De Witt County, Illinois

De Witt County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Clinton
Year Organized: 1839
Square Miles: 398

Court House:

201 W. Washington Street
County Building
Clinton, IL 61727-0439

Etymology - Origin of County Name

The County was named for DeWitt Clinton, a distinguished lawyer, financier and statesman, Mayor of the city and Governor of the State of New York, United States Senator and chief promoter of the Erie Canal. The County Seat is Clinton (1939-Present).

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

DeWitt County was created on March 1, 1839 (Laws, 1839, p. 199) and was formed from Macon and McLean Counties. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: McLean County (1827–1839), Macon County (1831–1839), Tazewell County (1827–1831), Shelby County (1827–1831), Fayette County (1821–1827), Clark County (1819–1821), Crawford County (1816–1819), Edwards County (1815–1816), Madison County (1812–1815), St. Clair County (1801–1812) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1790–1801).

Situated in the central portion of the State; has an area of 405 square miles and a population (1900) of 18,972. the land was originally owned by the Kickapoos and Pottawatomies, and not until 1820 did the first permanent white settlers occupy this region. The first to come were Felix Jones, Prettyman Marvel, William Cottrell, Samuel Glenn, and the families of Scott, Lundy and Coaps. Previously however, the first cabin had been built on the site of the present Farmer City by Nathan Clearwater. Zion Shugest erected the earliest grist-mill and Burrell Post the first saw-mill in the county. Kentuckians and Tennesseeans were the first immigrants, but not until the advent of settlers from Ohio did permanent improvements begin to be made. In 1835 a school house and Presbyterian church were built at Waynesville. The county was organized in 1839, and -- with its capitol (Clinton) -- was named after one of New York's most distinguished Governors. It lies within the great "corn belt" and is well watered by Salt Creek and its branches. Most of the surface is rolling prairie, interspersed with woodland. Several lines of railway (among them the Illinois Central) cross the county. Clinton had a population of 2,598 in 1890, and Farmer City, 1,367. Both are railroad centers and have considerable trade.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 405 square miles (1,049 km²), of which 398 square miles (1,030 km²) is land and 8 square miles (20 km²) (1.87%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

North: McLean County
Southeast: Piatt County
South: Macon County
West: Logan County

Cities and Towns:

- Clinton (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Clintonia	township
- Creek	township
- De Witt	village	Incorporated Area
- Farmer City	city	Incorporated Area
- Harp	township
- Kenney	village	Incorporated Area
- Nixon	township
- Rutledge	township
- Santa Anna	township
- Texas	township
- Tunbridge	township
- Wapella	village	Incorporated Area
- Waynesville	village	Incorporated Area
- Weldon	village	Incorporated Area
- Wilson	township

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!"

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."