Hardin County, Illinois

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

County Seat: Elizabethtown
Year Organized: 1839
Square Miles: 178

Court House:

P.O. Box 187
County Courthouse
Elizabethtown, IL 62931-0187

Etymology - Origin of County Name

County in Kentucky

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Hardin County was created on March 2, 1839 (Laws, 1839, p. 234) and was formed from Gallatin and Pope Counties. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Gallatin County (1812–1839), Pope County (1816–1839), Randolph County (1801–1812) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1790–1809).

The County was named for Hardin County in Kentucky through the influence of emigrants from that county. Hardin County, Kentucky, which was named for John Hardin, an officer in the Revolutionary War and Northwest Indian War. John Hardin was killed by Shawnee Indians in 1792 in what is now Shelby County, Ohio.
The County Seat is Elizabethtown (1840-Present).

In 1801 to 1809, the territory that was Gallatin County split between the counties of Randolph and Knox. Everything East of the line running north from Cave In Rock remained "Old Knox County" with Vincennes as the County Seat. This territory consisted of a fourth of Hardin County, the mouth of the Saline River, as well as the area of Old Shawneetown and New Haven. Gallatin was reduced several times. Franklin county was organized in 1818, White county in 1815 and Hardin county in 1839. Around the 1700's, Gallatin and Hardin county were one of the same. The history of this area couldn't possibly be told in a few paragraphs and to do it justice, would take a few years. I will say that the little bit of what I've read is truly amazing and never ceases to hold my intrigue. This area is one of the few and oldest in Illinois. The history here ranges from the Mound Builders, there are two in the area you should see, Boyd's Mound and Rutherford's Mound near Saline, to the Shawnee Indians, the famous Cherokee Trail of Tears, the beginnings of Slavery in Illinois (salt licks), to the First Federal Bank. Other stories contain history on the Cave in Rock, to the haunting of the Old Slavery House and of course, Abraham Lincoln. I'm sure there is more...once I've research further...and I will do my best to touch on them all. Illinois is so rich in history and when you visit these areas... it's easy to fall back into time. The beauty of the Shawnee Forest in itself could put you right there! History books for Hardin County are hard to come by, but I have managed to collect a few. I have been there a couple years back, but I feel it requires another visit in the Spring. I can't wait to see Elizabethtown again and enjoy some of that sweet hospitality and that awesome fried chicken! (for research purposes of course!)

Contributed by Deanna Heneghan, former Hardin county host.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 182 square miles (470 km²), of which, 178 square miles (462 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (8 km²) of it (1.76%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Gallatin County
Northeast: Union County, Ky.
Southeast: Crittenden County, Ky.
South: Livingston County, Ky.
Southwest: Pope County
Northwest: Saline County

Cities and Towns:

- Cave-In-Rock	village	Incorporated Area
- Elizabethtown (County Seat)	village	Incorporated Area
- Rock Creek	township
- Rosiclare	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

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."

Penn Foster High School

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