Jo Daviess County, Illinois

Jo Daviess County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Galena
Year Organized: 1827
Square Miles: 601

Court House:

330 North Bench Street
County Courthouse
Galena, IL 61036-1828

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Joseph Hamilton Daviess, prominent Kentucky lawyer and soldier; slain at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

JoDaviess County was created on February 17, 1827 (Laws, 1827, p. 117) and was formed from Henry and Putnam Counties. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Putnam County (1825–1827), Henry County (1825–1827), Fulton County (1823–1825), Pike County (1821–1823), Madison County (1812–1821) and St. Clair County (1801–1812).

The County was named for Joseph Hamilton Daviess, prominent lawyer of Kentucky, United States District Attorney, and Major of the militia. He was killed at the battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. The County Seat is Galena (1827-Present).

Jo Daviess County was organized from Peoria, February 17, 1827, and was bounded as follows: Beginning on the Mississippi River at the northwestern corner of the state, thence down the Mississippi to the north line of the Military Tract, thence east to the Illinois River, thence north to the northern boundary of the state, thence west to the place of beginning. Galena was named as the county seat. Among those who have been prominent in the history of this county, who arrived in 1827, are, Dr. Horatio Newhall, Capt. H. H. Gear and family, John G. Hughlett, James G. Soulard, William B. Green, Harvey Mann, Charles Peck, Solomon Oliver, Allan Tomlin, Gov. Thomas Ford, Col. James M.Strode, C.C.P. Hunt, Capt. John Atchison, Paul M. Gratiot, Nathaniel Morris, Moses Hallett, Lucius H. and Edward Langworthy, William Hempstead, D. B. Morehouse, and many others whose names are familiar in Jo Daviess county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 619 square miles (1,602 km²), of which, 601 square miles (1,557 km²) of it is land and 18 square miles (46 km²) of it (2.85%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Lafayette County, Wis.
East: Stephenson County
Southeast: Carroll County
Southwest: Jackson County, Iowa
West: Dubuque County, Iowa
Northwest: Grant County, Wis.

Cities and Towns:

- Apple River	village	Incorporated Area
- Berreman	township
- Council Hill	township
- Derinda	township
- Dunleith	township
- East Dubuque	city	Incorporated Area
- East Galena	township
- Elizabeth	village	Incorporated Area
- Galena (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Guilford	township
- Hanover	village	Incorporated Area
- Menominee	village	Incorporated Area
- Nora	village	Incorporated Area
- Pleasant Valley	township
- Rawlins	township
- Rice	township
- Rush	township
- Scales Mound	village	Incorporated Area
- Stockton	village	Incorporated Area
- Vinegar Hill	township
- Wards Grove	township
- Warren	village	Incorporated Area
- West Galena	township
- Woodbine	township

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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