Greene County, Illinois

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

County Seat: Carrollton
Year Organized: 1821
Square Miles: 543

Court House:

519 North Main Street
County Courthouse
Carrollton, IL 62016-1033

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Greene County was named for General Nathaniel Greene who was born in 1742 and died in 1786. He was a Major General in the American Revolution and became famous for his service in the southern region of the 13 colonies.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Greene County was created on January 20, 1821 (Laws, 1821, p. 26) and was formed from Madison County. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Madison County (1812–1821) and St. Clair County (1790–1812).

The County was named for Nathaniel Greene, a Major General in the Revolution, who distinguished himself as commander in the Southern Colonies. The County Seat is Carrollton (1821-Present).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 546 square miles (1,415 km²), of which, 543 square miles (1,407 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (8 km²) of it (0.59%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Scott County
Northeast: Morgan County
Southeast: Macoupin County
South: Jersey County
Southwest: Calhoun County
Northwest: Pike County

Cities and Towns:

- Athensville	township
- Bluffdale	township
- Carrollton (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Eldred	village	Incorporated Area
- Fayette	township
- Greenfield	city	Incorporated Area
- Hillview	village	Incorporated Area
- Kane	village	Incorporated Area
- Linder	township
- Patterson	township
- Rockbridge	village	Incorporated Area
- Roodhouse	city	Incorporated Area
- Rubicon	township
- Walkerville	township
- White Hall	city	Incorporated Area
- Woodville	township
- Wrights	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."