Edwards County, Illinois

Edwards County was named for Ninian Edwards, the governor of the Illinois Territory, and, later, governor of Illinois. Edwards County is subdivided into "Road Districts", rather than "Townships" as in most Illinois counties. Pursuant to the Land Ordinance of 1785, the Northwest Territory (including Illinois) was surveyed and mostly organized into townships that are six miles square; but Edwards County was settled prior to that survey, and its pre-existing Road Districts do not generally correspond with the survey's townships. File:Edwards County Illinois 1815.png|Edwards County, when it was created in 1815 from Gallatin and Madison Counties, extended north to Lake Michigan. File:Edwards County Illinois 1816.png|The county between 1816 and 1819. Clark and White Counties were created from Edwards and Gallatin Counties. File:Edwards County Illinois 1819.png|The county between 1819 and 1821. At this point Crawford County was split off from Edwards, and Wayne Counties. File:Edwards County Illinois 1821.png|Edwards between 1821 and 1824 File:Edwards County Illinois 1824.png|Edwards in 1824, reduced to its current size by the creation of Wabash County ==Geography==

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water.}} In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Albion have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1982 and a record high of was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in April. Major highways • Illinois Route 1 • Illinois Route 15 • Illinois Route 130 Adjacent counties • Richland County (north) • Wabash County (east) • White County (south) • Wayne County (west) ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 6,245, and the median age was 43.6 years; 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.8% were 65 years of age or older, and for every 100 females there were 95.0 males, while for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.3 males age 18 and over. The racial makeup of the county was 96.4% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.3% from some other race, and 2.3% from two or more races, and Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.0% of the population. Less than 0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas. There were 2,694 households in the county, of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them; 50.2% were married-couple households, 19.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present; about 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The population density was . There were 3,187 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.0% white, 0.4% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.9% of the population. Of the 2,840 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.2% were non-families, and 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 42.7 years. ==Communities==

Cities • Albion (seat) • Grayville (Partially in White County) Villages • Bone Gap • Browns • West Salem Unincorporated communities • Bennington • Black • Ellery • Maple Grove • Marion • Red Top • Samsville Precincts Edwards County is divided into 12 election precincts: • Albion No. 1 • Albion No. 2 • Albion No. 3 • Bone Gap • Browns • Dixon • Ellery • French Creek • Salem No. 1 • Salem No. 2 • Shelby No. 1 • Shelby No. 2 ==Politics==

Edwards County is one of the most consistently Republican counties in the nation. It has voted for the Republican candidate in all Presidential elections from 1856 to present, except in 1912 when the party was divided and Theodore Roosevelt won the county as the “Bull Moose” Progressive candidate. In the last five Presidential elections no Democratic candidate has reached 34 percent of the county's vote. Edwards County also holds the distinction of having the lowest percentage of any Illinois county of votes for governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat, in his failed 2014 reelection bid. Quinn lost 101 of the 102 counties in Illinois, capturing only 13.7% of the vote in Edwards County. In his three latest runs for president, Donald Trump has won the county decisively with a near 70 point margin of victory each time. The last Democrat to win the county was Andrew Jackson in 1832. In other positions the county has been not been consistently Republican for as long, but nevertheless has been so for many years. The last Democratic Senatorial candidate it backed was Alan J. Dixon in 1986 and the last Democratic gubernatorial candidate it supported was Glenn Poshard, who carried all of Southern Illinois in his failed 1998 bid. Edwards County lies in Illinois's 15th congressional district, which has Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+21 and has been represented by Republican Mike Bost since 2023. Edwards County is a dry county, with multiple referendums to allow alcohol sales failing in the mid-1990s. The portion of Grayville, Illinois that lies within Edwards County does allow alcohol sales per Grayville city ordinance. ==See also==