Crawford County was formed in the Illinois Territory on December 31, 1816 out of Edwards County. At the time of its formation, it encompassed about one third of the territory, but it was reduced to its present borders by 1831 as it spawned new counties. It was named in honor of William H. Crawford, from Georgia, who was serving as Secretary of War and Secretary of the Treasury at the time. Crawford County was home to several battles between the settlers and Indians, and also the location of the only woman ever hanged in Illinois. In 1818, the town of Palestine was designated as the county seat. After elections in 1843, a new site was chosen, which would become the town of Robinson.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Some of the county's eastern border is defined by the Wabash River.
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Robinson have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in December 1989 and a record high of was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 19,817 people, 7,763 households, and 5,154 families living in the county. The population density was. There were 8,661 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 92.8% white, 4.7% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.8% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.0% were German, 14.4% were American, 12.4% were Irish, and 9.9% were English. Of the 7,763 households, 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couplesliving together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.6% were non-families, and 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 41.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $41,434 and the median income for a family was $51,218. Males had a median income of $40,050 versus $30,870 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,545. About 11.1% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.0% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.
Although Crawford County was solidly Democratic before the Populist-backed candidacy of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, it has since become strongly Republican. The last Democrat to gain a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide, although Bill Clinton won a plurality in 1992. Like all the rural Upland South, Crawford County has shown dramatic swings against the Democratic Party in recent elections, with Hillary Clinton’s 22.8 percent in 2016 the worst performance ever by a Democrat.
