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Gc 977.3 IL62 1386749
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00839 2018
COUNTIES
OF
ILLINOIS.
Their Origin and Evolution
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With Twenty-Three Maps Showing the Original and the Present Boundary Lines of Each County of the State.
COMPILED AND PUBLISHED BY JAMES A. ROSE, Secretary of State, JANUARY 1, 1906.
ALLIED PRINTING TRADES UNIONIC LABEL
COUNCIL
SPRINGFIELD
SPRINGFIELD: ILLINOIS STATE JOURNAL CO., STATE PRINTERS 1906
EXPLANATORY.
This pamphlet consists of an article entitled, "Counties of Illinois" extracted from the Illinois Blue Book of 1906. It is published in this form to render possible a more liberal distribution of it than the limited edition of the Blue Book will allow. Similar maps, so far as I am informed, have never before been published; and the text explanatory of the maps, has been compiled from original sources. The exact language of statutes and proclamations has been quoted except in some instances where, to economize space, abridgements have semed advisable; but no abridgement has been allowed to alter or obscure the meaning of the original.
Springfield, Jan. 1, 1906.
JAMES A. ROSE,
Secretary of State.
COUNTIES OF ILLINOIS.
The counties of Illinois are 102 in number of which McLean is the greatest in area with 1,161 square miles and Cook the most populous with 1,838,735 as returned by the federal census of 1900. Putnam is the smallest both in extent and population, having an area of 170 square miles and 4,706 inhabi- tants, McLean having about seven times its area and Cook about 400 times its population. Cook contains the greatest number of incorporated munici- palities, fifty-nine; Vermilion the next in number, twenty-five; while Schuyler and Wabash contain the smallest number, two each.
For the purpose of the regulation of official fees and salaries the counties of the State are divided into three classes: Those of not more than 25,000 population (fifty-two in number), are of the first class; those of more than 25,000 and less than 100,000, (forty-nine in number), are of the second class; those of more than 100,000 are of the third class, Cook being the only county in this class.
The powers of the county as a body politic and corporate are exercised by the county board, which consists, in Cook county, of fifteen commission- ers, ten elected from the city of Chicago and five from the outlying townships. In other counties under township organization the county board consists of the supervisors from the several townships of the county. In counties not under township organization, the county board consists of three commission- ers elected by the electors of the entire county for a term of three years with terms so arranged that a new member will be elected each year.
The system of township organization provided by the statutes is optional with the several counties any one of which may change to or from such sys- tem by a majority vote of all the electors of the county. Elections for the adoption of township organization may be ordered on a petition of fifty elec- tors and for the discontinuance of the systen on petition of one-fifth of the electors of the county. There are nineteen counties not under township or- ganization.
County organization in Illinois dates back to 1779 when, after the conquest of Kaskaskia and Vincennes by George Rogers Clark in 1778, the "County of Illinois" was established by legislative enactment of Virginia and the new county, vaguely defined as to boundaries, was attached to that commonwealth. This was passed in October 1778 and proclamation of the act made June 17, 1779. Captain John Todd was appointed "County lieutenant commandent". and organized the government with the county seat at Kaskaskia. But the machinery of county government was never effectually set up, and it soon ceased to run.
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ST. CLAIR AND RANDOLPH AS COUNTIES OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
In 1784, Virginia surrendered to the general government all claims to this territory and in 1787 "An Act for the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio river" was passed by the congress sitting under the articles of confederation. Under this ordinance General Arthur St. Clair was appointed governor of the territory. and. in 1790, organized by proclamation, the county of St. Clair, named in honor of himself.
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To understand the boundaries defined in this and subsequent proclamations and in the early legislative acts setting up counties in the Northwest Terri- tory, Indiana territory and the territory of Illinois, it is necessary to know the geographical location of a number of points not found on modern maps of Illinois. Some of these points are:
The "Little Michilimackinac"; the Mackinaw river flowing into the Illinois four or five miles below Pekin in Tazewell county.
"The little river above Fort Massac"; now called Massac creek, flowing in to the Ohio immediately east of the city of Metropolis, Massac county.
"Standing Stone Forks" of the Great Miami; near the present site of the village of Loramie, in the western part of Shelby county, Ohio.
"Theokiki river"; the Kankakee.
"Chicago river"; the DesPlaines.
"Cahokia"; the northeast part of. town 1 north. 10 west, St. Clair county.
"Prairie du Rocher"; near the center of town 5 south, 9 west, Randolph county.
"Cave Spring" and "Sink Hole Spring": believed to be identical and located in Monroe county, section ten, town four south, range ten west, about nine miles south and one mile west of the city of Waterloo.
"The Great Cave on the Ohio"; section thirteen, town twelve south, nine east of the third principal meridian, near the present village of Cave-in-Rock, Hardin county.
"The Great Kennomic," or "Kalamik," or "Calumet"; a small stream flowing into the southern bend of Lake Michigan in Lake county, Indiana, about eigh- teen miles east of the Illinois State line.
"Mile's Trace"; an old road or trail from Elizabethtown to Kaskaskia, a part of which led from the head waters of Lusk creek northwesterly through Crab Orchard and across the western line of Williamson county near its northern boundary.
"Lusk Creek"; a small stream still bearing that name, emptying into the Ohio immediately above the city of Golconda, Pope county.
"Gagnic Creek"; the DeGagnia, a small creek emptying into the Mississippi in town eight south, five west, on the present boundary line between Ran- dolph and Jackson counties.
"Bompass", "Bompast" or "Bon Pas" creek or river; a small branch of the Wabash forming the present boundary between Edwards and Wabash counties.
"Boon's Mill"; west of the center of town 7 south, 10 east of the 3d princi- ' pal meridian near the present site of New Haven.
The outlines of the latter counties formed after the territory had been brought under the federal system of surveys, with boundaries described by township and range lines, are easily traced.
1790-ST CLAIR COUNTY
April 27, 1790, Governor St. Clair issued his proclamation organizing St. Clair as a county of the Northwest Territory. It had for its boundaries a direct line from the mouth of the Little Mackinaw to the mouth of the Massac creek, thence down the Ohio to the Mississippi, up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Illinois and up the Illinois to the mouth of the Mackinaw. As thus constituted the county extended nearly two hundred and fifty miles from north to south with a maximum width of about eighty miles. . It embraced the territory of twenty existing counties and fractions of eleven others. But with all this wealth of territory, St. Clair was a small county as compared with Knox, created by proclamation June 20 of the same year, which in- cluded about half of the State of Illinois, the whole of Indiana, that part of Ohio west of the Great Miami river, the greater part of Michigan, and a con- siderable part of Wisconsin as these states exist at present. Knox was organized to meet the wants of the settlements about Vincennes. The out- lines of St. Clair and of the Illinois portion of Knox are found on Map No. 1.
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1795-RANDOLPH COUNTY.
October 5, 1795, Randolph county was created a county of the Northwest Territory by proclamation of Governor St. Clair and included all that part of the then existing county of St. Clair lying south of a line running from the Mississippi directly east through "the cave spring a little south of the New Design" settlement to the boundary of Knox county. Assuming the "cave spring" mentioned in this proclamation to be identical with the "Sink Hole Spring" of Governor Harrison's later proclamations, this east and west line was about two miles south of the present southern boundary of St. Clair county. This division gave to Randolph about one third of the territory of St. Clair as first established. These boundaries, shown on Map No. 2, re- mained unchanged until after the organization of Indiana Territory in 1800.
1801-ST. CLAIR AND RANDOLPH AS COUNTIES OF INDIANA TERRITORY.
February 6. 1801, William Henry Harrison, Governor of the Territory of Indiana, issued his proclamation continuing the counties of St. Clair and Randolph as counties of Indiana Territory, but changed their boundaries and enlarged their areas. The east and west line dividing St. Clair and Randolph ran directly east from the Mississippi through the center of Sink Hole spring until it intersected a line drawn directly north from the "Great Cave on the Ohio." The point of intersection of these two lines is in section 12, town 4 south, 9 east, in White county and was made the northeast corner of Ran- dolph county, the eastern boundary of Randolph being this line north from the cave, while the Ohio and Mississippi formed the southeastern and south- western boundaries respectively. St. Clair, as defined by this proclamation, had for its eastern boundary a line drawn from the northeastern corner of Randolph to the "mouth of the Great Kennomic river," and for its northern boundary, the Canada line. By the terms of this proclamation but little Illi- nois territory-a narrow strip along the Wabash-was left in Knox county. St. Clair contained not only the greater part of the present State of Illinois, but all of Wisconsin and a considerable part of Michigan and Minnesota as well. St. Clair and Randolph as counties of Indiana Territory are shown on Map No. 3, except the part of St. Clair extending beyond the present limits of the State.
1803-ST. CLAIR AND RANDOLPH-BOUNDARIES CHANGED.
In response to sundry petitions, Governor Harrison re-adjusted by procla- mation of March 25, 1803, the dividing line between Randolph and St. Clair. The dividing line thus established ran from a point on the Mississippi, about four miles further south than the old boundary, northeast to Sink Hole spring; thence in a northeasterly direction till it intersected a line running north from Cave-in-Rock. The point of intersection is in Jasper county, town six north, nine east of the third principal meridian, near the present site of Newton. The other boundaries of the two counties were unchanged and so remained until after the organization of the Territory of Illinois in 1809. This change of boundary is shown on Map No. 4.
1809-ST. CLAIR AND RANDOLPHI AS COUNTIES OF ILLINOIS TERRITORY.
April 28, 1809, Nathaniel Pope, Secretary and Acting Governor of the new territory, issued his proclamation continuing St. Clair and Randolph coun- ties of Illinois Territory without change of boundaries, except that the east- ern boundary of each county was extended to the eastern boundary of Illi- nois Territory, now the eastern boundary of the State. This gave to Ran- dolph additional territory on the east and to St. Clair a triangular strip along the southern part and took from it a triangular strip from the northern part of its eastern side, and eliminated Knox county from Illinois Territory. St. Clair still extended north to the Canada line. Map No. 5 shows St. Clair and Randolph as the two original counties of Illinois Territory as re-established in 1809.
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1812-MADISON, GALLATIN AND JOHNSON.
September 12, 1812, by proclamation of Governor Ninian Edwards, three new counties, Madison, Gallatin and Johnson, were created. Madison in- cluded all that part of the territory of Illinois lying north of the present southern boundary of Madison extended to the Wabash. £ Gallatin was bounded on the north by this same line, on the east by the Wabash and Ohio rivers and on the west and southwest by the Big Muddy, Miles's trace and Lusk creek. Johnson included all the territory bounded by the Big Muddy, Mississippi and Ohio rivers, Lusk creek and Miles's trace. This proclamation cut St. Clair down to comparatively small dimensions and made of it the smallest county of the Territory. These were the last counties created by proclamation. In this year Illinois was raised to the second grade of terri- torial government, and the creation of new counties and alteration of county lines devolved, thereafter, upon the Territorial Legislature. The outlines of these counties are shown on Map No. 6.
1813-BOUNDARIES READJUSTED.
December 11, 1813, two acts were passed by the first Territorial Legislature readjusting the boundary lines of St. Clair, Randolph and Gallatin. The line running northeasterly from Sink Hole spring as the southeastern boundary of St. Clair was abandoned and Sink Hole spring lost its importance as a landmark. Lines of the Federal survey had been established by this time, and the line between townships three and four south (extended from the Mississippi to the third principal meridian) was made the dividing line be- tween St. Clair and Randolph. The third principal meridian from the south- ern boundary of Madison to its intersection with Miles's trace was made the dividing line between Gallatin to the east and St. Clair and Randolph to the west. By these acts, those parts of St. Clair and Randolph east of the third principal meridian were added to Gallatin, nearly half of the remaining ter- ritory of Randolph was added to St. Clair and a small triangle from the ex- treme southwestern part of St. Clair was added to Randolph. Madison and Johnson remained unchanged. The county boundaries established by these acts are shown on Map No. 7.
1814-1815-EDWARDS AND WHITE.
Nov. 20, 1814, the Territorial Legislature passed "An act for the division of Gallatin county," which act divided Madison county as well, and from the' northern part of Gallatin and the part of Madison lying east of the third principal meridian, made Edwards the sixth county of the territory. Dec. 9, 1815, Gallatin was further reduced by the creation of White including besides the present area of White all the territory directly west of it to the third prin- cipal meridian. These two counties are shown on Map No. 8.
1816-MONROE, JACKSON, POPE AND CRAWFORD.
Jan. 6, 1816, Monroe county was created, Jackson and Pope Jan. 10, and Crawford Dec. 31, of the same year. Monroe, from St. Clair and Randolph, was given substantially its present boundaries except that the eastern boundary across town 3 has since been carried east to the Kaskaskia river. Several changes have since been made in the northeastern and southeastern boundaries of Monroe, but all of a trifling character. Jackson, from Randolph, included besides its present area, the southern part of the present county of Perry. Pope, from Johnson and Gallatin, contained besides its present area, portions of the present counties of Massac, Johnson and Hardin. Dec. 8 of the same year the northeastern boundary of Pope was carried east six miles, that is to a line running from the "Rock and Cave" (Cave-in-Rock) on the Ohio to the southwest corner of town 10 south, 8 east. Crawford included all that part of the territory lying east of the third principal meridian, and north of the line dividing towns 3 and 4 north. That part of Johnson between Miles's trace and the third principal meridian was attached temporarily, the eastern part to Gallatin and the western part to Jackson. These changes of county lines are shown on Map No. 9.
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1817-BOND.
Jan. 4, 1817, Bond county was created, a parallelogram twenty-four miles wide from east to west and about 600 miles in length, reaching from a line six miles south of its present southern boundary to Lake Superior on the north. The Illinois part of this county is shown on Map No. 10.
1818-FRANKLIN, UNION AND WASHINGTON.
By acts of Jan. 2, 1818, three new counties were created, the last counties of territorial origin. Franklin included, besides its present area, all of Williamson. Union was given its present territory to which was temporarily attached the country lying south of it and between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Union was the first county of Illinois to which was given its present boundaries. Washington, formed from the eastern part of St. Clair, included, besides its present area, the greater part of the present county of Clinton. Map No. 11 shows the counties of Illinois as they existed at the close of the territorial period. The admission of Illinois as a State in 1818 worked no change in county boundaries except that Madison, Bond and Crawford no longer extended north to the Canada line, but had for their northern limit the present northern boundary of the State.
1819-ALEXANDER, CLARK, JEFFERSON AND WAYNE.
The second session of the first General Assembly of the State created four new counties, Alexander, Clark, Jefferson and Wayne. Alexander, (March 4) from unorganized territory south of Union, included besides its present area, a portion of Pulaski. Clark, (March 22) from the north part of Crawford, ex- tended from the third principal meridian to the Indiana state line and from the present southern county boundary to the Wisconsin state line on the north. Jefferson, (March 26) from Edwards and White, included, besides its present area, the greater part of Marion. Wayne, (March 26) from Edwards, contained its present territory together with the southern part of Clay and the western part of Richland. Map No. 12 shows the county boundaries as they existed at the close of the first General Assembly of the State.
1821-LAWRENCE, GREENE, SANGAMON, PIKE, HAMILTON AND MONTGOMERY.
In 1821, six new counties were created. Lawrence, (January 16) from Craw- ford and Edwards, included, besides its present area, the greater part of Rich- land just west of it. Greene, (January 20) from Madison, included, besides its present area, that of Jersey. The unorganized territory to the north and east of Greene was temporarily attached to it. Sangamon, (January 30) from Madison and Bond, included, besides its present area, all of the existing counties of Cass, Menard, Logan, Mason, Tazewell, and parts of Christian, Macon, McLean, Woodford, Marshall and Putnam. Pike, (January 31) from Madison, Bond and Clark, included all that part of the State north and west of the Illinois and north of the Kankakee. Hamilton, (February 8) from the western part of White, was given its present boundaries and White was re. duced to its existing limits. Montgomery, (February 12) from Bond and Madi- son, extended north from its present southern boundary to the county of San- gamon and included the southwestern part of Christian county. Town 10 and part of town 9 north, 1 west have since been added to Montgomery. Vandalia having been fixed upon as the future capital of the State, it was considered necessary to surround it with a county of suitable dimensions, and Fayette (February 14) was created from Bond, Jefferson, Wayne, Crawford and Clark. It had for its southern boundary the line dividing townships 2 and 3 north, and extended north 180 miles, to the Illinois river. It was 42 miles wide for a distance of 60 miles and 36 miles wide the remaining 120 miles of its extent. It contained nearly 7,000 square miles of territory and included within its boundaries, in whole or in part, 18 counties as they exist today. A strict con- struction of the act creating Fayette would have made its entire western
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boundary the line between ranges 1 and 2 west of the third principal meridian, and its northern boundary the Wisconsin state line; thus taking, south of the Illinois river, one range of townships from the east side of Sangamon (formed January 30) and, north of the river, cutting in two Pike (formed January 31), and making its area about 11,000 square miles. It is probable, however, that the word "unorganized" should be read into the first section of the act, making it read, "all that tract of unorganized" country lying north" etc. Subsequent acts seem to agree with this construction. The outlines of these counties are shown on Map No. 13.
1823-EDGAR, MARION, FULTON AND MORGAN.
In 1823, four new counties were created. Edgar, (January 3) from Clark, was given its present boundaries and unorganized territory north and west of it was temporarily attached to it. Marion, (January 24) from Fayette and Jefferson, was given its present boundaries. Fulton, (January 28) from Pike, included besides its present area, parts of Knox, Peoria and Schuyler, and the unorganized territory to the north and east was temporarily attached. Morgan, (January 31) from Sangamon and the unorganized territory north of Greene, included the present counties of Morgan, Scott and Cass. The boundaries of Pike were re defined, restricting it to the territory between the Illinois and Mississippi south of a line drawn west from the present site of Beardstown. It contained the present counties of Pike and Calhoun, a small part of Schuyler and the greater part of Brownand Adams. The unorganized territory west of Fulton and north of Pike was temporarily attached to Pike. For these changes of boundary see Map No. 14.
1824-CLAY, CLINTON AND WABASH.
In 1824, three new counties were created. Clay, (December 23) from Fayette. Crawford and Wayne, included besides its present area, parts of Jasper and Richland. Clinton and Wabash, (December 27) the former from Washington, Fayette and Bond, and the latter from Edwards, were given their present boundaries. These acts also reduced Edwards, Wayne and Washington to their present limits. These changes of boundaries are shown on Map No. 15.
1825-TEN NEW COUNTIES.
In 1825, ten new counties were added, all of them in the territory north and west of the Illinois river: Calhoun (January 10), Adams, Hancock, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Putnam, Schuyler and Warren by a single act of January 13, and Peoria by a separate act of the same date. These acts gave to Adams, Hancock and Calhoun their present boundaries, included with Warren the present county of Henderson, gave to Mercer besides its present area, the part of Rock Island to the north of it, to Knox an area smaller by four townships than it now has, included with Schuyler the present county of Brown, and gave to Putnam all the unorganized country north of the Illinois and Kanka- kee rivers. Pike, Peoria and Fulton were reduced to their present limits. Hancock was attached to Adams, and Mercer to Schuyler, until the organiza- tion of these attached counties could be completed. The northern line of Sangamon was redefined and the detached portion temporarily attached to Fulton. A considerable tract of the unorganized territory east of Greene was added to Madison. Henry county extended south from the Wisconsin line to a line six miles south of its present boundary and from the 4th principal meridian east to the line dividing ranges 4 and 5. In defining Henry county, the Mississippi was not named as part of its western boundary, and as de- scribed in the act it extended beyond the Mississippi and included a consider- able part of Iowa territory. The eastern boundary of Monroe county was carried east so as to include township 3 south, 8 west, from St. Clair, and in 1827 was further extended to the Kaskaskia river, adding to it the fractional township 3 south, 7 west from St. Clair, thus enlarging Monroe and reducing St. Clair to existing limits. The changes described are shown on Map No. 16.
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1826-VERMILION AND MCDONOUGH.
In 1826, but two new counties were established: Vermilion, (January 18) from unorganized territory attached to Edgar; and McDonough, with its present boundaries, from territory attached to Schuyler. These two counties are shown on Map No. 17. The unorganized territory north and west of Vermilion was temporarily attached to that county. Mercer and Warren were attached to Peoria, and McDonough to Schuyler, until their respective organizations could be completed.
1827-SHELBY, PERRY, TAZEWELL AND JODAVIESS.
In 1827, four new counties were established: Shelby, (January 23) from Fayette, including its present territory and portions of Moultrie and Chris- tian; Perry, (January 29) from Randolph and Jackson, was given its present boundaries; Tazewell, (January 31) from the unorganized territory east of the Illinois, included the present counties of Tazewell and Woodford and parts of McLean, Livingston, DeWitt, Logan and Mason; JoDaviess (February 17) from Mercer, Henry and Putnam, included a large area north of the "military tract" and west of the range line between 10 and 11 east of the 4th prin- cipal meridian including besides the present county of JoDaviess, four entire counties and parts of five others. The country north of Shelby (formerly a part of Fayette) was temporarily attached to Shelby, that still further north to Tazewell and that north of Tazewell to Peoria. Mercer was reduced to its present limits: but, not having completed its organization, re- mained, with Warren, attached to Peoria. A small tract from St. Clair, lying west of the Kaskaskia was added to Monroe January 9. The county bound- aries at the close of 1827 are shown on Map No. 18.
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