Ford County, Illinois

Ford County was formed February 17, 1859, making it Illinois's "newest" county. It was created at the behest of some residents of Vermilion County, who complained to the General Assembly that they lived too far from the county seat. Ford County was named after Thomas Ford, the Governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846. File:Ford County Illinois 1859.png|The creation of Douglas and Ford Counties in 1859 resulted in Illinois's current county map. ==Geography==

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water. Climate and weather {{climate chart In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paxton have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in May. Adjacent counties • Kankakee County – north • Iroquois County – east • Vermilion County – southeast • Champaign County – south • McLean County – southwest • Livingston County – west Transit • SHOW Bus Major highways • Interstate 57 • US Route 24 • US Route 45 • Illinois Route 9 • Illinois Route 47 • Illinois Route 54 • Illinois Route 115 • Illinois Route 116 ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 13,534. The median age was 42.9 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.0 males age 18 and over. The racial makeup of the county was 92.0% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.6% from some other race, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.1% of the population. 33.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 66.5% lived in rural areas. There were 5,638 households in the county, of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.3% were married-couple households, 18.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The population density was . There were 6,282 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population. Of the 5,676 households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.1% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 42.4 years. ==Communities==

Cities • Gibson City • Paxton Villages • Cabery • Elliott • Kempton • Melvin • Piper City • Roberts • Sibley Unincorporated communities • Clarence • Guthrie • Perdueville • Stelle Extinct settlements • Ten Mile Grove Townships • Brenton • Button • Dix • Drummer • Lyman • Mona • Patton • Peach Orchard • Pella • Rogers • Sullivant • Wall ==Politics==

Ford County is one of the state's most consistently Republican counties; since its 1859 organization it has voted for Republican presidential candidates in all but two elections. In 1912, the GOP was divided and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt carried the county over the more conservative official nominee William Howard Taft; in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt in the first of his four campaigns became and has remained the only Democrat to carry Ford County. Since 1968 no Democratic presidential candidate has topped 36% of the county's vote, and since the county first formed only three Democrats – all in landslide national victories – have managed 40% of Ford County's votes. After the Libertarian Party's success in the 1998 election for Ford County Sheriff and other countywide offices, it achieved established party status. At the time this made Ford County the only county in Illinois with three established parties. Due to its second place showing over the then-dormant Democratic Party in that election, the Libertarians received the minority party's seat on the Board of Review and one of the five seats on the Sheriff's Merit Commission. This status was lost by 2002 after the Libertarian Party failed to field any candidates in the 2002 general election. President Gerald Ford visited Ford County on October 24, 1974, to mark the retirement of Congressman Leslie C. Arends of Melvin who served in Congress for 40 years, including over 30 years as Republican Minority Whip. ==See also==