Wabash County, Illinois Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Wabash County
U.S. county
Wabash County Courthouse in Mount Carmel
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1824
Named for	Wabash River
Seat	Mount Carmel
Largest city	Mount Carmel
Area
• Total	228 sq mi (590 km²)
• Land	223 sq mi (580 km²)
• Water	4.3 sq mi (11 km²) 1.9%
Population (2020)
• Total	11,361
• Estimate (2021)	11,202
• Density	49.83/sq mi (19.24/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	12th

Cherry St. in Mount Carmel, still paved in brick, is home to many interesting examples of around the start of the 20th century architecture

Wabash County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 2020, about 11,361 people lived there. Its main town, or county seat, is Mount Carmel. The county is in southern Illinois, in an area sometimes called "Little Egypt".

History of Wabash County
- The 2008 Earthquake
Geography of Wabash County
Population of Wabash County
Towns and Villages
Education in Wabash County
See also

History of Wabash County

Wabash County was created in 1824. It was formed from parts of Edwards County. At first, there was a disagreement about where the county seat should be. This led to a small conflict between the towns of Albion and Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel became the county seat.

The county gets its name from the Wabash River. This river forms its eastern and southern borders. The name "Wabash" comes from the French word "Ouabache." The French traders got this name from the Miami Indian word "Wabashike." This word means "pure white." This is because much of the river's bottom is made of white limestone.

Wabash County when it was first created in 1824

A special part of the county is the Forest of the Wabash. It is found in Beall Woods State Park. This forest is a 329 acres (1.33 km²) piece of the original Eastern Woodlands ecosystem. It shows what the area looked like a long time ago.

In the 1920s, a famous hotel called the Grand Rapids Hotel was in Wabash County. It was near the Grand Rapids Dam on the Wabash River. People from all over the United States visited this hotel. It was open for nine years.

The 2008 Earthquake

On April 18, 2008, a large earthquake happened in Illinois. It struck at 4:37 AM. The center of the earthquake was in Lick Prairie Township, right in the middle of Wabash County. People felt the shaking very far away, even more than 400 miles away in Nebraska.

Geography of Wabash County

Bridge on Illinois Route 15 connecting Wabash and Gibson counties. This span no longer exists.

Wabash County covers about 228 square miles (590 km²) in total. Most of this area, 223 square miles (580 km²), is land. The rest, about 4.3 square miles (11 km²), is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in Illinois by size.

The Wabash River is on the east side of the county. The Bonpas Creek is on the west. These two waterways meet at the southern tip of the county. Bonpas Creek also separates Wabash County from Edwards County.

Climate and Weather

Weather chart for Mount Carmel, Illinois

2.9

2.7

4.2

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3.7

4.2

3.6

2.8

4.2

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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
74 3 -6	69 7 -4	105 12 2	108 19 7	130 24 12	94 29 17	108 32 19	92 31 18	71 27 14	77 21 7	106 13 2	77 6 -4
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm

In Mount Carmel, the county seat, temperatures change throughout the year. In January, the average low is 21 °F (−6 °C). In July, the average high is 89 °F (32 °C). The coldest temperature ever recorded was −19 °F (−28 °C) in January 1985. The hottest was 102 °F (39 °C) in July 1988.

The amount of rain and snow also changes. February usually gets about 2.73 inches (69 mm) of precipitation. May gets the most, with about 5.12 inches (130 mm).

Transportation

Rides Mass Transit District

Main Roads

Illinois Route 1
Illinois Route 15

Neighboring Counties

Lawrence County - to the north
Knox County, Indiana - to the northeast
Gibson County, Indiana - to the south and mostly east
Edwards County - to the west
Richland County - to the northwest

Population of Wabash County

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1830	2,710	—
1840	4,240	56.5%
1850	4,690	10.6%
1860	7,313	55.9%
1870	8,841	20.9%
1880	9,945	12.5%
1890	11,866	19.3%
1900	12,583	6.0%
1910	14,913	18.5%
1920	14,034	−5.9%
1930	13,197	−6.0%
1940	13,724	4.0%
1950	14,651	6.8%
1960	14,047	−4.1%
1970	12,841	−8.6%
1980	13,713	6.8%
1990	13,111	−4.4%
2000	12,937	−1.3%
2010	11,947	−7.7%
2020	11,361	−4.9%
2023 (est.)	10,942	−8.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

In 2010, there were 11,947 people living in Wabash County. Most people (96.9%) were white. About 0.6% were black or African American, and 0.6% were Asian. People of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population.

Many people in the county have German (25.6%), English (12.3%), American (11.7%), or Irish (8.4%) family backgrounds.

The average age of people in the county was 42 years old. About 29% of households had children under 18 living with them.

Towns and Villages

Cities

Mount Carmel (This is the county seat)

Villages

Small Communities (Unincorporated)

Precincts

Wabash County uses the term "precinct" instead of "township." There are 17 counties in Illinois that do this.

Precincts of Wabash County

Bellmont (Bellmont)
Coffee (Keensburg)
Compton (East Grayville)
Friendsville (Friendsville)
Lancaster (Lancaster)
Lick Prairie (Lick Prairie)
Mount Carmel (Mount Carmel)
Wabash (Allendale)

You can find more information about Wabash County precincts and their borders here.

Education in Wabash County

The county has several school districts:

Allendale Community Consolidated School District 17
Edwards County Community Unit School District 1
Grayville Community Unit School District 1
Wabash Community Unit School District 348

Wabash County, Illinois facts for kids

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