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.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 624 sqmi, of which 623 sqmi is land and 0.6 sqmi (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 in January to a high of 86 °F in July, although a record low of -23 °F was recorded in January 1930 and a record high of 109 °F was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.23 in in January to 4.43 in in July.

Adjacent counties

Transportation

Major highways

Rail

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

Transit

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 PD/sqmi. There were 8,803 housing units at an average density of 14.1 /sqmi. 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

Villages

Unincorporated communities

Former communities

Townships

Notable people

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.