Jasper County, Illinois

History

Jasper County was formed in 1831 out of Clay and Crawford Counties. It was named for Sgt. William Jasper, Revolutionary War hero from South Carolina. In the defense of Fort Moultrie in 1776, when the staff of the American flag was shot away, Sgt. Jasper erected a temporary staff, and waved the flag at the British until a new staff was erected.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 498 square miles (1,290 km²), of which 495 square miles (1,280 km²) is land and 3.6 square miles (9.3 km²) (0.7%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Newton have ranged from a low of 18 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −28 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.38 inches (60 mm) in January to 4.39 inches (112 mm) in May.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 9,698 people, 3,940 households, and 2,800 families residing in the county. The population density was 19.6 inhabitants per square mile (7.6/km²). There were 4,345 housing units at an average density of 8.8 per square mile (3.4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.6% white, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.3% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 39.5% were German, 12.5% were American, 11.0% were Irish, and 9.1% were English.

Of the 3,940 households, 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.9% were non-families, and 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 42.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,546 and the median income for a family was $53,034. Males had a median income of $39,167 versus $24,856 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,467. About 6.3% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Jasper County is largely served by Jasper County Community Unit School District 1, which is based in its county seat, Newton. Five of the district's six schools are located in Jasper County. Saint Thomas Catholic School is a private elementary school, also in Newton.

City

Villages

Townships

Jasper County is divided into eleven townships:

Notable residents