Hardin County, Illinois

Hardin County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 4,800. Its is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 470 (182 ). 462 km² (178 sq mi) of it is land and 8 km² (3 sq mi) of it (1.76%) is water.

Hicks Dome is an interesting geological feature in Hardin County. Some believe the dome may be related to an ancient meteor or comet impact, a part of the, a string of geological features running to. Some believe this to be a string of impact craters from a body that broke apart prior to hitting the earth. The Hicks Dome is underlain by s and igneous s or. Most geologists currently accept the theory that the older rocks at the center of the uplift are related to this deep seated igneous activity. This igneous activity may have also provided the for the fluorspar deposits in this region.

, or, is mined in Hardin County. During the nuclear arms race, this was used to make for the  plant across the  in.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - east
 * - southwest
 * - west
 * - northwest

History
Hardin County was formed in out of. Additional territory was later attached from.

Hardin County was named for, which was named for , an officer in the and. John Hardin was killed by in  in what is now.

The County, and particularly, was a stronghold for outlaws, bandits, pirates, and counterfeiters.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 4,800 people, 1,987 households, and 1,367 families residing in the county. The was 10/km² (27/sq mi). There were 2,494 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (14/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 95.42%, 2.75% or , 0.04% , 0.50% , 0.12% , 0.48% from , and 0.69% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 1,987 households out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the county the population was spread out with 20.40% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 26.90% from 45 to 64, and 18.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,693, and the median income for a family was $31,625. Males had a median income of $32,414 versus $17,091 for females. The for the county was $15,984. About 14.70% of families and 18.60% of the population were below the, including 28.60% of those under age 18 and 11.10% of those age 65 or over.