List of counties in Illinois
Encyclopedia
County (United States)
In the United States, a county is a geographic subdivision of a state , usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S...
in the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Information on the FIPS county code
FIPS county code
The FIPS county code is a five-digit Federal Information Processing Standard code which uniquely identifies counties and county equivalents in the United States, certain U.S. possessions, and certain freely associated states. The first two digits are the FIPS state code and the last three are...
, county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
, year of establishment, origin, etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
, population, area and map of each county is included in the table below.
Etymologies
Most counties in IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
were named after early American leaders, especially of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, as well as soldiers from the Battle of Tippecanoe
Battle of Tippecanoe
The Battle of Tippecanoe was fought on November 7, 1811, between United States forces led by Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and Native American warriors associated with the Shawnee leader Tecumseh. Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa were leaders of a confederacy of...
and the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. Some are named after natural features or counties in other states. Some are named for early Illinois leaders. Two counties are named for Native American tribes, and one bears the name of a plant used as a food-source by Native Americans.
Even though Illinois does not have a Lincoln County named after its favorite son, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, it does have a Douglas County named after his political rival Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
. It also has Calhoun County
Calhoun County, Illinois
Calhoun County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 5,089, which is an increase of 0.1% from 5,084 in 2000. Its county seat is Hardin. It is part of the Metro-East portion of the St...
, named after John C. Calhoun
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
, outspoken for his Confederate views in the years preceding the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Many of the counties are named after Southerners, reflecting the fact that Illinois was originally part of Virginia, and settled mostly by southerners. No counties are named after Northern heroes of the Civil War, mainly because the counties were almost all named before that War. The State even has a Lee County named after the family of Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, who at one time served in Illinois. Illinois also has a singular distinction of having two counties named after the same person (DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton was an early American politician and naturalist who served as United States Senator and the sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal...
).
Alphabetical list
Note: the links in the FIPS County CodeFIPS county code
The FIPS county code is a five-digit Federal Information Processing Standard code which uniquely identifies counties and county equivalents in the United States, certain U.S. possessions, and certain freely associated states. The first two digits are the FIPS state code and the last three are...
column are to the Census Bureau info page for that county.
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Defunct counties
- Dane County was renamed in 1840 to the current Christian CountyChristian County, IllinoisChristian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 34,800, which is a decrease of 1.6% from 35,372 in 2000...
. - The original Knox County, Illinois, became extinct with the formation of the Illinois TerritoryIllinois TerritoryThe Territory of Illinois was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Illinois. The area was earlier known as "Illinois Country" while under...
in 1809 - or, more precisely, it became Knox County, IndianaKnox County, IndianaAs of the census of 2000, there were 39,256 people, 15,552 households, and 10,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile . There were 17,305 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...
. The modern Knox County, IllinoisKnox County, IllinoisKnox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 52,919, which is a decrease of 5.2% from 55,836 in 2000...
was formed much later and was not a part of the original Knox County.
See also
- List of census-designated places in Illinois
- List of cities in Illinois
- List of Illinois townships
- List of precincts in Illinois
- List of towns and villages in Illinois
- List of unincorporated communities in Illinois
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Illinois
External links
- Census 2000 Gazetteer
- Illinois Association of County Board Members and Commissioners
- Illinois City/County Management Association
- National Association of Counties
- Origin and Evolution of Illinois Counties, Jesse WhiteJesse White (politician)Jesse Clark White is a Democratic American politician. He is currently the 37th and second-longest serving Secretary of State of Illinois, after James A. Rose, and the first African American to hold this position....
, Illinois Secretary of State, 2010. - Illinois County Boundaries: 1790 to Present: Historical maps showing territorial changes