| Alexander County, Illinois | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Illinois |
|
 Illinois's location in the U.S. |
|
| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1819 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Cairo |
| Largest city | Cairo |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
253 sq mi (654 km²) 236 sq mi (612 km²) 16 sq mi (42 km²), 6.40% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
9,590 41/sq mi (16/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Alexander County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the population is 9,590. Its county seat is Cairo, Illinois[1]. Alexander County is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Contents |
History
Alexander County was organized out of Union County in 1819. It was named for William M. Alexander, who became Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1822.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 253 square miles (654 km²), of which 236 square miles (612 km²) is land and 16 square miles (42 km²) (6.40%) is water. Its borders are partly defined by the Mississippi River and the Ohio River. The lowest point in the state of Illinois is located on the Mississippi River in Cairo in Alexander County, where it flows out of Illinois and into Kentucky.
Adjacent counties
- Union County - north
- Ballard County, Kentucky - southeast
- Pulaski County - east
- Mississippi County, Missouri - south
- Scott County, Missouri - west
- Cape Girardeau County, Missouri - northwest
National protected areas
Major highways
Interstate 57
US Route 51
US Route 60
US Route 62
Illinois Route 3
Illinois Route 34
Illinois Route 146
Cities and towns
Unincorporated communities
School districts
- Cairo Community Unit School District 1
- Century Community Unit School District 100
- Egyptian Community Unit School District 5
- Meridian Community Unit School District 101
- Shawnee Community Unit School District 84
Political districts
- Illinois' 12th congressional district
- State House District 118
- State Senate District 59
Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 19,384 |
|
|
| 1910 | 22,741 | 17.3% | |
| 1920 | 23,980 | 5.4% | |
| 1930 | 22,542 | −6.0% | |
| 1940 | 25,496 | 13.1% | |
| 1950 | 20,316 | −20.3% | |
| 1960 | 16,061 | −20.9% | |
| 1970 | 12,015 | −25.2% | |
| 1980 | 12,264 | 2.1% | |
| 1990 | 10,626 | −13.4% | |
| 2000 | 9,590 | −9.7% | |
| IL Counties 1900-1990 | |||
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 9,590 people, 3,808 households, and 2,475 families residing in the county. The population density was 41 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 4,591 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 62.98% White, 34.90% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 1.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.3% were of American, 11.2% German, 8.2% Irish and 5.1% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 97.7% spoke English and 1.8% Spanish as their first language.
There were 3,808 households out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.10% were married couples living together, 17.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.00% were non-families. 32.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.80% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 26.60% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 16.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $26,042, and the median income for a family was $31,824. Males had a median income of $29,133 versus $18,966 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,084. About 21.20% of families and 26.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.60% of those under age 18 and 14.80% of those age 65 or over.
References
- United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
- United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
- United States National Atlas
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
 |
Cape Girardeau County, Missouri | Union County | |
|
| Scott County, Missouri |  |
Pulaski County | ||
 Alexander County, Illinois  |
||||
 |
||||
| Mississippi County, Missouri | Ballard County, Kentucky |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates: 37°11′N 89°20′W / 37.19°N 89.34°W
copyright intended
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
