Cass County, Illinois

Cass County
County
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°59′N 90°15′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1837
Seat	Virginia
Largest city	Beardstown
Area
• Total	383.76 sq mi (993.9 km2)
• Land	375.82 sq mi (973.4 km2)
• Water	7.95 sq mi (20.6 km2)  2.07%
Population  (2010)
• Total	13,642
• Density	36/sq mi (14/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)

Cass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 13,642, which is a decrease of 0.4% from 13,695 in 2000. Its county seat is Virginia.Template:GR It is the home of the Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area.

History

Cass County was formed in 1837 out of Morgan County. It was named in honor of Lewis Cass, a general in the War of 1812, Governor of the Michigan Territory, and United States Secretary of State in 1860. Cass was serving as Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War just before the County was named.

• 
  Cass County at the time of its creation.
• 
  In 1845 the county's border was adjusted southward, enlarging it to its current size.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 383.76 square miles (993.9 km²), of which 375.82 square miles (973.4 km²) (or 97.93%) is land and 7.95 square miles (20.6 km²) (or 2.07%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Mason County - northeast
• Menard County - east
• Sangamon County - southeast
• Morgan County - south
• Brown County - west
• Schuyler County - northwest

National protected area

• Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Rivers

• Illinois River
• Little Sangamon River
• Sangamon River

Major highways

• US Route 67
• Illinois Route 78
• Illinois Route 100
• Illinois Route 125

Communities

Cities

• Beardstown
• Virginia

Villages

• Arenzville
• Ashland
• Bluff Springs
• Chandlerville
• Newmansville
• Philadelphia

Townships

Cass County is divided into these eleven townships:

Arenzville Ashland Beardstown Bluff Springs Chandlerville Hagener

Newmansville Panther Creek Philadelphia Sangamon Valley Virginia

School districts

• A C Central Community Unit School District 262
• Beardstown Community Unit School District 15
• Meredosia-Chambersburg Community Unit School District 11
• Porta Community Unit School District 202
• Triopia Community Unit School District 27
• Virginia Community Unit School District 64

Political districts

• Illinois' 18th congressional district
• State House District 93
• State Senate District 47

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Cass County.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	17,222		—
1910	17,372		0.9%
1920	17,896		3.0%
1930	16,537		−7.6%
1940	16,425		−0.7%
1950	15,097		−8.1%
1960	14,539		−3.7%
1970	14,219		−2.2%
1980	15,084		6.1%
1990	13,437		−10.9%
2000	13,695		1.9%
IL Counties 1900-1990

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 13,695 people, 5,347 households, and 3,689 families residing in the county. The population density was 36 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 5,784 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.93% White, 0.45% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.34% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 8.48% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 32.2% were of German, 15.9% American, 12.5% English and 8.5% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.1% spoke English and 8.2% Spanish as their first language.

There were 5,347 households out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.80% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.00% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.40% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,243, and the median income for a family was $41,653. Males had a median income of $27,493 versus $21,781 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,532. About 9.20% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.20% of those under age 18 and 6.70% of those age 65 or over.

Climate and weather

Virginia, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.4     34 15     1.7     40 19     3.2     52 29     3.8     64 39     4.9     74 49     4.4     83 59     3.9     87 63     3.4     85 60     3.5     79 52     2.6     68 41     3.5     52 31     2.5     39 20 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     34     1 −9     43     4 −7     81     11 −2     96     18 4     123     23 9     111     28 15     98     31 17     85     29 16     88     26 11     66     20 5     88     11 −1     65     4 −7 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Virginia have ranged from a low of 15 °F (−9 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −28 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in February 1934 and a record high of 114 °F (46 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.35 inches (34 mm) in January to 4.86 inches (123 mm) in May.

See also

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

References

• United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
• United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
• United States National Atlas