Randolph County, Illinois

	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
	█ Precipitation totals in inches
	Source: The Weather Channel

Chester, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
	█ Precipitation totals in inches
	Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion
	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
	█ Precipitation totals in mm

Randolph County
Randolph County
County
	Randolph County Courthouse in Chester
	Motto: Where Illinois Began
	Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
	Illinois's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 38°03′N 89°49′W / 38.05°N 89.82°W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1795
Named for	Edmund Randolph
Seat	Chester
Largest city	Chester
Area
• Total	597 sq mi (1,550 km2)
• Land	576 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Water	22 sq mi (60 km2) 3.6%
Population (2020)
• Total	30,163
• Density	51/sq mi (20/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	12th
Website	am.randolphco.org

Randolph County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 30,163.^[1] Its county seat is Chester.^[2]

Owing to its role in the state's history, the county motto is "Where Illinois Began." It contains the historically important village of Kaskaskia, Illinois's first capital.

The county is part of Southern Illinois in the southern portion of the state known locally as "Little Egypt", and includes fertile river flats, part of the American Bottom; it is near the Greater St. Louis area.

History

Randolph County was organized in 1795 out of a part of St. Clair County. It was named in honor of Edmund Randolph, Governor of Virginia. George Rogers Clark of the army of Virginia captured the area from the British on July 4, 1778, near the end of the Revolutionary War. The area then became the seat, for several years, of Illinois County, Virginia, although the Congress of the Confederation legislated the existence of the Northwest Territory on July 13, 1787. Edmund Randolph was Governor of Virginia at the time Virginia ceded the Northwest Territory to the United States. In 1809, when Illinois became a separate territory, Territorial Secretary Nathaniel Pope, in his capacity as acting governor, issued a proclamation establishing Randolph as one of the Illinois' two original counties. The county's boundaries were last changed in 1827, when land was taken to form Perry County.

The Mississippi River has played a prominent role in the county's history, altering its boundaries in 1881 when it severed the isthmus that connected Kaskaskia to the Illinois mainland, destroying the original village of Kaskaskia and forcing its historic cemetery to be relocated across the river to Fort Kaskaskia. Crains Island,^[3] southeast of Chester, is another enclave of Illinois west of the Mississippi that was created by a change in the river's course.

Randolph County as it was re-established in 1809. This diagonal border line had been drawn by the Indiana Territorial government in 1803.^[4]
Randolph County between 1812 and 1813
Randolph County between 1813 and 1816
Randolph County between 1816 and 1827
Randolph County in 1827, reduced to its current borders

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 597 square miles (1,550 km²), of which 576 square miles (1,490 km²) is land and 22 square miles (57 km²) (3.6%) is water.^[5]

The Kaskaskia River flows into the Mississippi River in Randolph County. At this point the Mississippi, which usually defines the border between Illinois and Missouri, is entirely in Illinois. The Mississippi changed its course in the late-nineteenth century, leaving Kaskaskia, the former state capital, on the west side of the river. The boundary of the State, however, follows the old course of the river, leaving Illinois with an exclave on the western shore of the Mississippi River. A smaller enclave, Crains Island, is a few miles further down the river.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Chester have ranged from a low of 22 °F (−6 °C) in January to a high of 91 °F (33 °C) in July, although a record low of −18 °F (−28 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 2012. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.85 inches (47 mm) in January to 4.30 inches (109 mm) in May.^[6]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Monroe County (northwest)
St. Clair County (north)
Washington County (northeast)
Perry County (east)
Jackson County (southeast)
Perry County, Missouri (south)
Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri (southwest)

Randolph County is among the few counties in the United States to border two counties with the same name (Perry County in Missouri and Illinois).

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	3,492		—
1830	4,429		26.8%
1840	7,944		79.4%
1850	11,079		39.5%
1860	17,205		55.3%
1870	20,859		21.2%
1880	25,690		23.2%
1890	25,049		−2.5%
1900	28,001		11.8%
1910	29,120		4.0%
1920	29,109		0.0%
1930	29,313		0.7%
1940	33,608		14.7%
1950	31,673		−5.8%
1960	29,988		−5.3%
1970	31,379		4.6%
1980	35,652		13.6%
1990	34,583		−3.0%
2000	33,893		−2.0%
2010	33,476		−1.2%
2020	30,163		−9.9%
2023 (est.)	29,815	^[7]	−1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8] 1790–1960^[9] 1900–1990^[10] 1990–2000^[11] 2010–2013^[12]2020 United States census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 33,476 people, 12,314 households, and 8,188 families residing in the county.^[13] The population density was 58.2 inhabitants per square mile (22.5/km²). There were 13,707 housing units at an average density of 23.8 per square mile (9.2/km²).^[5] The racial makeup of the county was 87.6% white, 9.7% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.2% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.6% of the population.^[13] In terms of ancestry, 40.3% were German, 11.3% were Irish, 9.4% were English, and 5.7% were American.^[14]

Of the 12,314 households, 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.5% were non-families, and 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 41.0 years.^[13]

The median income for a household in the county was $45,020 and the median income for a family was $55,113. Males had a median income of $43,359 versus $28,376 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,950. About 7.0% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.^[15]

Government and infrastructure

The Illinois Department of Corrections Menard Correctional Center is located in Chester.^[16]^[17] Prior to the January 11, 2003, commutation of death row sentences, male death row inmates were housed in Menard, Tamms, and Pontiac correctional centers. After that date, only Pontiac continued to host the male death row.^[18]

Politics

Randolph is a rural conservative county in southern Illinois that has trended Republican since 2000 in presidential elections.

United States presidential election results for Randolph County, Illinois^[19]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	11,076	74.29%	3,592	24.09%	242	1.62%
2016	10,023	70.61%	3,439	24.23%	732	5.16%
2012	8,290	57.42%	5,759	39.89%	389	2.69%
2008	7,538	49.59%	7,395	48.64%	269	1.77%
2004	8,076	54.00%	6,771	45.27%	109	0.73%
2000	7,127	49.88%	6,794	47.55%	366	2.56%
1996	5,422	37.02%	7,419	50.65%	1,806	12.33%
1992	4,899	29.57%	8,529	51.49%	3,137	18.94%
1988	7,396	48.28%	7,844	51.21%	78	0.51%
1984	9,415	59.48%	6,355	40.15%	59	0.37%
1980	8,810	56.86%	6,052	39.06%	632	4.08%
1976	8,190	48.07%	8,693	51.02%	155	0.91%
1972	9,761	60.20%	6,440	39.72%	14	0.09%
1968	7,681	50.37%	5,953	39.04%	1,616	10.60%
1964	5,803	38.68%	9,199	61.32%	0	0.00%
1960	7,988	52.05%	7,344	47.85%	15	0.10%
1956	8,439	55.44%	6,778	44.53%	4	0.03%
1952	8,427	54.59%	6,998	45.33%	13	0.08%
1948	6,867	49.83%	6,852	49.72%	62	0.45%
1944	7,518	54.65%	6,199	45.06%	39	0.28%
1940	9,333	54.21%	7,802	45.32%	80	0.46%
1936	7,057	44.95%	8,247	52.53%	397	2.53%
1932	4,747	34.78%	8,634	63.27%	266	1.95%
1928	5,739	47.46%	6,251	51.69%	103	0.85%
1924	4,527	41.61%	3,734	34.32%	2,619	24.07%
1920	6,180	62.54%	3,181	32.19%	521	5.27%
1916	5,517	49.06%	5,403	48.04%	326	2.90%
1912	1,169	18.31%	3,217	50.38%	2,000	31.32%
1908	3,045	47.04%	3,172	49.00%	256	3.95%
1904	3,238	52.17%	2,518	40.57%	451	7.27%
1900	3,045	47.07%	3,278	50.67%	146	2.26%
1896	3,024	48.55%	3,081	49.46%	124	1.99%
1892	2,425	43.87%	2,702	48.88%	401	7.25%

Media

There are two AM radio stations licensed in the county — WHCO 1230AM in Sparta and KSGM 980AM in Chester.

Weekly newspapers in the county are The Randolph County Herald Tribune located in Chester, The County Journal, which is based in Percy and also covers Perry and Jackson Counties, the North County News in Red Bud, and the Sparta News-Plaindealer.

The area is also served by the on-line newspaper based in Chester which is SunTimesNews.com