Williamson County, Illinois

Williamson County, Illinois
Williamson County Courthouse in Marion
Location in the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1839
Named for	Williamson County, Illinois
Seat	Marion
Largest city	Marion
Area
• Total	444 sq mi (1,150 km2)
• Land	420 sq mi (1,088 km2)
• Water	24 sq mi (62 km2), 5.4%
Population
• (2010)	66,357
• Density	158/sq mi (61/km²)
Congressional district	12th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Williamson County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 66,357. Its county seat is Marion.

Williamson County is included in the Carbondale-Marion, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located in an area known as Little Egypt.

Williamson is a rapidly growing county in the Metro Lakeland area and is located 88 miles (142 km) southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Its location at the intersection of Interstates 57 and 24, and Illinois Route 13, a primary east-west four-lane expressway, gives it access to the major communities of Murphysboro, Carbondale, Carterville, Herrin, Marion and Harrisburg. Although the Williamson County population is only 66,357, it is located in the heart of the Metro Lakeland area of Jackson-Williamson Counties where 120,000 citizens of Illinois make their home. Carbondale (14 miles west), Herrin and Marion are the key urban areas in Metro Lakeland, with a combined population of over 65,000. Over 235,000 people live within 35 miles (56 km).

History

Williamson County was formed out of Franklin County on February 28, 1839, and was named for Williamson County, Tennessee.

• 

  Williamson County at the time of its creation in 1839

Williamson County is often referred to as "Bloody Williamson" due to several outbreaks of violence that have few parallels in American history. These include the Bloody Vendetta (1876), the Carterville Massacre (1899), Coal Strike (1906), The Herrin Massacre (1922), the Klan War (1924–1926), and the Birger/Shelton Gang War, 1926. The Illinois National Guard was deployed repeatedly during the 1920s to separate the warring parties and attempt to keep order.

As with the entire United States, severe weather in Williamson County is not uncommon. The northwest section of the county was obliterated by the Tri-State Tornado of 1925. The county was also struck by 2 tornadoes on May 29, 1982 killing 10 people in the Marion, Illinois tornado outbreak. On May 8, 2009, the cities of Carterville, Herrin, and Marion were severely damaged by the May 2009 Southern Midwest derecho.

Geography

Map of Williamson County, Illinois

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 444 square miles (1,150 km²), of which 420 square miles (1,100 km²) is land and 24 square miles (62 km²) (5.4%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Franklin County (north)
• Saline County (east)
• Pope County (southeast)
• Johnson County (south)
• Union County (southwest)
• Jackson County (west)

National protected area

• Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Major highways

• Interstate 24
• Interstate 57
• U.S. Highway 45
• Illinois Route 13
• Illinois Route 37
• Illinois Route 148
• Illinois Route 149
• Illinois Route 166

Airport

Williamson County Regional Airport is the local airport.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	4,457		—
1850	7,216		61.9%
1860	12,205		69.1%
1870	17,329		42.0%
1880	19,324		11.5%
1890	22,226		15.0%
1900	27,796		25.1%
1910	45,098		62.2%
1920	61,092		35.5%
1930	53,880		−11.8%
1940	51,424		−4.6%
1950	48,621		−5.5%
1960	46,117		−5.2%
1970	49,021		6.3%
1980	56,538		15.3%
1990	57,733		2.1%
2000	61,296		6.2%
2010	66,357		8.3%
Est. 2014	67,008		1.0%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 66,357 people, 27,421 households, and 17,999 families residing in the county. The population density was 157.9 inhabitants per square mile (61.0/km²). There were 30,359 housing units at an average density of 72.3 per square mile (27.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.7% white, 3.8% black or African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 23.6% were German, 17.3% were Irish, 16.0% were English, 9.0% were American, and 6.1% were Italian.

Of the 27,421 households, 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.4% were non-families, and 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 40.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,579 and the median income for a family was $50,929. Males had a median income of $41,428 versus $30,901 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,164. About 13.3% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.3% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

United States Penitentiary, Marion is located in Southern Precinct in Williamson County.

Climate and weather

Marion, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.3     38 19     3.2     44 23     4.5     55 33     4.5     66 42     4.9     75 52     4.3     83 61     3.9     87 65     3.7     86 63     3.1     79 55     3.1     68 43     4.8     55 34     3.7     43 24 Average max. and min. 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     83     3 −7     81     7 −5     113     13 1     115     19 6     125     24 11     110     28 16     99     31 18     94     30 17     80     26 13     78     20 6     121     13 1     94     6 −4 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

Williamson County lies on the border between humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa) and humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with neither large mountains nor large bodies of water to moderate its temperature. It is subject to both cold Arctic air and hot, humid tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico and, along with the rest of the midwestern United States, is home to some of the largest temperature extremes in the world. The region has four distinct seasons. Spring is the wettest season and produces erratic severe weather ranging from tornadoes to winter storms. Summers are hot and humid with only occasional and brief respite, and the humidity often makes the heat index rise to temperatures feeling well above 100 °F (38 °C). Fall is mild with lower humidity and can produce intermittent bouts of heavy rainfall with the first snow flurries usually forming in late November. Winters are cold with periodic snow and temperatures often below freezing, however thaws are usually frequent. Winter storm systems, such as Alberta clippers and Panhandle hooks, can bring days of heavy freezing rain, ice pellets, and snowfall.

The normal high temperature in July is 90 °F (32 °C), and the normal low temperature in January is 19 °F (−6 °C), although this varies from year to year. Both 100 °F (37.8 °C) and 0 °F (−17.8 °C) temperatures can be seen on an average 2 or 3 days per year. In recent years, average temperatures have ranged from a low of 19 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in August 1977. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 3.06 inches (78 mm) in October to 4.93 inches (125 mm) in May.

Williamson County experiences thunderstorms about 50 days a year on average. Thunderstorms contribute over half of the annual precipitation. Especially in the spring, these storms can often be severe, with high winds, large hail and tornadoes.

Some late autumns feature the warm weather known as Indian summer; some years see roses in bloom as late as early December.

Communities

Cities

• Carterville
• Creal Springs
• Herrin
• Hurst
• Johnston City
• Marion

Villages

• Bush
• Cambria
• Colp
• Crainville
• Energy
• Freeman Spur
• Pittsburg
• Spillertown
• Stonefort
• Whiteash

Unincorporated communities

• Corinth
• Crab Orchard
• Crenshaw
• Dewmaine
• Dykersburg
• Lake of Egypt
• No. 9
• Paulton
• Pulleys Mill

Ghost towns

• Chamness
• Clifford
• Dewmaine
• Halfway
• Halfway (Little Juarez)

Precincts

The following precincts are not voting precincts, but represent the 12 Congressional townships in Williamson County. Most have multiple voting precincts.

• Blairsville
• Carterville
• Corinth
• Crab Orchard
• Creal Springs
• East Marion
• Grassy
• Herrin
• Lake Creek
• Southern
• Stonefort
• West Marion

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Williamson County

Further reading

• Angle, Paul M. (1992). Bloody Williamson - A Chapter in American Lawlessness. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06233-7.
• Ayabe, Masatomo, “Ku Kluxers in a Coal Mining Community: A Study of the Ku Klux Klan Movement in Williamson County, Illinois, 1923–1926,” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 102 (Spring 2009), 73–100.
• Erwin, Milo. 1876, Rep. 1976. History of Williamson County, Illinois. Marion, Ill.: Williamson County Historical Society.
• Erwin, Milo, and Jon Musgrave. 2006. The Bloody Vendetta of Southern Illinois. Marion, Ill.: IllinoisHistory.com. 240 pages.
• Johnson, Ralph, and Jon Musgrave. 2010. Secrets of the Herrin Gangs. Marion, Ill.: IllinoisHistory.com. 96 pages.