Carroll County, Illinois: History and Information

Carroll County, Illinois

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

County Seat: Mount Carroll
Year Organized: 1839
Square Miles: 444

Court House:

P.O. Box 152
County Courthouse
Mount Carroll, IL 61053-0152

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Carroll County was organized in 1839, and was named for Charles Carroll, a wealthy landowner and politician from Maryland. He was one of the men who signed the Declaration Of Independence, and incidentally, was the last of the signers to die. The honor of naming the county was bestowed upon Isaac Chambers, the first settler in the county. Since Charles Carroll was one of the political heroes of the day, and since many settlers were from Maryland, Mr. Chambers decided to name the county after him.

Demographics:

History

Carroll County was created on February 22, 1839 (Laws, 1839, p. 160) and was formed from Jo Daviess County. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: JoDaviess County (1827–1839), Putnam County (1825–1827), Henry County (1825–1827), Fulton County (1823–1825), Pike County (1821–1823), Madison County (1812–1821) and St. Clair County (1795–1812). The County was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Illinois, a statesman of the Revolutionary period, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and United States Senator from Maryland.

The County Seat is Mount Carroll . Prior County Seats was Savanna (1839–1843) and Mt. Carroll (1843–Present).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,206 km² (466 sq mi). 1,150 km² (444 sq mi) of it is land and 56 km² (22 sq mi) of it (4.63%) is water. The Mississippi Palisades State Park is in this county, just north of the city of Savanna. The Savanna Army Depot is located partly in this county.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Stephenson County

East: Ogle County

South: Whiteside County

Southwest: Clinton County, Iowa

West: Jackson County, Iowa

Northwest: Jo Daviess County

Cities and Towns:

- Chadwick

village

Incorporated Area

- Cherry Grove-Shannon

township

- Elkhorn Grove

township

- Fairhaven

township

- Freedom

township

- Lanark

city

Incorporated Area

- Milledgeville

village

Incorporated Area

- Mount Carroll (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

- Rock Creek-Lima

township

- Savanna

city

Incorporated Area

- Shannon

village

Incorporated Area

- Thompson

township

- Thomson

village

Incorporated Area

- Wysox

township

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

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

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

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."

Illinois State...

Illinois

Illinois Counties

Carroll County, Illinois

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

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Demographics:

History

Geography

Neighboring Counties:

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

County Resource Guide

Penn Foster High School