Williamson County, Illinois

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

County Seat: Marion
Year Organized: 1839
Square Miles: 424

Court House:

200 West Jefferson
County Courthouse
Marion, IL 62959-3061

Etymology - Origin of County Name

County in Tennessee.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Williamson County was created on February 28, 1839 (Laws, 1839, p. 110) and was formed from Franklin County. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Franklin County (1818–1839), Jackson County (1816–1818), Gallatin County (1812–1818), Johnson County (1812–1816), Randolph County (1795–1816) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1790–1801).

The County was named for Williamson County in Tennessee through the influence of emigrants from that county. The County Seat is Marion (1839-Present).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 444 square miles (1,151 km²), of which, 423 square miles (1,097 km²) of it is land and 21 square miles (54 km²) of it (4.72%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Franklin County
East: Saline County
Southeast: Pope County
South: Johnson County
Southwest: Union County
West: Jackson County

Cities and Towns:

- Cambria	village	Incorporated Area
- Carterville	city	Incorporated Area
- Colp	village	Incorporated Area
- Crainville	village	Incorporated Area
- Creal Springs	city	Incorporated Area
- Energy	village	Incorporated Area
- Freeman Spur	village	Incorporated Area
- Herrin	city	Incorporated Area
- Hurst	city	Incorporated Area
- Johnston City	city	Incorporated Area
- Marion (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Pittsburg	village	Incorporated Area
- Spillertown	village	Incorporated Area
- Whiteash	village	Incorporated Area

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."