Bureau County, Illinois

Bureau County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Princeton
Year Organized: 1837
Square Miles: 869

Court House:

700 S. Main Street
County Courthouse
Princeton, IL 61356-2048

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Pierre de Bureo, French trader with Indians

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

At the formation of Bureau County; its population was estimated at about 2,000 mainly scattered about the vicinity of the towns mentioned above. . The large county of Putnam had grown cumbersome as the number of its inhabitants increased; and a division was now imperatively called for. The proper petitions were forwarded to the Legislature; and on the 28th of February, 1837, an act was approved creating the county of Bureau. (This name though French, is said to be derived from that of some Indian chief. Hennepin Herald, Feb. 1847.)

Its boundaries were defined as "beginning at the northeast corner of Putnam county, running thence south on the east boundary line of said conty to the centre of the main channel of the Illinois river to the place where the line dividing townships fourteen and fifteen north intersects said river, thence west on said line to the west line of said county, thence north of the western line of said county to the northern boundary thereof, and thence east with said county line to the place of beginning." A considerable county was thus set off, embracing 814 square miles. Additions have been made since, from the western border of Putnam, so that the county now comprises nearly 25 townships.

The History of Bureau County (Taken From the Earliest Historical Facts of Marshall-Putnam Counties, Also Bureau and Stark Counties,

Compiled and Published by Mr. Henry A. Ford, 1860)
Chapter II: The History of Illinois 1690-1825 and Chapter V: The Black Hawk War
Chapter I: European Discovery in the West

Reminiscences of Bureau County : in two parts. (Matson, N.. Princeton, Ill.. Republican Book and Job Office. 1872. )

Part One: Table of Contents All Chapters are Now Online

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 873 square miles (2,262 km²), of which 869 square miles (2,250 km²) is land and 5 square miles (12 km²) (0.54%) is water. Big Bureau Creek is the main body of water.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Lee County
East: La Salle County
Southeast: Putnam County; Marshall County
Southwest: Stark County
West: Henry County
Northwest: Whiteside County

Cities and Towns:

- Arispie	township
- Arlington	village	Incorporated Area
- Buda	village	Incorporated Area
- Bureau	township
- Bureau Junction	village	Incorporated Area
- Cherry	village	Incorporated Area
- Clarion	township
- Dalzell	village	Incorporated Area
- De Pue	village	Incorporated Area
- Dover	village	Incorporated Area
- Gold	township
- Hall	township
- Hollowayville	village	Incorporated Area
- Indiantown	township
- La Moille	village	Incorporated Area
- Ladd	village	Incorporated Area
- Leepertown	township
- Malden	village	Incorporated Area
- Manlius	village	Incorporated Area
- Mineral	village	Incorporated Area
- Neponset	village	Incorporated Area
- New Bedford	village	Incorporated Area
- Ohio	village	Incorporated Area
- Princeton (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Seatonville	village	Incorporated Area
- Selby	township
- Sheffield	village	Incorporated Area
- Spring Valley	city	Incorporated Area
- Tiskilwa	village	Incorporated Area
- Walnut	village	Incorporated Area
- Wheatland	township
- Wyanet	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

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Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."