Pope County, Illinois

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

Golconda, 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

Pope County
Pope County
County
	Pope County Courthouse in Golconda
	Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
	Illinois's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 37°25′N 88°34′W / 37.41°N 88.57°W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1816
Named for	Nathaniel Pope
Seat	Golconda
Largest city	Golconda
Area
• Total	374 sq mi (970 km2)
• Land	369 sq mi (960 km2)
• Water	5.5 sq mi (14 km2) 1.5%
Population (2020)
• Total	3,763
• Density	10/sq mi (4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	12th

Pope County is the southeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 3,763,^[1] making it the second-least populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Golconda.^[2] The county was organized in 1816 from portions of Gallatin and Johnson counties and named after Nathaniel Pope, a politician and jurist from the Illinois Territory and State of Illinois.

History

The first permanent settlement in future Pope County was established in 1798 at the modern-day site of Golconda, then a part of the Northwest Territory which operated as a ferry point across the Ohio River. The county was formed in 1816 from portions of Gallatin and Johnson Counties.

Pope County from the time of its creation in 1816 to 1839
Pope County between 1839 and 1843
Pope County between 1843 and 1847
In 1847, Pope's border with Hardin County was adjusted, bringing both to their present borders

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 374 square miles (970 km²), of which 369 square miles (960 km²) is land and 5.5 square miles (14 km²) (1.5%) is water.^[3]

The entire county is hilly and during rainy weather rivulets cascade down the hills in the park forming waterfalls of varying sizes and heights. The county contains Dixon Springs State Park, one of many state parks in the Illinois Shawnee Hills, and is part of the Shawnee National Forest. It is bordered to the south and east by the Ohio River, which marks the state's border with Kentucky.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Golconda have ranged from a low of 21 °F (−6 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −22 °F (−30 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in August 2007. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 3.22 inches (82 mm) in October to 5.02 inches (128 mm) in May.^[4]

Transit

Rides Mass Transit District

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Saline County - north
Hardin County - east
Livingston County, Kentucky - southeast
Massac County - southwest
Johnson County - west
Williamson County - northwest

National protected area

Shawnee National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	2,610		—
1830	3,316		27.0%
1840	4,094		23.5%
1850	3,975		−2.9%
1860	6,742		69.6%
1870	11,437		69.6%
1880	13,256		15.9%
1890	14,016		5.7%
1900	13,585		−3.1%
1910	11,215		−17.4%
1920	9,625		−14.2%
1930	7,996		−16.9%
1940	7,999		0.0%
1950	5,779		−27.8%
1960	4,061		−29.7%
1970	3,857		−5.0%
1980	4,404		14.2%
1990	4,373		−0.7%
2000	4,413		0.9%
2010	4,470		1.3%
2020	3,763		−15.8%
2023 (est.)	3,707	^[5]	−1.5%
U.S. Decennial Census^[6] 1790-1960^[7] 1900-1990^[8] 1990-2000^[9] 2010-2017^[1]

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,470 people, 1,829 households, and 1,209 families living in the county.^[10] The population density was 12.1 inhabitants per square mile (4.7/km²). There were 2,491 housing units at an average density of 6.8 per square mile (2.6/km²).^[3] The racial makeup of the county was 91.7% white, 6.0% black or African American, 0.6% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population.^[10] In terms of ancestry, 31.8% were German, 19.1% were Irish, 11.4% were English, and 5.4% were American.^[11]

Of the 1,829 households, 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.9% were non-families, and 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 46.6 years.^[10]

The median income for a household in the county was $39,672 and the median income for a family was $51,500. Males had a median income of $45,865 versus $28,519 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,134. About 6.6% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.^[12]

Politics

In its early days Pope County, being strongly Southern in its culture and opposed to Northern Illinois, was powerfully Democratic, giving a majority to that party in every pre-war Presidential election.

However, during the Civil War, under the influence of Congressman John A. Logan, this region of dubious initial loyalty was to provide a number of Union soldiers rivalled on a per capita basis only by a few fiercely Unionist counties in Appalachia.^[13]^[14]

Stephen A. Douglas in 1860 remains the last Democrat to win a majority of the county's vote, although Bill Clinton won pluralities in both 1992 and 1996 due to Ross Perot siphoning votes from Republican opponents George Bush senior and Bob Dole. Hillary Clinton in 2016 fared extremely poorly, carrying fewer than eighteen percent of Pope County's votes.^[15]

United States presidential election results for Pope County, Illinois^[16]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,722	79.14%	433	19.90%	21	0.97%
2016	1,678	78.34%	375	17.51%	89	4.15%
2012	1,512	68.05%	650	29.25%	60	2.70%
2008	1,343	60.20%	845	37.88%	43	1.93%
2004	1,500	61.58%	918	37.68%	18	0.74%
2000	1,346	57.77%	927	39.79%	57	2.45%
1996	850	41.38%	915	44.55%	289	14.07%
1992	951	39.44%	1,063	44.09%	397	16.47%
1988	1,202	54.44%	996	45.11%	10	0.45%
1984	1,545	62.00%	940	37.72%	7	0.28%
1980	1,501	61.14%	880	35.85%	74	3.01%
1976	1,187	52.18%	1,070	47.03%	18	0.79%
1972	1,440	64.92%	773	34.85%	5	0.23%
1968	1,307	57.63%	732	32.28%	229	10.10%
1964	1,329	54.33%	1,117	45.67%	0	0.00%
1960	1,689	63.38%	971	36.44%	5	0.19%
1956	1,842	66.62%	922	33.35%	1	0.04%
1952	1,947	67.53%	933	32.36%	3	0.10%
1948	1,764	65.43%	916	33.98%	16	0.59%
1944	2,305	72.99%	813	25.74%	40	1.27%
1940	2,914	65.78%	1,499	33.84%	17	0.38%
1936	2,787	61.28%	1,728	37.99%	33	0.73%
1932	2,011	53.89%	1,697	45.47%	24	0.64%
1928	2,004	74.06%	679	25.09%	23	0.85%
1924	2,161	66.51%	978	30.10%	110	3.39%
1920	2,486	77.42%	687	21.40%	38	1.18%
1916	2,924	70.14%	1,158	27.78%	87	2.09%
1912	1,099	45.81%	664	27.68%	636	26.51%
1908	1,706	67.75%	748	29.71%	64	2.54%
1904	1,744	68.58%	676	26.58%	123	4.84%
1900	1,817	66.02%	908	32.99%	27	0.98%
1896	1,852	62.95%	1,074	36.51%	16	0.54%
1892	1,629	58.49%	816	29.30%	340	12.21%

Communities

City

Golconda

Village

Eddyville

Unincorporated communities

Notable people

James Lusk Alcorn (1816-1894), born near Golconda, American Civil War general in the Confederate Army
John R. Hodge (1893-1963), born in Golconda; Military Governor of South Korea preceding the Korean War and Commanding General of the U.S. Third Army
C. L. McCormick (1919-1987), born in McCormick, Illinois state representative and businessman
Green B. Raum (1820-1909), born in Golconda, American Civil War general in the Union Army
James A. Rose (1850-1912), born in Golconda, Illinois Secretary of State
Mason Ramsey (2006-), born in Golconda, star of viral video “Walmart Kid Singing” and country singer
Victor Belenko (1947-2023) born in the USSR, served in the Soviet Air Force until he stole a MiG-25 and flew to Japan providing the West with invaluable intelligence. He became an American and settled in the town of Rosebud, where he died in 2023.