Ford County, Illinois
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1859
Seat	Paxton
Largest city	Paxton
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	486.24 sq mi (1,259 km²) 485.62 sq mi (1,258 km²) 0.63 sq mi (2 km²), 0.13%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	14,081 29/sq mi (11/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Ford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 14,081, which is a decrease of 1.1% from 14,241 in 2000.^[1] Its county seat is Paxton.^[2]

Ford County is part of the Champaign–Urbana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

  History

Ford County was formed February 17, 1859. It was the last of Illinois' 102 counties to be formed, and was created at the behest of some residents of Vermilion County, who complained to the General Assembly that they were located too far from the Iroquois County county seat. Ford County was named in honor of Thomas Ford, who served as Governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846.[1]

President Gerald Ford visited Ford County on October 24, 1974, on the occasion of the retirement of Congressman Leslie C. Arends of Melvin who served in congress for 40 years, including over 30 years as Republican Minority Whip.^[3]

The Libertarian Party has performed well enough in recent elections to gain "established party" status, making it easier for Libertarian candidates to appear on the ballot. This is the only county in Illinois where this is the case.[2]

• 

  The creation of Douglas and Ford Counties in 1859 resulted in Illinois' current county map.

  Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 486.24 square miles (1,259.4 km²), of which 485.62 square miles (1,257.8 km²) (or 99.87%) is land and 0.63 square miles (1.6 km²) (or 0.13%) is water.^[4]

  Map of Ford County, Illinois.

  Adjacent counties

• Kankakee County (north)
• Iroquois County (east)
• Vermilion County (southeast)
• Champaign County (south)
• McLean County (southwest)
• Livingston County (west)

  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

  Settlements

  Cities

• Gibson City
• Paxton (the county seat)

  Villages

• Cabery (south half)
• Elliott
• Kempton
• Melvin
• Piper City
• Roberts
• Sibley

  Unincorporated

• Stelle

  Townships

Ford County is divided into twelve townships:

  Political districts

• Illinois' 15th congressional district
• State House District 105
• State Senate District 53

  Demographics

  2000 census age pyramid for Ford County.

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 14,241 people, 5,639 households, and 3,902 families residing in the county. The population density was 29 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 6,060 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.18% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.40% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 1.24% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 41.0% were of German, 11.2% English, 10.5% Irish and 10.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 98.4% spoke English as their first language.

There were 5,639 households out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 28.00% 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 2.45 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.80% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 19.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,073, and the median income for a family was $44,947. Males had a median income of $32,085 versus $22,320 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,860. About 5.70% of families and 7.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.60% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or over.

  Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paxton have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.40 inches (36 mm) in February to 4.38 inches (111 mm) in May.^[6]

  See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ford County, Illinois

  References

• United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
• United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
• United States National Atlas

1. ^ "Ford County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17053.html. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ Welcome to Paxton, accessed February 15, 2011.
4. ^ "Census 2010 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_counties_national.txt. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Monthly Averages for Paxton, Illinois". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0928. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 

  External links

• History of Ford County - Information from Centurama Celebrating The First 100 Years of Ford County, Illinois 1859-1959

		Kankakee County
	Livingston County		Iroquois County
		Ford County, Illinois
	McLean County	Champaign County	Vermilion County

Municipalities and communities of Ford County, Illinois, United States County seat: Paxton Cities Gibson City Paxton Villages Cabery‡ Elliott Kempton Melvin Piper City Roberts Sibley Townships Brenton Button Dix Drummer Lyman Mona Patton Peach Orchard Pella Rogers Sullivant Wall Unincorporated communities Clarence Derby Garber Guthrie Harpster Perdueville Proctor Stelle Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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Coordinates: 40°35′N 88°13′W / 40.59°N 88.22°W / 40.59; -88.22