Wabash County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 11,947. Its county seat is Mount Carmel. It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as "Little Egypt".
History
Wabash County was formed in 1824 out of Edwards County, to avert an armed confrontation between the militias of Albion and Mt. Carmel after the county seat was moved from a town near the current city of Mount Carmel to Albion. The County is named for the Wabash River, which forms its eastern and southern borders. The name "Wabash" is an English spelling of the French name for the river, "Ouabache." French traders named the river after the Miami Indian word for the river, "Wabashike,", the word for "pure white." Much of the river bottom is white limestone, now obscured by mud. A remnant of the county's original Eastern Woodlands ecosystem can be found in the Forest of the Wabash located within the county's Beall Woods State Park. In the 1920s there existed a famous hotel and resort that existed in Wabash County nearby the Grand Rapids Dam on the Wabash River. The hotel was named the Grand Rapids Hotel and was owned by Frederick Hinde Zimmerman. During the hotel's nine-year existence it catered to individuals from all over the United States. In July 2011, John Matthew Nolan wrote a detailed history of the Grand Rapids Hotel.
Earthquake
On the morning of April 18, 2008, at 4:37am local time, one of the largest earthquakes in Illinois history hit the area. The epicenter of this tremor was in Lick Prairie Township, near the middle of the county. The tremor was felt more than 400 miles away in Nebraska.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in Illinois by area.
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Mount Carmel have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in July 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in May.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 11,947 people, 5,012 households, and 3,310 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 5,585 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 96.9% white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.6% were German, 12.3% were English, 11.7% were American, and 8.4% were Irish. Of the 5,012 households, 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couplesliving together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.0% were non-families, and 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 42.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $46,026 and the median income for a family was $55,611. Males had a median income of $44,932 versus $28,292 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,350. About 7.2% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.
