Edgar County, Illinois facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edgar County
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Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
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 Illinois's location within the U.S. |
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| Country |  United States |
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| State |  Illinois |
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| Founded | January 3, 1823 | |
| Named for | John Edgar | |
| Seat | Paris | |
| Largest city | Paris | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 624 sq mi (1,620 km2) | |
| • Land | 623 sq mi (1,610 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.6 sq mi (2 km2) 0.1% | |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 16,866 | |
| • Density | 27.029/sq mi (10.436/km2) | |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) | |
| Congressional district | 15th | |
Edgar County is a place in the state of Illinois, United States. It's like a big neighborhood or district. In 2020, about 16,866 people lived here. The main town, or county seat, is Paris.
Contents
History of Edgar County
Edgar County was created in 1823 from a part of Clark County. It was named after a man named John Edgar. He was born in Ireland and used to be an officer in the British Navy. But he didn't want to fight against the Americans during the Revolutionary War. So, he left the navy.
John Edgar moved to Kaskaskia, Illinois in 1784. There, he became a successful businessman. He worked as a miller and a merchant.
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Edgar County in 1823. It had some extra land that wasn't organized yet.
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Edgar County from 1825 to 1826.
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Edgar County from 1826 to 1830.
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Edgar County from 1830 until today. The extra land became part of Coles County.
Geography of Edgar County
Edgar County covers about 624 square miles. Most of this area, about 623 square miles, is land. Only a small part, about 0.6 square miles, is water.
There's a fun place to visit in the county called Twin Lakes Park and Reservoir. It's located on the north side of Paris. This park started in 1895 when a dam was built to create the Twin Lakes Reservoir. It's a great spot for outdoor activities.
Weather in Edgar County
| Weather chart for Paris, Illinois | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2.2
34
16
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2.2
40
21
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3.3
51
31
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4
63
41
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4.3
74
51
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4.2
83
61
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4.4
86
65
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4.4
84
62
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2.9
78
55
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2.8
66
43
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3.7
51
33
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3.1
39
22
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| temperatures in °F precipitation totals in inches source: The Weather Channel |
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Metric conversion
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The weather in Paris, the county seat, changes throughout the year. In January, the average low temperature is about 16°F. In July, the average high temperature is about 86°F. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -23°F in January 1930. The hottest was 109°F in July 1936.
The amount of rain and snow also changes. January usually gets about 2.23 inches of precipitation. July gets the most, with about 4.43 inches.
Neighboring Counties
- Vermilion County – north
- Vermillion County, Indiana – northeast
- Vigo County, Indiana – southeast
- Clark County – south
- Coles County – southwest
- Douglas County – west
- Champaign County – northwest
Transportation in Edgar County
Main Roads
US Route 36
US Route 150
Illinois Route 1
Illinois Route 16
Illinois Route 49
Illinois Route 133
Train Lines
Three train lines run through Edgar County. Two of them are operated by CSX Transportation. The third one is run by the Eastern Illinois Railroad Company.
Local Transport
- Rides Mass Transit District helps people get around the area.
Airport
Edgar County has one public airport. It's called Edgar County Airport (PRG). You can find it about six miles (10 km) north of Paris.
People of Edgar County
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1830 | 4,071 | — | |
| 1840 | 8,225 | 102.0% | |
| 1850 | 10,692 | 30.0% | |
| 1860 | 16,925 | 58.3% | |
| 1870 | 21,450 | 26.7% | |
| 1880 | 25,499 | 18.9% | |
| 1890 | 26,787 | 5.1% | |
| 1900 | 28,273 | 5.5% | |
| 1910 | 27,336 | −3.3% | |
| 1920 | 25,769 | −5.7% | |
| 1930 | 24,966 | −3.1% | |
| 1940 | 24,430 | −2.1% | |
| 1950 | 23,407 | −4.2% | |
| 1960 | 22,550 | −3.7% | |
| 1970 | 21,591 | −4.3% | |
| 1980 | 21,725 | 0.6% | |
| 1990 | 19,595 | −9.8% | |
| 2000 | 19,704 | 0.6% | |
| 2010 | 18,576 | −5.7% | |
| 2020 | 16,866 | −9.2% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 16,334 | −12.1% | |
| US Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 |
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In 2010, there were 18,576 people living in Edgar County. Most people living here were white (98.3%). About 1% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino background. The average age of people in the county was 43.2 years old.
Communities in Edgar County
Cities in Edgar County
Villages in Edgar County
Unincorporated Communities
These are smaller places that are not officially cities or villages.
Former Communities
These are places that used to be communities but are not anymore.
- Bell Ridge
- Bloomfield
- Catfish
- Cherry Point
- Clays Prairie
- Conlogue
- Dudley
- Ferrel
- Garland
- Grandview
- Harris
- Hildreth
- Horace
- Huffmanville
- Hughes
- Illiana
- Kentucky
- Kidley
- Logan
- Mabel
- Marley
- Mays
- McCown
- Melwood
- Mortimer
- New Athens
- Palermo
- Quaker
- Scotts
- Warrington
- West Sandford
- Wetzel
Townships
These are smaller government areas within the county.
- Brouilletts Creek
- Buck
- Edgar
- Elbridge
- Embarrass
- Grandview
- Hunter
- Kansas
- Paris
- Prairie
- Ross
- Shiloh
- Stratton
- Symmes
- Young America
Famous People from Edgar County
- Basil Bennett: He won a Bronze Medal in the Hammer Throw at the 1920 Olympics.
- Offa Neal: A professional baseball player for the New York Giants.
- Edward Adelbert Doisy: A biochemist who won a Nobel Prize.
- Frank Fletcher (baseball): A professional baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies.
See also
In Spanish: Condado de Edgar para niños
