Stark County, Illinois

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Toulon, Illinois
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Stark County
Stark County
County
	Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Depot (Wyoming, Illinois)
	Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
	Illinois's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 41°05′N 89°47′W / 41.09°N 89.79°W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1839
Named for	John Stark
Seat	Toulon
Largest city	Wyoming
Area
• Total	288 sq mi (750 km2)
• Land	288 sq mi (750 km2)
• Water	0.3 sq mi (0.8 km2) 0.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	5,400
• Density	19/sq mi (7.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	16th
Website	www.starkco.illinois.gov

Stark County is a county in Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,400.^[1] Its county seat is Toulon.^[2]

Stark County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Stark County was formed in 1839 out of Knox and Putnam counties. It was named for General Colonel John Stark (August 28, 1728 – May 8, 1822), who served in the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He became widely known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.

Stark County at the time of its creation in 1839

In the latter part of April 1829 a solitary, heavily laden wagon was wending its way from the hospitable home of Mr. French, at Prince's Grove, about a half mile north-west of the present town of Princeville, towards Spoon River, probably crossing that stream at a point since known as Boardman's Ford, or, as others think, near the seat of Cox's Mill, and moving on towards section fifteen in what has since been known as Essex Township.^[3]

The weather was warm and balmy considering the season. The prairie burnt over by the Indians in the fall was already green with sprouting grass. Accompanying this vehicle were as it might seem a guard of good men, and true; "neighbors" they called themselves, although they must have lived many miles apart, some of them thirty or forty from the scene of their present friendly labors, having come from LaSalle Prairie, from Chillicothe and Peoria. They were neither hunters or warriors, they feared no enemy, and sought not the "spoils of war".^[3]

It was a peaceable expedition and its leader was the occupant of the wagon, Isaac B. Essex, then in the strength of his manhood, and with him came his young wife and infant child to found a home in the wilderness. The "neighbors" were Daniel Prince, Stephen French, Simon Reed, Frank Thomas and two Baptist ministers, Elders Silliman and Allen. The former of these two was the father of the much respected Toulon townsman Minott Silliman, the first treasurer of Stark county. And these men had come so far to raise a cabin!^[3]

Mr. Essex had been out and made a claim in 1828, and in the fall of that year cut the logs and split the clap-boards for his house, probably all of which were on the northeast quarter of section fifteen. They now proceeded to haul them together and get them in shape on the proposed building site. They all camped in the woods the first night, but towards sundown of the second day, the cabin was raised, the roof on, and as Mr. Essex graphically said "we cut a log out and moved in."^[3]

This was emphatically the first pioneer cabin, the first home of non-Native American settlers within the present limits of Stark County.^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 288 square miles (750 km²), of which 288 square miles (750 km²) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²) (0.1%) is water.^[4]

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Toulon have ranged from a low of 10 °F (−12 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in July 1983. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.41 inches (36 mm) in February to 4.46 inches (113 mm) in June.^[5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Henry County (northwest)
Bureau County (north)
Marshall County (east)
Peoria County (south)
Knox County (west)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	1,573		—
1850	3,710		135.9%
1860	9,004		142.7%
1870	10,751		19.4%
1880	11,207		4.2%
1890	9,982		−10.9%
1900	10,186		2.0%
1910	10,098		−0.9%
1920	9,693		−4.0%
1930	9,184		−5.3%
1940	8,881		−3.3%
1950	8,721		−1.8%
1960	8,152		−6.5%
1970	7,510		−7.9%
1980	7,389		−1.6%
1990	6,534		−11.6%
2000	6,332		−3.1%
2010	5,994		−5.3%
2020	5,400		−9.9%
2023 (est.)	5,218	^[6]	−3.4%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7] 1790-1960^[8] 1900-1990^[9] 1990-2000^[10] 2010^[11]

As of the 2010 census, there were 5,994 people, 2,425 households, and 1,673 families residing in the county.^[12] The population density was 20.8 inhabitants per square mile (8.0/km²). There were 2,674 housing units at an average density of 9.3 per square mile (3.6/km²).^[4] The racial makeup of the county was 97.7% white, 0.5% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population.^[12] In terms of ancestry, 33.5% were German, 15.5% were Irish, 13.8% were English, 10.8% were American, and 9.8% were Swedish.^[13]

Of the 2,425 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.0% were non-families, and 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 43.8 years.^[12]

The median income for a household in the county was $49,195 and the median income for a family was $62,681. Males had a median income of $44,931 versus $29,621 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,311. About 7.6% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.0% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.^[14]

Communities

Cities

Villages

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Stark County is divided into these townships:

Politics

United States presidential election results for Stark County, Illinois^[15]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,004	69.44%	815	28.24%	67	2.32%
2016	1,778	64.82%	751	27.38%	214	7.80%
2012	1,528	57.40%	1,095	41.13%	39	1.47%
2008	1,513	51.83%	1,357	46.49%	49	1.68%
2004	1,841	60.14%	1,189	38.84%	31	1.01%
2000	1,694	56.67%	1,211	40.52%	84	2.81%
1996	1,278	44.62%	1,262	44.06%	324	11.31%
1992	1,384	41.30%	1,336	39.87%	631	18.83%
1988	1,841	58.39%	1,274	40.41%	38	1.21%
1984	2,228	67.15%	1,072	32.31%	18	0.54%
1980	2,358	69.76%	806	23.85%	216	6.39%
1976	2,191	63.34%	1,146	33.13%	122	3.53%
1972	2,529	71.44%	993	28.05%	18	0.51%
1968	2,292	62.54%	1,128	30.78%	245	6.68%
1964	2,117	54.38%	1,776	45.62%	0	0.00%
1960	2,925	67.80%	1,383	32.06%	6	0.14%
1956	3,241	74.32%	1,118	25.64%	2	0.05%
1952	3,398	75.51%	1,100	24.44%	2	0.04%
1948	2,537	68.44%	1,163	31.37%	7	0.19%
1944	3,050	68.42%	1,401	31.43%	7	0.16%
1940	3,393	64.94%	1,818	34.79%	14	0.27%
1936	2,696	54.38%	2,220	44.78%	42	0.85%
1932	2,119	46.75%	2,369	52.26%	45	0.99%
1928	2,966	69.09%	1,306	30.42%	21	0.49%
1924	2,698	71.07%	784	20.65%	314	8.27%
1920	2,750	79.57%	661	19.13%	45	1.30%
1916	2,887	66.57%	1,390	32.05%	60	1.38%
1912	549	23.46%	669	28.59%	1,122	47.95%
1908	1,635	66.27%	738	29.91%	94	3.81%
1904	1,764	71.27%	574	23.19%	137	5.54%
1900	1,665	61.37%	939	34.61%	109	4.02%
1896	1,636	60.04%	1,030	37.80%	59	2.17%
1892	1,240	50.76%	824	33.73%	379	15.51%

Since the American Civil War, Stark County has been heavily Republican, like most of Yankee-influenced Northern Illinois. The only Democratic presidential nominee to carry Stark County in the past 150 years has been Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, although Bob Dole won by just sixteen votes against Bill Clinton in 1996, and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt won the county in 1912 when the Republican Party was mortally divided between Roosevelt and conservative incumbent William Howard Taft.

References

This article incorporates text from Stark County and Its Pioneers, by Shallenberger, Eliza Hall, a publication from 1876, now in the public domain in the United States.