McLeansboro () is a city and the county seat of Hamilton County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,675 at the 2020 census.
McLeansboro is part of the Mount Vernon, Illinois micropolitan area.
History
The city was named for Dr. William McLean, an early settler who had resided there in 1821. On September 26, 1911 one of the first air mail deliveries was made to McLeansboro by pilot Horace Kearney. In 1940 a post office lobby mural was commissioned honoring the event, depicting a plane flying over a grassy field surrounded by circus tents and residents of McLeansboro.
Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, McLeansboro has a total area of , of which (or 95.48%) is land and (or 4.52%) is water.
Climate
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, McLeansboro had a population of 2,675. There were 1,198 households and 661 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,365 housing units at an average density of .
The median age was 42.1 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.4% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 82.3 males age 18 and over.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
Of all households, 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 34.2% were married-couple households, 21.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 37.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Of the housing units, 12.2% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 2,515 94.0% Black or African American 26 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native 10 0.4% Asian 7 0.3% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.0% Some other race 16 0.6% Two or more races 101 3.8% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 53 2.0%
Income and poverty The median income for a household in the city was $55,714, and the median income for a family was $61,652. Males had a median income of $52,548 versus $20,625 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,621. About 11.0% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
Elwood Barker, businessman, farmer, and Illinois state legislator Ray Blades, baseball player. Paul W. Broyles, businessman and Illinois state legislator Jim Burns, former U. S. Attorney M. J. Engh, science-fiction author and Roman scholar Carl Mauck, former center for the Houston Oilers Rodney K. Miller, television host for Small Town Big Deal Jerry Sloan, Basketball Hall of Famer, player and head coach for the Chicago Bulls H. Allen Smith, author John H. Stelle, 29th Governor of Illinois 1940–41, National Commander of the American Legion 1945-46 Henry C. Warmoth, 23rd Governor of Louisiana
See also Hamilton County Courthouse (Illinois) 1968 Illinois earthquake
References
Further reading History of Southern Illinois, George Washington Smith, 1912.
External links
Hamilton County Historical Society Hamilton County Chamber of Commerce