Perry County, Illinois

Perry County is a county in Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 20,945.^[1] Its county seat is Pinckneyville.^[2] It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known as "Little Egypt".

Perry County
County
Perry County Courthouse in Pinckneyville
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°05′N 89°22′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	January 29, 1827
Named for	Oliver Hazard Perry
Seat	Pinckneyville
Largest city	Du Quoin
Area
• Total	447 sq mi (1,160 km2)
• Land	442 sq mi (1,140 km2)
• Water	5.2 sq mi (13 km2)  1.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	20,945
• Density	47/sq mi (18/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	12th
Website	perryil.com

History

Perry County was formed in 1827 out of Jackson and Randolph counties. It was named in honor of Oliver Hazard Perry who defeated the British fleet at the decisive Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.

• 
  Perry County at the time of its creation in 1827

In its early history, Perry County was mainly an inland pioneer outpost. Early settlers, including some Revolutionary War veterans bearing land grants, moved here from the Eastern United States. These were primarily Protestant settlers. Growth boomed in the 1850s for two reasons: construction of the Illinois Central Railroad through the eastern portion of the county, and the discovery of large coal reserves. Immigrants from Ireland, Poland, Germany, Italy and elsewhere steadily increased the county's population from 1850 through the 1920s. African Americans also were established in the county during northward migration following the Civil War.

Mining continued to be the dominant employment sector through the 1990s.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 447 square miles (1,160 km²), of which 442 square miles (1,140 km²) is land and 5.2 square miles (13 km²) (1.2%) is water.^[3]

Perry County is located in Southern Illinois. Pinckneyville, at the center of the county, is approximately 70 miles (110 km) southeast of St. Louis, Missouri and 300 miles (480 km) southwest of Chicago. The Mississippi River lies about 10 miles (16 km) west and southwest of the County at its closest point.

The county's topography is mainly flat with some rolling hills. The part of the county's eastern border, the part shared with Franklin County, is formed by the Little Muddy River. Beaucoup Creek runs north to south through the county and lies just east of Pinckneyville.

The county's topography also features many "strip cut" lakes, lakes left behind following above-ground coal mining. Lakes at two of the county's chief recreation areas, the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds and Pyramid State Recreation Area, were formed this way.

Climate and weather

Pinckneyville, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.8     40 22     2.6     46 26     4.3     57 36     4.3     68 45     4.8     77 55     4.2     86 64     3.5     90 68     3.3     88 65     3.3     81 57     3.2     71 45     4.4     56 36     3.5     44 26 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[4]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     70     4 −6     66     8 −3     109     14 2     108     20 7     122     25 13     107     30 18     90     32 20     85     31 18     83     27 14     81     22 7     113     13 2     88     7 −3 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Pinckneyville have ranged from a low of 22 °F (−6 °C) in January to a high of 90 °F (32 °C) in July, although a record low of −22 °F (−30 °C) was recorded in January 1912 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 1934. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.61 inches (66 mm) in February to 4.81 inches (122 mm) in May.^[4]

Public transit

• South Central Transit
• Du Quoin station

Major highways

• U.S. Route 51
• Illinois Route 4
• Illinois Route 13
• Illinois Route 14
• Illinois Route 127
• Illinois Route 150
• Illinois Route 152
• Illinois Route 154

Adjacent counties

• Washington County - north
• Jefferson County - northeast
• Franklin County - east
• Jackson County - south
• Randolph County - west

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	1,215		—
1840	3,222		165.2%
1850	5,278		63.8%
1860	9,552		81.0%
1870	13,723		43.7%
1880	16,007		16.6%
1890	17,529		9.5%
1900	19,830		13.1%
1910	22,088		11.4%
1920	22,901		3.7%
1930	22,767		−0.6%
1940	23,438		2.9%
1950	21,684		−7.5%
1960	19,184		−11.5%
1970	19,757		3.0%
1980	21,714		9.9%
1990	21,412		−1.4%
2000	23,094		7.9%
2010	22,350		−3.2%
2020	20,945		−6.3%
2023 (est.)	20,503	[5]	−2.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8] 1990-2000[9] 2010[10]

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 22,350 people, 8,335 households, and 5,622 families residing in the county.^[11] The population density was 50.6 inhabitants per square mile (19.5/km²). There were 9,426 housing units at an average density of 21.3 per square mile (8.2/km²).^[3] The racial makeup of the county was 87.9% white, 8.3% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.6% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.7% of the population.^[11] In terms of ancestry, 32.8% were German, 14.3% were Irish, 10.6% were English, 8.1% were American, and 6.3% were Polish.^[12]

Of the 8,335 households, 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.5% were non-families, and 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 39.4 years.^[11]

The median income for a household in the county was $40,696 and the median income for a family was $50,130. Males had a median income of $40,768 versus $28,377 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,926. About 11.5% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.6% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.^[13]

Communities

Perry County never adopted a township form of government. Federal township plats were prepared for each township which include legal descriptions of 14 townships.^[14]

Perry County has been divided into precincts: Beaucoup, Cutler, Denmark, DuQuoin, Paradise, Pinckneyville, Sunfield, Swanwick, Tamaroa and Willisville.^[15] To provide election precincts of similar population based on recent census data, precincts are divided or combined to form election precincts. The election precincts in 2020 were: Beaucoup, Cutler, Du Quoin Number 1, Du Quoin Number 2, Du Quoin Number 3, Du Quoin Number 4, Du Quoin Number 5, Du Quoin Number 6, Du Quoin Number 7, Du Quoin Number 8, Du Quoin Number 9, Du Quoin Number 10, Du Quoin Number 11, Du Quoin Number 12, Pinckneyville Number 1, Pinckneyville Number 2, Pinckneyville Number 3, Pinckneyville Number 4, Pinckneyville Number 5, Pinckneyville Number 6, Pinckneyville Number 7, Pinckneyville Number 8, Sunfield, Swanwick, Tamaroa Number 1, Tamaroa Number 2, and Willisville.^[16]

Cities

• Du Quoin
• Pinckneyville

Villages

• Cutler
• St. Johns
• Tamaroa
• Willisville

Unincorporated communities

• Conant
• Denmark
• Denny
• Layfield
• Matthews
• Old Du Quoin
• Pyatts
• Rice
• Sunfield
• Swanwick
• Todds Mill
• Winkle

Politics

Perry County has been reliably Republican county since 2012, when it backed Mitt Romney (R) by nearly 18 points over Illinois native Barack Obama, even as Obama won both Illinois and the country. By 2020 it was so heavily Republican that incumbent Donald Trump beat Democrat Joe Biden by nearly 45 points in his bid for reelection, even as Biden won the race nationally (and Illinois). The county last voted blue, by a very narrow margin of 0.6%, in 2000. The table below includes a list of Perry County's election results at the presidential level.

United States presidential election results for Perry County, Illinois^[17]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	6,949	75.14%	2,146	23.21%	153	1.65%
2020	7,313	72.61%	2,612	25.94%	146	1.45%
2016	6,855	69.42%	2,462	24.93%	557	5.64%
2012	5,507	57.67%	3,819	39.99%	223	2.34%
2008	5,086	50.89%	4,701	47.03%	208	2.08%
2004	5,589	53.61%	4,770	45.76%	66	0.63%
2000	4,802	48.30%	4,862	48.90%	278	2.80%
1996	3,237	32.63%	5,347	53.90%	1,337	13.48%
1992	3,105	28.01%	6,009	54.20%	1,972	17.79%
1988	4,576	46.78%	5,167	52.83%	38	0.39%
1984	5,852	55.88%	4,584	43.77%	36	0.34%
1980	5,888	55.49%	4,337	40.88%	385	3.63%
1976	5,286	46.39%	5,976	52.44%	133	1.17%
1972	6,968	62.98%	4,084	36.91%	12	0.11%
1968	5,384	49.02%	4,449	40.51%	1,150	10.47%
1964	4,287	39.24%	6,639	60.76%	0	0.00%
1960	6,708	57.47%	4,958	42.48%	6	0.05%
1956	6,513	57.06%	4,901	42.94%	0	0.00%
1952	6,580	55.19%	5,340	44.79%	3	0.03%
1948	5,109	49.96%	5,043	49.32%	74	0.72%
1944	6,236	56.97%	4,677	42.73%	33	0.30%
1940	7,243	52.35%	6,539	47.26%	55	0.40%
1936	5,482	42.94%	7,043	55.16%	243	1.90%
1932	3,778	32.85%	7,400	64.34%	324	2.82%
1928	4,636	47.47%	5,029	51.49%	101	1.03%
1924	3,693	39.76%	3,007	32.37%	2,589	27.87%
1920	4,598	58.47%	2,478	31.51%	788	10.02%
1916	4,796	49.70%	4,445	46.07%	408	4.23%
1912	894	18.89%	2,107	44.53%	1,731	36.58%
1908	2,392	46.27%	2,482	48.01%	296	5.73%
1904	2,451	52.65%	1,466	31.49%	738	15.85%
1900	2,336	48.25%	2,321	47.94%	184	3.80%
1896	2,342	48.57%	2,370	49.15%	110	2.28%
1892	1,840	44.14%	1,980	47.49%	349	8.37%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Perry County

References

1. "Perry County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
4. "Monthly Averages for Pinckneyville, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
5. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
8. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
9. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
10. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
11. "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
12. "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
13. "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
14. T4S_R1W_3PM (1). Perry County Township Plats. U.S. Surveyor General's Records for Illinois: Federal Township Plats. Illinois State Archives. Accessed July 25, 2021.
15. Perry County, IL History. Accessed Jul 2021.
16. Illinois Gazeteer: Perry County. Hometown Locator. Accessed July 2021.
17. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 11, 2018.

38.09°N 89.37°W / 38.09; -89.37