Henderson County, Illinois

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

County Seat: Oquawka
Year Organized: 1841
Square Miles: 379

Court House:

P.O. Box 308
County Courthouse
Oquawka, IL 61469-0308

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Henderson River

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Henderson County was created on January 20, 1841 (Laws, 1841, p. 67) and was formed from Warren County. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Warren County (1825–1841), Pike County (1821–1825), Madison County (1812–1821) and St. Clair County (1795–1812).

The County was named for Henderson County in Kentucky through the influence of emigrants from that county. Henderson County, Kentucky was named for Richard Henderson, founder of the Transylvania Company, an early attempt to organize what later became Kentucky around 1775. The County Seat is Oquawka (1841-Present).

A county comprising 380 square miles of territory, located in the western section of the State and bordering on the Mississippi River. The first settlements were made about 1827-28 at Yellow Banks, now Oquawka. Immigration was checked by the Black Hawk War, but revived after the removal of the Indians from Warren in 1841, with Oquawka as the county-seat. Population in 1880 was 10,722; In 1890, 9,876. The soil is fertile and underlaid by limestone. The surface is undulating, and well timbered. Population in 1900 was 10,836. "Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, 1901"

Oquawka - the county seat of Henderson County, situated on the Mississippi River, about 15 miles above Burlington, Iowa, and 32 miles west of Galesburg. It is in a farming region, but has some manufactories. The town has 5 churches, a graded school, a bank and three newspapers. Population in 1900 was 1,010. "Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, 1901"

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 395 square miles (1,023 km²), of which, 379 square miles (981 km²) of it is land and 16 square miles (42 km²) of it (4.13%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Mercer County
East: Warren County
Southeast: McDonough County
Southwest: Hancock County; Lee County, Iowa
Northwest: Des Moines County, Iowa

Cities and Towns:

- Bald Bluff	township
- Biggsville	village	Incorporated Area
- Carman	township
- Gladstone	village	Incorporated Area
- Gulf Port	village	Incorporated Area
- Lomax	village	Incorporated Area
- Media	village	Incorporated Area
- Oquawka (County Seat)	village	Incorporated Area
- Raritan	village	Incorporated Area
- Stronghurst	village	Incorporated Area
- Terre Haute	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."