Paris is a city in Edgar County, Illinois, south of Chicago and west of Indianapolis. The population was 8,291 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat and largest city of Edgar County. History Paris was established in 1826 on land donated by Samuel Vance to be the county seat, and was incorporated as a village in 1849. The town most likely received its name from the word "Paris" carved into a jack-oak tree in the middle of what became the town. Paris's history includes the service of two brothers, Walter Booth and Newton Booth, as its mayors in the mid-1850s. Newton Booth later moved west to California, where he served as governor and a U.S. senator. The commission form of government was adopted in 1915. In 1907, L. A. G. Shoaff bought the Centralia White Stockings and renamed them the Paris Colts. In 1908 the team was renamed the Paris Parisians. After the 1908 season the team went under. In the 1950s Paris was home to a minor-league baseball team named the Paris Lakers. A contest was held among the community to decide on a name for the team. James C. Dickey's submission, the Paris Lakers, was chosen. The Lakers were the 1956 Midwest League Champions and were affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Geography Paris is located at (39.613014, -87.693829). U.S. Route 150 and Illinois State Route 1 pass through Paris. Both Illinois State Route 16 and Illinois State Route 133 have Illinois State Route 1 as their eastern terminus. One railroad passes through town, a CSX Transportation line that goes north to Danville and southeast to Terre Haute, Indiana. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Paris has a total area of , of which (or 93.70%) is land and (or 6.30%) is water. Demographics As of the 2020 census there were 8,291 people, 4,137 households, and 2,576 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,185 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.12% White, 0.54% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.81% from other races, and 2.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.81% of the population. There were 4,137 households, out of which 34.47% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.00% were married couples living together, 14.48% had a female householder