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Gallatin County, Illinois

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Gallatin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4,946, making it the third-least populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Shawneetown.[1] It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as Little Egypt. Located at the mouth of the Wabash River, Gallatin County, along with neighboring Posey County, Indiana, and Union County, Kentucky form the tri-point of the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area.

Gallatin County
County
Gallatin County Courthouse in Shawneetown
Gallatin County Courthouse in Shawneetown
Map of Illinois highlighting Gallatin County
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Map of the United States highlighting Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°46′N 88°14′W / 37.76°N 88.23°W / 37.76; -88.23
Country United States
State Illinois
Founded1812
Named forAlbert Gallatin
SeatShawneetown
Largest cityShawneetown
Area
 • Total328 sq mi (850 km2)
 • Land323 sq mi (840 km2)
 • Water5.1 sq mi (13 km2)  1.6%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total4,946 Decrease
 • Density15/sq mi (6/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district12th

History

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Salt production served as the state's first major industry in the early 19th century. Saltworks developed first by Native Americans, and the French had settled at the Great Salt Spring on the south side of the Saline River, about five miles downstream from Equality. Beginning in 1803, salt works were also developed at Half Moon Lick, southwest of Equality on the north side of the Saline River. Half Moon Lick is now on private land, but the Great Salt Springs are on public lands in the Shawnee National Forest, about one mile west of the Saline River bridge across Illinois Route 1 on Salt Well Road.[2]

Gallatin County was organized in 1812 from land formerly in Randolph County. It was named for Albert Gallatin,[3] who was then Secretary of the Treasury. The bank at Shawneetown was the first in Illinois. It was originally in the John Marshall House, which has been rebuilt and serves as the museum of the Gallatin County Historical Society. This should not be confused with the State Bank of Illinois building, which is a state historic site a block away in Old Shawneetown

  •  
    Gallatin County created in the Illinois Territory period between 1812 and 1815
  •  
    Gallatin between 1815 and 1816
  •  
    Gallatin between 1816 and 1818, including unorganized territory (formerly part of Johnson County) temporarily attached to it.[4]
  •  
    Gallatin between 1818 and 1847
  •  
    Gallatin in 1847, when a cession to Hardin and the creation of Saline County reduced it to its current territory

Politics

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Although Illinois was legally a free state, an exemption in the Illinois Constitution allowed slavery at the Illinois Salines and other salt springs near Shawneetown in Gallatin County. The slave-operated salines contributed one-third of the new state's yearly revenue.[5][6] The law allowed African slaves to be imported to the site until 1825, when the exemption expired. However, indentured servitude at the springs continued past this point. Salt production continued until 1870, when competition from West Virginia salt mines drove the springs out of business.[7]

As the most culturally Southern of all Illinois counties, Gallatin County was pro-Confederate during the Civil War and even provided a few volunteers to the Confederate Army. It then became solidly Democratic for the next century and a third, voting Republican only in the GOP landslides of 1920, 1952, 1972 and 1980. Even in those four elections, no Republican candidate received more than Richard Nixon’s 53.7 percent in his 3,000-plus-county 1972 triumph.

Since 2000, Gallatin County has followed the same political trajectory as Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia and Appalachian regions of adjacent states, whereby the Democratic Party’s liberal views on social issues have produced dramatic swings to the Republican Party amongst its almost entirely Southern white population.[8] Over the five elections from 2000 to 2016, Gallatin County has seen a swing of 84 percentage points to the Republican Party – an average of 17 percentage points per election – so that Hillary Clinton’s 24.3 percent vote share in 2016 is barely half the worst Democratic percentage from before 2010. However, despite its sharp rightward turn, it followed the wave in 2008 within the state that elected Barack Obama president, who remains the last Democrat to win the county in a presidential election.

In 1994, Gallatin County was the only one in the state to vote for the Democratic candidate for governor. It voted for the Democrat in every gubernatorial election from 1924 to 2006, finally flipping in 2010 and then voting Republican again in 2014 and 2018.

United States presidential election results for Gallatin County, Illinois[9]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 2,019 75.48% 622 23.25% 34 1.27%
2016 1,942 71.74% 657 24.27% 108 3.99%
2012 1,492 57.99% 1,029 39.99% 52 2.02%
2008 1,212 42.20% 1,587 55.26% 73 2.54%
2004 1,619 50.20% 1,573 48.78% 33 1.02%
2000 1,591 44.72% 1,878 52.78% 89 2.50%
1996 856 24.37% 2,113 60.15% 544 15.49%
1992 990 25.10% 2,371 60.12% 583 14.78%
1988 1,580 38.89% 2,455 60.42% 28 0.69%
1984 1,939 47.15% 2,164 52.63% 9 0.22%
1980 1,700 50.21% 1,678 49.56% 8 0.24%
1976 1,499 36.36% 2,611 63.33% 13 0.32%
1972 2,148 53.69% 1,844 46.09% 9 0.22%
1968 1,802 43.01% 1,980 47.26% 408 9.74%
1964 1,394 32.89% 2,845 67.11% 0 0.00%
1960 2,179 47.68% 2,386 52.21% 5 0.11%
1956 2,179 49.35% 2,230 50.51% 6 0.14%
1952 2,300 51.56% 2,153 48.26% 8 0.18%
1948 1,789 42.60% 2,385 56.79% 26 0.62%
1944 2,073 48.27% 2,175 50.64% 47 1.09%
1940 2,588 43.65% 3,293 55.54% 48 0.81%
1936 2,004 34.71% 3,701 64.10% 69 1.20%
1932 1,279 26.57% 3,469 72.08% 65 1.35%
1928 2,002 45.78% 2,343 53.58% 28 0.64%
1924 1,792 39.16% 2,385 52.12% 399 8.72%
1920 2,184 49.94% 2,000 45.74% 189 4.32%
1916 1,985 39.03% 2,920 57.41% 181 3.56%
1912 1,051 33.78% 1,697 54.55% 363 11.67%
1908 1,411 41.77% 1,845 54.62% 122 3.61%
1904 1,401 44.70% 1,540 49.14% 193 6.16%
1900 1,432 40.94% 2,004 57.29% 62 1.77%
1896 1,468 41.02% 2,067 57.75% 44 1.23%
1892 1,211 38.35% 1,675 53.04% 272 8.61%

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 328 square miles (850 km2), of which 323 square miles (840 km2) is land and 5.1 square miles (13 km2) (1.6%) is water.[10]

The Wabash and Ohio rivers join in the northeastern part of the county. The Saline River is a major drainage in the county, and it feeds into the Ohio River.

Climate and weather

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Shawneetown, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
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3.5
 
 
41
21
 
 
3.7
 
 
47
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4.8
 
 
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4.2
 
 
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70
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4.4
 
 
57
34
 
 
4.3
 
 
46
25
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
█ Precipitation totals in inches
Source: The Weather Channel[11]
Metric conversion
J
F
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88
 
 
5
−6
 
 
93
 
 
8
−4
 
 
120
 
 
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20
6
 
 
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24
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106
 
 
29
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107
 
 
31
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89
 
 
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82
 
 
27
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82
 
 
21
6
 
 
112
 
 
14
1
 
 
109
 
 
8
−4
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
█ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Shawneetown 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.[11]

Transit

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Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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National protected area

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18203,155—
18307,405134.7%
184010,76045.3%
18505,448−49.4%
18608,05547.9%
187011,13438.2%
188012,86115.5%
189014,93516.1%
190015,8366.0%
191014,628−7.6%
192012,856−12.1%
193010,091−21.5%
194011,41413.1%
19509,818−14.0%
19607,638−22.2%
19707,418−2.9%
19807,5902.3%
19906,909−9.0%
20006,445−6.7%
20105,589−13.3%
20204,946−11.5%
2023 (est.)4,670[12]−5.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[13]
1790-1960[14] 1900-1990[15]
1990-2000[16] 2010-2017[17]
 
2000 census age pyramid for Gallatin County

2020

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As of the 2020 census, there were 4,946 people, 2,155 households, and 3,764 families residing in the county[18] The racial makeup of the county was 95.03% white, 0.102% American Indian, 0.526% black or African American, 0.486% Asian, 0.445% from other races, and 3.013% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.072% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 18.1% were German, 13.6% were Irish, 14% were English.[19]

The median income for a household in the county was $51,868 and the median income for a family was $65,833. [20]

Communities

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City

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Villages

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Unincorporated communities

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Townships

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  2. ^ Jon Musgrave. 2004, Rev. ed. 2005. Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw: The Real Story of the Old Slave House and America's Reverse Underground Railroad. Marion, Ill.: IllinoisHistory.com. 57-65.
  3. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 133.
  4. ^ White, Jesse. Origin and Evolution of Illinois Counties. State of Illinois, March 2010. [1]
  5. ^ Myers, Jacob W. "History of the Gallatin Salines". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  6. ^ "Attractions". Discover Southeastern Illinois. Gallatin County Tourism Committee. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  7. ^ McFarland, Joe (October 2009). "When Salt was Gold" (PDF). Outdoor Illinois: 11–13. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  8. ^ Cohn, Nate; ‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’, New York Times, April 24, 2014
  9. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  10. ^ "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  11. ^ a b "Monthly Averages for Shawneetown, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  12. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  13. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  14. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  15. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  16. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  17. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  18. ^ "Gallatin County, Illinois".
  19. ^ "Gallatin County Census".
  20. ^ "Gallatin County, Il Census".

Further reading

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37°46′N 88°14′W / 37.76°N 88.23°W / 37.76; -88.23

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