Ford County Courthouse in Paxton
Ford County Courthouse in Paxton
Map of Illinois highlighting Ford County
Location in the state of Illinois
Map of the U.S
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded February 17, 1859
Named for Thomas Ford
Seat Paxton
Largest city Paxton
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

486 sq mi (1,259 km²)
486 sq mi (1,259 km²)
0.6 sq mi (2 km²), 0.1
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

13,534
Congressional districts 15th, 16th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.fordcountycourthouse.com

Ford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 13,534.[1] Its county seat is Paxton.[2] Ford County was part of the ChampaignUrbana, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area until 2018, when the Office of Management and Budget removed the county from the area.[3][4]

History[]

Ford County was formed February 17, 1859 making it Illinois's "newest" county. It was created at the behest of some residents of Vermilion County, who complained to the General Assembly that they lived too far from the county seat. Ford County was named after Thomas Ford, the Governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846.[5]

Geography[]

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 486 square miles (1,260 km2), of which 486 square miles (1,260 km2) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) (0.1%) is water.[6]

Climate and weather[]

Climate chart for Paxton, Illinois
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
1.66
 
30
14
 
 
1.40
 
35
19
 
 
3.17
 
48
29
 
 
3.41
 
61
39
 
 
4.38
 
72
50
 
 
3.47
 
82
59
 
 
3.75
 
85
62
 
 
3.26
 
83
60
 
 
3.20
 
77
53
 
 
3.30
 
65
41
 
 
3.02
 
49
31
 
 
3.04
 
35
20
temperatures in °Cprecipitation totals in mm
source: The Weather Channel[7]

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paxton have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−31.7 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.40 inches (36 mm) in February to 4.38 inches (111 mm) in May.[7]

Adjacent counties[]

Major highways[]

  • I-57 Interstate 57
  • US 24 US Route 24
  • US 45 US Route 45
  • Illinois 9 Illinois Route 9
  • Illinois 47 Illinois Route 47
  • Illinois 54 Illinois Route 54
  • Illinois 115 Illinois Route 115
  • Illinois 116 Illinois Route 116

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1860 1,979
1870 9,103 360.0%
1880 15,099 65.9%
1890 17,035 12.8%
1900 18,359 7.8%
1910 17,096 −6.9%
1920 16,466 −3.7%
1930 15,489 −5.9%
1940 15,007 −3.1%
1950 15,901 6.0%
1960 16,606 4.4%
1970 16,382 −1.3%
1980 15,265 −6.8%
1990 14,275 −6.5%
2000 14,241 −0.2%
2010 14,081 −1.1%
US Decennial Census[8]
1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10]
1990-2000[11] 2010-2020[1]
USA Ford County, Illinois age pyramid

2000 census age pyramid for Ford County

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 14,081 people, 5,676 households, and 3,798 families living in the county.[12] The population density was 29.0 inhabitants per square mile (11.2 /km2). There were 6,282 housing units at an average density of 12.9 per square mile (5.0 /km2).[6] The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population.[12] In terms of ancestry, 35.7% were German, 15.5% were Irish, 13.6% were American, and 10.4% were English.[13]

Of the 5,676 households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.1% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 42.4 years.[12]

The median income for a household in the county was $48,667 and the median income for a family was $62,819. Males had a median income of $43,849 versus $30,136 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,401. About 5.4% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.[14]

Communities[]

Map of Ford County Illinois

Map of Ford County

Cities[]

  • Gibson City
  • Paxton

Villages[]

  • Cabery
  • Elliott
  • Kempton
  • Melvin
  • Piper City
  • Roberts
  • Sibley

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Clarence
  • Guthrie
  • Perdueville
  • Stelle

Extinct settlements[]

  • Ten Mile Grove

Townships[]

  • Brenton
  • Button
  • Dix
  • Drummer
  • Lyman
  • Mona
  • Patton
  • Peach Orchard
  • Pella
  • Rogers
  • Sullivant
  • Wall

Politics[]

Ford County is one of the state's most consistently Republican counties; since its 1859 organization it has voted for Republican presidential candidates in all but two elections. In 1912, the GOP was mortally divided and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt carried the county over the more conservative official nominee William Howard Taft; in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt in the first of his four campaigns became and has remained the only Democrat to carry Ford County. Since 1968 no Democratic presidential candidate has topped 36% of the county's vote, and since the county first formed only three Democrats – all in landslide national victories – have managed 40% of Ford County's votes.

After the Libertarian Party's success in the 1998 election for Ford County Sheriff and other countywide offices, it achieved established party status. At the time this made Ford County the only county in Illinois with three established parties. Due to its second place showing over the then-dormant Democratic Party in that election, the Libertarians received the minority party's seat on the Board of Review and one of the five seats on the Sheriff's Merit Commission.[15] This status was lost by 2002 after the Libertarian Party failed to field any candidates in the 2002 general election.[16]

President Gerald Ford visited Ford County on October 24, 1974, to mark the retirement of Congressman Leslie C. Arends of Melvin who served in Congress for 40 years, including over 30 years as Republican Minority Whip.[17]

United States presidential election results for Ford County, Illinois[18]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 5,048 72.46% 1,754 25.18% 165 2.37%
2016 4,480 70.04% 1,414 22.11% 502 7.85%
2012 4,229 70.20% 1,656 27.49% 139 2.31%
2008 4,079 63.73% 2,227 34.80% 94 1.47%
2004 4,511 69.62% 1,912 29.51% 56 0.86%
2000 3,889 63.20% 2,090 33.97% 174 2.83%
1996 3,077 53.33% 2,065 35.79% 628 10.88%
1992 3,046 47.00% 2,175 33.56% 1,260 19.44%
1988 4,059 66.05% 2,026 32.97% 60 0.98%
1984 4,871 73.11% 1,763 26.46% 29 0.44%
1980 5,024 69.64% 1,803 24.99% 387 5.36%
1976 4,801 63.56% 2,690 35.61% 62 0.82%
1972 5,656 74.51% 1,934 25.48% 1 0.01%
1968 5,233 65.38% 2,216 27.69% 555 6.93%
1964 4,650 57.57% 3,427 42.43% 0 0.00%
1960 5,779 68.16% 2,698 31.82% 1 0.01%
1956 6,027 73.66% 2,152 26.30% 3 0.04%
1952 6,216 74.49% 2,121 25.42% 8 0.10%
1948 4,903 69.89% 2,079 29.64% 33 0.47%
1944 5,317 69.91% 2,270 29.85% 18 0.24%
1940 5,770 65.11% 3,062 34.55% 30 0.34%
1936 4,524 53.79% 3,715 44.17% 171 2.03%
1932 3,342 43.88% 4,175 54.82% 99 1.30%
1928 4,668 68.72% 2,098 30.88% 27 0.40%
1924 4,672 70.53% 1,093 16.50% 859 12.97%
1920 4,995 82.40% 958 15.80% 109 1.80%
1916 4,670 66.31% 2,054 29.16% 319 4.53%
1912 832 22.44% 1,035 27.91% 1,841 49.65%
1908 2,617 65.59% 1,164 29.17% 209 5.24%
1904 2,836 71.22% 926 23.25% 220 5.52%
1900 2,936 64.87% 1,469 32.46% 121 2.67%
1896 2,832 64.28% 1,507 34.20% 67 1.52%
1892 2,227 58.41% 1,359 35.64% 227 5.95%



See also[]

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

References[]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17053.html. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ Office of Management and Budget (10 April 2018). "OMB Bulletin No. 18-03: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas". https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/OMB-BULLETIN-NO.-18-03-Final.pdf. 
  4. ^ Office of Management and Budget (14 September 2018). "OMB Bulletin No. 18-04: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas". https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Bulletin-18-04.pdf. 
  5. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off.. p. 128. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ. 
  6. ^ a b "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". US Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY10/0500000US17053. 
  7. ^ a b "Monthly Averages for Paxton IL". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0928. 
  8. ^ "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  9. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  10. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/il190090.txt. 
  11. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". US Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  12. ^ a b c "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". US Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US17053. 
  13. ^ "Selected Social Characteristics in the United States – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US17053. 
  14. ^ "Selected Economic Characteristics – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US17053. 
  15. ^ Stahly, Jim (June 3, 1999). "Libertarians Make History in Ford County". The Pantagraph: p. A1. 
  16. ^ "Election 2002". The Pantagraph: p. A1. November 7, 2002. 
  17. ^ Welcome to Paxton Archived 12 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine, accessed February 15, 2011.
  18. ^ Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 

External links[]

  • History of Ford County - Information from Centurama Celebrating The First 100 Years of Ford County, Illinois 1859-1959

Coordinates: 40°35′N 88°13′W / 40.59, -88.22

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Ford County, Illinois. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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