Ford County, Illinois

	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
	█ Precipitation totals in inches
	Source: The Weather Channel

Paxton, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
	█ Precipitation totals in inches
	Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion
	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
	█ Precipitation totals in mm

Ford County
Ford County
County
	Ford County Courthouse in Paxton
	Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
	Illinois's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 40°35′N 88°13′W / 40.59°N 88.22°W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	February 17, 1859
Named for	Thomas Ford
Seat	Paxton
Largest city	Paxton
Area
• Total	486 sq mi (1,260 km2)
• Land	486 sq mi (1,260 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (2 km2) 0.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	13,534
• Estimate (2023)	13,250
• Density	28/sq mi (11/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	2nd, 16th
Website	www.fordcountycourthouse.com

Ford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 13,534.^[1] Its county seat is Paxton.^[2] Ford County was part of the Champaign–Urbana, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area until 2018, when the Office of Management and Budget removed the county from the area.^[3]^[4]

History

Ford County was formed February 17, 1859, making it Illinois's "newest" county. It was created at the behest of some residents of Vermilion County, who complained to the General Assembly that they lived too far from the county seat. Ford County was named after Thomas Ford, the Governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846.^[5]

The creation of Douglas and Ford Counties in 1859 resulted in Illinois's current county map.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 486 square miles (1,260 km²), of which 486 square miles (1,260 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) (0.1%) is water.^[6]

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paxton have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.40 inches (36 mm) in February to 4.38 inches (111 mm) in May.^[7]

Adjacent counties

Kankakee County – north
Iroquois County – east
Vermilion County – southeast
Champaign County – south
McLean County – southwest
Livingston County – west

Transit

SHOW Bus

Major highways

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	1,979		—
1870	9,103		360.0%
1880	15,099		65.9%
1890	17,035		12.8%
1900	18,359		7.8%
1910	17,096		−6.9%
1920	16,466		−3.7%
1930	15,489		−5.9%
1940	15,007		−3.1%
1950	15,901		6.0%
1960	16,606		4.4%
1970	16,382		−1.3%
1980	15,265		−6.8%
1990	14,275		−6.5%
2000	14,241		−0.2%
2010	14,081		−1.1%
2020	13,534		−3.9%
2023 (est.)	13,250	^[8]	−2.1%
US Decennial Census^[9] 1790-1960^[10] 1900-1990^[11] 1990-2000^[12] 2010^[13]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 14,081 people, 5,676 households, and 3,798 families living in the county.^[14] The population density was 29.0 inhabitants per square mile (11.2/km²). There were 6,282 housing units at an average density of 12.9 per square mile (5.0/km²).^[6] The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population.^[14] In terms of ancestry, 35.7% were German, 15.5% were Irish, 13.6% were American, and 10.4% were English.^[15]

Of the 5,676 households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.1% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 42.4 years.^[14]

The median income for a household in the county was $48,667 and the median income for a family was $62,819. Males had a median income of $43,849 versus $30,136 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,401. About 5.4% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.^[16]

Communities

Cities

Villages

Unincorporated communities

Extinct settlements

Ten Mile Grove

Townships

Politics

Ford County is one of the state's most consistently Republican counties; since its 1859 organization it has voted for Republican presidential candidates in all but two elections. In 1912, the GOP was mortally divided and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt carried the county over the more conservative official nominee William Howard Taft; in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt in the first of his four campaigns became and has remained the only Democrat to carry Ford County. Since 1968 no Democratic presidential candidate has topped 36% of the county's vote, and since the county first formed only three Democrats – all in landslide national victories – have managed 40% of Ford County's votes.

After the Libertarian Party's success in the 1998 election for Ford County Sheriff and other countywide offices, it achieved established party status. At the time this made Ford County the only county in Illinois with three established parties. Due to its second place showing over the then-dormant Democratic Party in that election, the Libertarians received the minority party's seat on the Board of Review and one of the five seats on the Sheriff's Merit Commission.^[17] This status was lost by 2002 after the Libertarian Party failed to field any candidates in the 2002 general election.^[18]

President Gerald Ford visited Ford County on October 24, 1974, to mark the retirement of Congressman Leslie C. Arends of Melvin who served in Congress for 40 years, including over 30 years as Republican Minority Whip.^[19]

United States presidential election results for Ford County, Illinois^[20]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	5,048	72.46%	1,754	25.18%	165	2.37%
2016	4,480	70.04%	1,414	22.11%	502	7.85%
2012	4,229	70.20%	1,656	27.49%	139	2.31%
2008	4,079	63.73%	2,227	34.80%	94	1.47%
2004	4,511	69.62%	1,912	29.51%	56	0.86%
2000	3,889	63.20%	2,090	33.97%	174	2.83%
1996	3,077	53.33%	2,065	35.79%	628	10.88%
1992	3,046	47.00%	2,175	33.56%	1,260	19.44%
1988	4,059	66.05%	2,026	32.97%	60	0.98%
1984	4,871	73.11%	1,763	26.46%	29	0.44%
1980	5,024	69.64%	1,803	24.99%	387	5.36%
1976	4,801	63.56%	2,690	35.61%	62	0.82%
1972	5,656	74.51%	1,934	25.48%	1	0.01%
1968	5,233	65.38%	2,216	27.69%	555	6.93%
1964	4,650	57.57%	3,427	42.43%	0	0.00%
1960	5,779	68.16%	2,698	31.82%	1	0.01%
1956	6,027	73.66%	2,152	26.30%	3	0.04%
1952	6,216	74.49%	2,121	25.42%	8	0.10%
1948	4,903	69.89%	2,079	29.64%	33	0.47%
1944	5,317	69.91%	2,270	29.85%	18	0.24%
1940	5,770	65.11%	3,062	34.55%	30	0.34%
1936	4,524	53.79%	3,715	44.17%	171	2.03%
1932	3,342	43.88%	4,175	54.82%	99	1.30%
1928	4,668	68.72%	2,098	30.88%	27	0.40%
1924	4,672	70.53%	1,093	16.50%	859	12.97%
1920	4,995	82.40%	958	15.80%	109	1.80%
1916	4,670	66.31%	2,054	29.16%	319	4.53%
1912	832	22.44%	1,035	27.91%	1,841	49.65%
1908	2,617	65.59%	1,164	29.17%	209	5.24%
1904	2,836	71.22%	926	23.25%	220	5.52%
1900	2,936	64.87%	1,469	32.46%	121	2.67%
1896	2,832	64.28%	1,507	34.20%	67	1.52%
1892	2,227	58.41%	1,359	35.64%	227	5.95%

References

^ "Ford County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ Office of Management and Budget (April 10, 2018). "OMB Bulletin No. 18-03: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on April 11, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
^ Office of Management and Budget (September 14, 2018). "OMB Bulletin No. 18-04: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 15, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 128.
^ ^a ^b "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Monthly Averages for Paxton IL". The Weather Channel. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
^ "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
^ "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
^ "Selected Social Characteristics in the United States – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
^ "Selected Economic Characteristics – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
^ Stahly, Jim (June 3, 1999). "Libertarians Make History in Ford County". The Pantagraph. p. A1 – via NewsBank.
^ "Election 2002". The Pantagraph. November 7, 2002. p. A1 – via NewsBank.
^ Welcome to Paxton Archived December 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, accessed February 15, 2011.
^ Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 1, 2018.

External links

History of Ford County Archived September 13, 2016, at the Wayback Machine - Information from Centurama Celebrating The First 100 Years of Ford County, Illinois 1859-1959