Wabash County, Illinois

Wabash County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 12,937. Its is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 590 (228 ). 579 km² (223 sq mi) of it is land and 11 km² (4 sq mi) of it (1.88%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

History
Wabash County was formed in out of, after an armed confrontation between the militias of  and  after the county seat was moved from a town near the current city of Mount Carmel to Albion.

The County is named for the, which forms its eastern border. The name "Wabash" is an English spelling of the French name for the river, "Ouabache." French traders named the river after the word for the river, "Wabashike," (Prounounced "Wah-bah-she-keh"), the word for "pure white." Much of the river bottom is white limestone, now obscured by mud.

A 329-acre (1.3 km²) remnant of the county's original Eastern Woodlands can be found in the Forest of the Wabash located within the county's.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 12,937 people, 5,192 households, and 3,587 families residing in the county. The was 22/km² (58/sq mi). There were 5,758 housing units at an average density of 10/km² (26/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 97.86%, 0.39% or , 0.17% , 0.45% , 0.05% , 0.26% from , and 0.83% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 5,192 households out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.20% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 17.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,473, and the median income for a family was $42,142. Males had a median income of $31,142 versus $18,091 for females. The for the county was $16,747. About 9.50% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the, including 19.70% of those under age 18 and 9.50% of those age 65 or over.