Fayette County, Illinois

Founding: 1821
Parent counties: Bond, Clark, Crawford, Jefferson, and Wayne

Namesake: The Marquis de Lafayette, Continental Army general
Seat: Vandalia (1821–)

Land area: 716 square miles

Population (2020): 21,488

Population (historic): 2,704 (1830); 11,189 (1860); 23,241 (1880); 28,065 (1900); 23,487 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1830–1910; 1930s; 1970s; 1990–2010

Subdivisions: Two cities; five villages; 20 townships

National Register listings: Six

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 2,446 (26.3%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 28.1%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 6.5%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 16.6%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 10%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $752
Average outbuilding value (1930): $559

Average farmhouse size (1940): 5 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 3,676
Average farm size (1920): 92.3 acres
Sources of settlement: Ohio, Indiana, Germany, Tennessee, and Kentucky
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Vandalia

Namesake: Unknown

Founding: 1819 (platting); 1820 (post office); 1821 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 7,458

Population (historic): 419 (1850); 1,771 (1870); 2,144 (1890); 2,974 (1910)

Periods of population growth: pre-1850–1960; 1970–2020
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 856 (33.8%)
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Outstanding Buildings

1. *Lane Carson Farm (c. 1875). 2876 North 1400 East. Carson. Italianate.