Mason County, Illinois

Not to be confused with Mason, Illinois.

Mason County
County
Mason County Courthouse, Havana
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°14′N 89°55′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1841
Named for	George Mason
Seat	Havana
Largest city	Havana
Area
• Total	563 sq mi (1,460 km2)
• Land	539 sq mi (1,400 km2)
• Water	24 sq mi (60 km2)  4.3%
Population  (2010)
• Total	14,666
• Estimate  (2018)	13,565
• Density	26/sq mi (10/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	18th
Website	www.masoncountyil.org

Mason County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 14,666. Its county seat is Havana. The county is named in honor of George Mason, a member of the Virginia legislature who campaigned for the adoption of the United States Bill of Rights.

History

Mason County was created in 1841 out of portions of Tazewell and Menard counties.

• 
  Mason County at the time of its creation in 1841

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 563 square miles (1,460 km²), of which 539 square miles (1,400 km²) is land and 24 square miles (62 km²) (4.3%) is water.

Mason County is bound on the south by the Sangamon River, and on the west by the Illinois River. These rivers join at the county's southwest tip.

The soil covering much of Mason County is very sandy. This was formed during the melting of the Wisconsin Glacier about 10,000 years ago. Meltwater from the glacier deposited large amounts of sand in a delta region near at the junction of the Sangamon and Illinois Rivers.

The sandy soil does not hold water well, quickly exposing crops to drought conditions as the water table drops during periods of low precipitation. However, the soil is very good for growing vegetables that are otherwise not common in Illinois. Modern irrigation has made this a highly productive agricultural area.

A sand wetland on the Illinois River is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge.

Climate and weather

Havana, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.9     32 14     1.9     38 19     3     50 30     3.5     63 40     4.4     74 51     3.8     84 60     3.9     88 64     3.5     86 61     3.2     80 52     2.9     68 41     3.3     51 30     2.6     37 19 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     47     0 −10     49     3 −7     77     10 −1     88     17 4     113     23 11     97     29 16     98     31 18     88     30 16     82     27 11     73     20 5     83     11 −1     67     3 −7 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Havana have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −30 °F (−34 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 106 °F (41 °C) was recorded in July 1983. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.85 inches (47 mm) in January to 4.43 inches (113 mm) in May.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 136
• Illinois Route 10
• Illinois Route 29
• Illinois Route 78
• Illinois Route 97

Adjacent counties

• Fulton County - north
• Tazewell County - northeast
• Logan County - southeast
• Menard County - south
• Cass County - southwest
• Schuyler County - west

National protected area

• Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	5,921		—
1860	10,931		84.6%
1870	16,184		48.1%
1880	16,242		0.4%
1890	16,067		−1.1%
1900	17,491		8.9%
1910	17,377		−0.7%
1920	16,634		−4.3%
1930	15,115		−9.1%
1940	15,358		1.6%
1950	15,326		−0.2%
1960	15,193		−0.9%
1970	16,161		6.4%
1980	19,492		20.6%
1990	16,269		−16.5%
2000	16,038		−1.4%
2010	14,666		−8.6%
2018 (est.)	13,565		−7.5%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 14,666 people, 6,079 households, and 4,060 families living in the county. The population density was 27.2 inhabitants per square mile (10.5/km²). There were 7,077 housing units at an average density of 13.1 per square mile (5.1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% white, 0.4% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 33.8% were German, 15.6% were American, 11.1% were English, and 10.3% were Irish.

Of the 6,079 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.2% were non-families, and 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 44.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,461 and the median income for a family was $51,348. Males had a median income of $43,448 versus $31,087 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,427. About 13.8% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Havana
• Mason City

Town

• Topeka

Villages

• Bath
• Easton
• Forest City
• Kilbourne
• Manito
• San Jose

Census-designated place

• Goofy Ridge

Other unincorporated communities

• Biggs
• Bishop
• Matanzas Beach
• Natrona
• Poplar City
• Saidora
• Snicarte
• Teheran
• Union

Townships

• Allens Grove
• Bath
• Crane Creek
• Forest City
• Havana
• Kilbourne
• Lynchburg
• Manito
• Mason City
• Pennsylvania
• Quiver
• Salt Creek
• Sherman

Politics

Although it voted for the Whig Party in the three elections from 1840 to 1848, Mason County was to be solidly Democratic for the next sixty to seventy years due to its anti-Yankee German-American heritage. It was not until the 1920 election when bitter resentment was felt by German-Americans at Woodrow Wilson’s postwar policies that Mason supported a GOP candidate.

In the following eighty years, Mason was a Republican-leaning swing county, although isolationist sentiment did cause it to vote narrowly for Wendell Willkie in 1940 and more convincingly for Thomas E. Dewey in 1944. The past decade or so has seen Mason turn solidly Republican due to opposition to the Democratic Party’s social liberalism and concern over the lack of employment and other economic opportunities in the “Rust Belt” – whose edge Mason County lies on.

Presidential elections results

Presidential elections results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third parties
2016	62.5% 4,058	31.0% 2,014	6.5% 421
2012	51.9% 3,265	45.5% 2,867	2.6% 164
2008	46.0% 3,141	51.9% 3,542	2.2% 148
2004	54.4% 3,907	44.8% 3,215	0.9% 61
2000	50.4% 3,411	47.1% 3,192	2.5% 169
1996	37.7% 2,430	52.5% 3,385	9.8% 629
1992	32.1% 2,473	51.5% 3,969	16.4% 1,260
1988	50.0% 3,424	49.7% 3,406	0.4% 25
1984	54.9% 4,109	44.8% 3,354	0.3% 23
1980	60.4% 4,644	34.8% 2,680	4.8% 369
1976	49.0% 3,847	50.3% 3,947	0.7% 55
1972	62.7% 4,897	37.1% 2,901	0.2% 12
1968	49.7% 3,899	42.9% 3,365	7.5% 589
1964	36.8% 2,833	63.2% 4,857
1960	53.0% 4,337	46.8% 3,824	0.2% 19
1956	59.3% 4,677	40.6% 3,199	0.2% 13
1952	61.9% 4,982	38.0% 3,061	0.1% 4
1948	49.8% 3,525	49.5% 3,503	0.7% 46
1944	54.5% 3,959	45.2% 3,282	0.3% 21
1940	50.5% 4,541	49.1% 4,416	0.5% 41
1936	38.9% 3,395	60.5% 5,278	0.7% 58
1932	30.7% 2,551	68.5% 5,681	0.8% 68
1928	54.8% 3,956	45.0% 3,246	0.3% 19
1924	52.7% 3,522	38.0% 2,536	9.3% 622
1920	58.4% 3,842	39.4% 2,595	2.2% 142
1916	42.4% 3,029	54.4% 3,886	3.1% 224
1912	23.0% 948	52.7% 2,173	24.3% 1,000
1908	43.5% 1,924	51.2% 2,264	5.3% 236
1904	45.0% 1,798	45.2% 1,806	9.7% 388
1900	43.7% 2,027	54.1% 2,508	2.2% 101
1896	45.8% 2,100	52.5% 2,407	1.6% 75
1892	40.0% 1,614	54.8% 2,211	5.2% 209

See also

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