HARDIN, IL

Hardin is a village in Calhoun County, Illinois, United States. The population was 967 at the 2010 census, up from 959 in 2000. It is the county seat of Calhoun County.

Geography

Hardin is located at (39.158271, -90.618239).

According to the 2010 census, Hardin has a total area of , of which (or 92.45%) is land and (or 7.55%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 959 people, 391 households, and 245 families residing in the village. The population density was 457.2 people per square mile (176.3/km). There were 445 housing units at an average density of 212.2 per square mile (81.8/km). The racial makeup of the village was 99.37% White, 0.21% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population.

There were 391 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 23.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $30,972, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $29,167 versus $22,083 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,461. About 7.9% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.

Early History

Hardin was first known as Terry's Landing, after its first settler, Dr. William Terry, according to John Lammy's American Centennial celebration speech in Hardin on July 4, 1876. Benjamin F. Childs bought the landing in 1835 and renamed it Childs' Landing. The village name was changed to Hardin when it became the county seat of Calhoun County in 1847. The new name honored John J. Hardin, a former congressman and a colonel in the First Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, who was killed earlier that year in the Mexican-American War. Hardin became the seat of Calhoun County after the county courthouse had burned down in Gilead. The seat was temporarily moved to Hamburg, but after an offer from Benjamin Childs of five acres of land and fifty thousand bricks for the new courthouse, as well as a free barbeque dinner, it was decided in a vote that the county seat would be moved in 1847.

Notable people