Logan County, Illinois

Logan County is a county in Illinois, United States, about 30 miles northeast of Springfield
and roughly 160 miles southwest of Chicago. It had a population of 27,987 at the 2020 census, an
estimated 27,713 by 2024, and covers 618 square miles (1,600 km2) centred near 40°08′N 89°22′W.

Lincoln is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 62656. The
county holds 3 cities, 8 incorporated towns, 3 census-designated places and 14 unincorporated
communities across 17 townships, and it runs on Central Time.

Towns & Villages in Logan County

Logan County has 28 named places on record: 11 incorporated cities and towns, 3
census-designated places (CDPs, unincorporated but recognized by the Census Bureau) and 14
unincorporated communities with no local government of their own.

Two pairs on this list are easy to confuse. Broadwell and Elkhart share ZIP 62634 —
Broadwell has no post office of its own, so its mail routes through Elkhart, three miles east.
San Jose’s population of 479 covers the whole village; most of its housing sits in Prairie
Creek Township on the Logan County side, but a share of the village extends northwest into Mason
County’s Allens Grove Township. Lake Fork is both an unincorporated community and the name
of its home township, a pairing repeated with Broadwell and Elkhart townships above.

Townships

Logan County is divided into 17 townships, the local unit of government below the county
level in Illinois. The Census Bureau does not publish separate 2020 population counts for Logan
County’s townships, so this table lists them alphabetically with their principal named
place instead of by population.

ZIP Codes

• 62656 — Lincoln
• 61723 — Atlanta
• 62548 — Mount Pulaski
• 62634 — Elkhart (also serves Broadwell)
• 62635 — Emden
• 62643 — Hartsburg
• 62666 — Middletown
• 62671 — New Holland
• 62682 — San Jose
• 62543 — Latham

Chestnut, Beason and Cornland have no ZIP of their own, and neither do the county’s 14
unincorporated communities — Bakerville, Burton View, Chestervale, Evans, Fogarty, Harness,
Lake Fork, Lawndale, Lucas, Mount Fulcher, Mountjoy, Narita, Skelton and Union. Mail to all of
them routes through the nearest incorporated town’s post office.

Geography

Logan County sits on flat, glacially levelled prairie in the heart of the state, drained
mainly by Salt Creek and Kickapoo Creek. Of its 618 square miles, 0.9 square miles are water, a
thin 0.1 percent, mostly farm ponds and small creeks rather than any natural lake. Lake Fork
Creek, in the county’s southeast corner, gives Cornland and Lake Fork Township their names
and drains toward the Sangamon River outside the county.

Tazewell County lies to the north, McLean County to the northeast, De Witt County to the east,
Macon County to the southeast, Sangamon County to the south, Menard County to the west and Mason
County to the northwest. Tazewell
County, McLean County, De Witt County, Macon County, Sangamon County and Menard County all have their own pages on
this site; Mason County borders Logan too, though its own Illinois page does not.

Demographics

Logan County had a population of 27,987 at the 2020 census, and the 2024 estimate puts the
county near 27,713 residents, a slight decline typical of rural central Illinois. Lincoln and
Atlanta are by far the two largest communities, together holding well over half the county’s
population. Median household income runs $66,358 (2024 estimate), notably below Illinois’s
statewide figure of $80,306 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 45 people per
square mile of land, low even by downstate Illinois standards, reflecting the county’s
mostly agricultural land use.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 2,002 people
as of 2024, followed by manufacturing at 1,405 and retail trade at 1,251, out of an employed
workforce of roughly 12,172. Two state prisons, Logan Correctional Center and Lincoln Correctional
Center, sit just outside Lincoln and rank among the county’s largest employers. Cresco Labs
runs a cannabis cultivation facility in Lincoln, and the National Weather Service operates its
Central Illinois forecast office there as well. Lincoln sat directly on U.S. Route 66 from 1926 to
1978, and the corridor still draws travelers to the city’s 1895 City Hall — topped
with a rooftop phone booth installed for weather spotting in the 1960s — and to the
world’s largest covered wagon on display downtown.

History

Illinois organized Logan County on 15 February 1839, naming it for Dr. John Logan, a physician
and state representative who was also the father of Union General John Alexander Logan. Postville,
the original county seat, lost that status in 1848; Mount Pulaski held the seat from 1848 until
1855, when it passed to the newly founded town of Lincoln.

Town proprietors platted Lincoln in August 1853 and asked Abraham Lincoln, then a circuit
lawyer who had helped file the paperwork, to name it. According to local tradition he split open a
watermelon and poured its juice on the ground, saying he had never known anything named Lincoln
that amounted to much. It became the county seat in 1855 and, by most local accounts, was the
first town named for Abraham Lincoln with his knowledge while he was still alive. Lincoln College,
chartered in 1865 as Lincoln University, was the only college named for him during his lifetime;
it closed in May 2022 after a cybersecurity incident.

Getting There

Interstate 55 crosses the county’s western townships, with an interchange serving
Elkhart. U.S. Route 66’s old alignment, U.S. Route 136 and Illinois Routes 10, 54 and 121
also run through the county.

• Springfield — about 30 miles southwest
• Bloomington — about 35 miles northeast
• Decatur — about 30 miles southeast
• Peoria — about 45 miles north

Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield is the nearest commercial airport. Amtrak
serves Lincoln directly at its downtown station, with four daily Lincoln Service round-trips
between Chicago and St. Louis plus three-times-weekly Texas Eagle service to San Antonio and Los
Angeles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Logan County located?
It sits in central Illinois, about 30 miles northeast of Springfield, bordered by Tazewell,
McLean, De Witt, Macon, Sangamon, Menard and Mason counties.

What is the population of Logan County?
27,987 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 27,713.

How big is Logan County?
618 square miles (1,600 km2) of land and water combined, of which 0.9 square miles are water.

What is the county seat of Logan County?
Lincoln, named for Abraham Lincoln in 1853 and county seat since 1855.

How many towns and villages are in Logan County?
Eleven incorporated cities and towns — Lincoln, Atlanta, Mount Pulaski, Elkhart, Emden, San
Jose, New Holland, Hartsburg, Middletown, Latham and Broadwell — plus three
census-designated places (Chestnut, Beason, Cornland) and 14 unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Logan County use?
62656 for Lincoln, 61723 for Atlanta, 62548 for Mount Pulaski, 62634 for Elkhart and Broadwell,
62635 for Emden, 62643 for Hartsburg, 62666 for Middletown, 62671 for New Holland, 62682 for San
Jose and 62543 for Latham.

What is Logan County known for?
Lincoln, the only Illinois city named for Abraham Lincoln during his lifetime, and its 52-year run
on U.S. Route 66 between 1926 and 1978.

More counties in this state: Towns
and villages in Illinois.