Johnson County

History

Johnson County was organized in 1812 out of Randolph County. It was named for Richard Mentor Johnson, who was then a U.S. Congressman from Kentucky. In 1813, Johnson commanded a Kentucky regiment at the Battle of the Thames, after which he claimed to have killed Tecumseh in hand-to-hand combat. Johnson went on to become Vice President of the United States.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 349 square miles (900 km2), of which 344 square miles (890 km2) is land and 4.9 square miles (13 km2) (1.4%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Vienna have ranged from a low of 25 °F (−4 °C) in January to a high of 90 °F (32 °C) in July, although a record low of −20 °F (−29 °C) was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of 103 °F (39 °C) was recorded in August 2007. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 3.16 inches (80 mm) in October to 5.16 inches (131 mm) in May.

Major highways

Interstate 24

Interstate 57

U.S. Route 45

Illinois Route 37

Illinois Route 146

Illinois Route 147

Illinois Route 166

Transit

List of intercity bus stops in Illinois

Adjacent counties

Williamson County - north

Saline County - northeast

Pope County - east

Massac County - southeast

Pulaski County - southwest

Union County - west

National protected areas

Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Shawnee National Forest (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 13,308. The median age was 42.8 years, 17.4% of residents were under the age of 18, and 20.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 142.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 151.7 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 82.5% White, 10.8% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 3.1% from some other race, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.1% of the population.

Less than 0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 4,577 households in the county, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.2% were married-couple households, 17.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 5,526 housing units, of which 17.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 81.6% were owner-occupied and 18.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.4%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 12,582 people, 4,584 households, and 3,270 families residing in the county. The population density was 36.6 inhabitants per square mile (14.1/km2). There were 5,598 housing units at an average density of 16.3 per square mile (6.3/km2).

The racial makeup of the county was 89.0% white, 8.0% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.0% of the population.

In terms of ancestry, 17.6% were German, 11.5% were Irish, 10.9% were English, and 6.5% were American.

Of the 4,584 households, 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.7% were non-families, and 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 42.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,619 and the median income for a family was $47,423. Males had a median income of $48,047 versus $30,904 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,402, the lowest of all 102 counties in Illinois and 57th in the U.S. About 11.1% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Marion (mostly in Williamson County)

Vienna

Villages

Belknap

Buncombe

Cypress

Goreville

New Burnside

Simpson

Politics

In its early days Johnson County, being strongly Southern in its culture, was fiercely Democratic. In fact, in the 1860 presidential election, the county gave Illinois native and Northern Democrat Stephen A. Douglas a higher proportion of its votes than any other county in the United States.

However, during the Civil War, under the influence of Congressman John Logan, this region of dubious initial loyalty was to provide a number of Union soldiers rivaled on a per capita basis only by a few Unionist counties in Appalachia. This level of Union service has meant that despite its historic hostility towards Yankee culture, Johnson County has been Republican ever since the Civil War. Douglas in 1860 remains the last Democrat to win a majority of the county's vote: the solitary Democratic victory since was when Bill Clinton won a plurality against Republican George H. W. Bush and independent Ross Perot.

Education

School districts include:

K-12:

Century Community Unit School District 100

Goreville Community Unit School District 1

Marion Community Unit School District 2

Secondary:

Vienna High School District 133

Elementary:

Buncombe Consolidated School District 43

Cypress School District 64

New Simpson Hill Consolidated District 32

Vienna School District 55