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Fulton County, Illinois
Courthouse columns at Oak Hill Cemetery
The old courthouse columns at Oak Hill Cemetery
Map of Illinois highlighting Fulton County
Location in the state of Illinois
Map of the U.S
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded 1823
Named for Robert Fulton
Seat Lewistown
Largest city Canton
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

883 sq mi (2,287 km²)
866 sq mi (2,243 km²)
17 sq mi (44 km²), 1.9
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

33,609
Congressional district 17th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.fultonco.org

Fulton County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 33,609.[1] Its county seat is Lewistown,[2] and the largest city is Canton. Fulton County comprises the Canton, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the Peoria-Canton, IL Combined Statistical Area.

Patrick O'Brian is the Chairman of the Fulton County Board. Mike Hays was the County Administrator until the position was eliminated.

The current Miss Fulton County (2019) is Alexandra Chamberlin of Canton, IL.

History[]

Fulton County was organized in 1823 from Pike County. It is named for Robert Fulton, developer of the first commercially successful steamboat.[3] American poet/writer Edgar Lee Masters lived in Fulton County during the 1890s; he later became famous for the Spoon River Anthology, written in 1915. Fulton County was home to Camp Ellis during World War II.

The county is known for the annual Spoon River Scenic Drive which occurs the first 2 weekends in October. This has been a tradition since 1968 and attracts thousands of participants from all over the country.

Fulton County is home to the Ogden-Fettie Site, a significant site for Havana Hopewell Native culture. It is the largest collection of Woodland Mounds in Illinois, with 35 Mounds, dating from 400 BCE, arranged in a crescent.

Geography[]

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 883 square miles (2,290 km2), of which 866 square miles (2,240 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) (1.9%) is water.[5]

Fulton County is the site of Dickson Mounds Museum, a state museum of Native American daily life in the Illinois River valley.

Climate and weather[]

Climate chart for Lewistown, Illinois
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
1.85
 
32
14
 
 
1.94
 
38
19
 
 
3.02
 
50
30
 
 
3.45
 
63
40
 
 
4.43
 
74
51
 
 
3.81
 
84
60
 
 
3.87
 
88
64
 
 
3.45
 
86
61
 
 
3.21
 
80
52
 
 
2.86
 
68
41
 
 
3.26
 
51
30
 
 
2.63
 
37
19
temperatures in °Cprecipitation totals in mm
source: The Weather Channel[6]

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Lewistown have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −30 °F (−34.4 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 106 °F (41 °C) was recorded in July 1983. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.85 inches (47 mm) in January to 4.43 inches (113 mm) in May.[6]

Adjacent counties[]

National protected area[]

  • Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge

Transportation[]

Major highways[]

  • US 24 US Route 24
  • US 136 US Route 136
  • Illinois 9 Illinois Route 9
  • Illinois 41 Illinois Route 41
  • Illinois 78 Illinois Route 78
  • Illinois 95 Illinois Route 95
  • Illinois 97 Illinois Route 97
  • Illinois 100 Illinois Route 100
  • Illinois 116 Illinois Route 116

Airport[]

The county contains one public-use airport: Ingersoll Airport (CTK), located in Canton.[7]

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1830 1,841
1840 13,142 613.9%
1850 22,508 71.3%
1860 33,338 48.1%
1870 38,291 14.9%
1880 41,240 7.7%
1890 43,110 4.5%
1900 46,201 7.2%
1910 49,549 7.2%
1920 48,163 −2.8%
1930 43,983 −8.7%
1940 44,627 1.5%
1950 43,716 −2.0%
1960 41,954 −4.0%
1970 41,890 −0.2%
1980 43,687 4.3%
1990 38,080 −12.8%
2000 38,250 0.4%
2010 37,069 −3.1%
US Decennial Census[8]
1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10]
1990-2000[11] 2010-2020[1]
USA Fulton County, Illinois age pyramid

2000 census age pyramid for Fulton County

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 37,069 people, 14,536 households, and 9,744 families residing in the county.[12] The population density was 42.8 inhabitants per square mile (16.5 /km2). There were 16,195 housing units at an average density of 18.7 per square mile (7.2 /km2).[5] The racial makeup of the county was 93.4% white, 3.4% black or African American, 0.4% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.4% of the population.[12] In terms of ancestry, 23.7% were German, 19.1% were American, 14.0% were English, and 13.2% were Irish.[13]

Of the 14,536 households, 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.0% were non-families, and 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 41.9 years.[12]

The median income for a household in the county was $41,268 and the median income for a family was $50,596. Males had a median income of $41,376 versus $28,596 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,309. About 9.9% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.[14]

Communities[]

Cities[]

Town[]

  • Astoria

Villages[]

  • Avon
  • Banner
  • Bryant
  • Dunfermline
  • Ellisville
  • Fairview
  • Ipava
  • Liverpool
  • London Mills
  • Marietta
  • Norris
  • Smithfield
  • St. David
  • Table Grove
  • Vermont

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Babylon
  • Beaty
  • Bernadotte
  • Blyton
  • Breeds
  • Brereton
  • Checkrow
  • Depler Springs
  • Duncan Mills
  • Enion
  • Fiatt
  • Gilchrist
  • Leesburg
  • Little America
  • Manley
  • Maples Mill
  • Marbletown
  • Middlegrove
  • Monterey
  • Poverty Ridge
  • Rawalts
  • Sepo
  • Seville
  • Summum

Townships[]

  • Astoria
  • Banner
  • Bernadotte
  • Buckheart
  • Canton
  • Cass
  • Deerfield
  • Ellisville
  • Fairview
  • Farmers
  • Farmington
  • Harris
  • Isabel
  • Joshua
  • Kerton
  • Lee
  • Lewistown
  • Liverpool
  • Orion
  • Pleasant
  • Putman
  • Union
  • Vermont
  • Waterford
  • Woodland
  • Young Hickory

Bases[]

  • Camp Ellis

Politics[]

In its early years, Fulton County favored the Democratic Party, being one of the northernmost Democratic counties and the nearest to Yankee, then solidly Republican Northern Illinois. It was never won by a Republican until the Democratic Party moved towards the Populist Party’s policies under William Jennings Bryan, a change which resulted in the county voting Republican except in landslide victories between 1896 and 1960. In that period, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 was the solitary Democratic presidential candidate to gain a majority of the county’s vote.

However, the 1964 election saw the county trend Democratic – so much so that Hubert Humphrey gained a narrow plurality in his 1968 election loss. Despite not going Democratic again until 1988, the party would always remain competitive in the county, and between 1988 and 2012 every Democratic presidential candidate gained a majority in Fulton County. However, concern over economic decline in the “Rust Belt” saw Donald Trump produce a dramatic swing in the 2016 election, winning Fulton County by fifteen percentage points and gaining the best GOP record in the county since 1980.

United States presidential election results for Fulton County, Illinois[15]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 9,867 59.00% 6,503 38.88% 354 2.12%
2016 8,492 53.76% 6,133 38.82% 1,172 7.42%
2012 6,632 43.03% 8,328 54.04% 451 2.93%
2008 6,251 38.19% 9,732 59.45% 386 2.36%
2004 7,818 45.89% 9,080 53.30% 137 0.80%
2000 6,936 42.61% 8,940 54.92% 401 2.46%
1996 5,155 32.82% 8,857 56.39% 1,694 10.79%
1992 5,062 28.60% 9,725 54.94% 2,914 16.46%
1988 6,999 43.45% 9,046 56.16% 63 0.39%
1984 9,147 49.77% 9,131 49.69% 99 0.54%
1980 10,316 54.42% 7,481 39.46% 1,160 6.12%
1976 9,588 50.23% 9,314 48.79% 188 0.98%
1972 12,328 61.80% 7,529 37.74% 92 0.46%
1968 9,582 46.72% 9,622 46.92% 1,305 6.36%
1964 7,785 37.40% 13,030 62.60% 0 0.00%
1960 11,999 53.93% 10,194 45.81% 58 0.26%
1956 12,375 58.58% 8,702 41.19% 48 0.23%
1952 13,302 61.13% 8,414 38.67% 44 0.20%
1948 9,504 53.00% 8,226 45.87% 203 1.13%
1944 11,117 54.96% 8,946 44.22% 166 0.82%
1940 12,816 50.80% 12,198 48.35% 214 0.85%
1936 10,130 43.25% 12,864 54.92% 428 1.83%
1932 7,579 36.77% 12,144 58.92% 888 4.31%
1928 10,600 59.95% 6,591 37.28% 489 2.77%
1924 8,664 48.35% 5,011 27.96% 4,246 23.69%
1920 9,523 59.25% 5,293 32.93% 1,256 7.81%
1916 9,735 48.50% 8,686 43.28% 1,650 8.22%
1912 3,334 27.33% 3,902 31.98% 4,965 40.69%
1908 6,077 50.54% 4,906 40.80% 1,042 8.67%
1904 6,373 56.67% 3,791 33.71% 1,082 9.62%
1900 6,130 50.16% 5,762 47.15% 329 2.69%
1896 6,195 50.35% 5,979 48.60% 129 1.05%
1892 4,948 45.72% 5,253 48.54% 621 5.74%



In popular culture[]

The fictional town of Lanford, Illinois in the sitcom Roseanne is set in Fulton County. Even though Fulton County is near Peoria in real life, Lanford on the show is described as a suburb of Chicago near Elgin and Aurora.

See also[]

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

Notes[]

References[]

Specific
  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17057.html. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off.. pp. 133. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ. 
  4. ^ White, Jesse. Origin and Evolution of Illinois Counties. State of Illinois, March 2010. "Archived copy". http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/ipub15.pdf. 
  5. ^ 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.CY10/0500000US17057. 
  6. ^ a b "Monthly Averages for Lewistown IL". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0664. 
  7. ^ "Fulton County Public and Private Airports". http://www.tollfreeairline.com/illinois/fulton.htm. 
  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". US 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/DPDP1/0500000US17057. 
  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/DP02/0500000US17057. 
  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/DP03/0500000US17057. 
  15. ^ Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 
General

External links[]

Coordinates: 40°29′N 90°13′W / 40.48, -90.21


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Fulton 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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