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Established January 18, 1826 (Laws, 1826, p. 50) and was the 45th of Illinois' 102 counties.
Named after the Vermilion River, the principal branches of which flow through the county.
Vermilion County is located along the eastern border of Illinois; its northern border is about 95 miles (153 km) south of Chicago.
Vermilion County in Illinois and Vermillion County in Indiana are two of twenty-two counties or parishes in the United States with the same name to border each other across state lines.
It contains 21 incorporated settlements; the county seat and largest city is Danville.
Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in:
- 1823–1826 – Edgar
- 1819–1823 – Clark
- 1816–1819 – Crawford
- 1815–1816 – Edwards
- 1812–1815 – Madison
- 1801–1812 – St. Clair
- 1790–1803 – Knox, Northwest Territory
County Seats
- 1826–1827 – Courts held at the home of James Butler and Asa Elliott (temporary designation).
- 1827–present – Danville
History of county governing board
- 1826–1849 – County Commissioners’ Court
- 1849–1851 – County Court (Began to function on December 17, 1849.)
- 1851–present – County Board of Supervisors (First meeting was held on June 13, 1851.)
Documented Record Losses
- 1872 – Fire. Some records probably lost or damaged.
Township Government Adopted – November 5, 1850
Township Names
- Blount – Formed as Fremont from Newell and Pilot on September 8, 1856; name changed from Fremont to Blount on September 14, 1857.
- Butler – Formed from Middle Fork on June 13, 1864.
- Carroll
- Catlin – Formed from Danville and Union in March 9, 1858.
- Danville
- Elwood
- Georgetown
- Grant – Formed as Lyon on September 10, 1861; name changed from Lyon to Grant on April 1, 1862.
- Jamaica – Formed from Catlin, Sidell and Vance in 1890.
- Love – Formed from Elwood in June, 1902.
- McKendree – Formed from Georgetown between 1910 and 1920
- Middle Fork
- Newell – Name changed from Richland on June 13, 1851.
- Oakwood – Formed from Vance, Pilot and Catlin on March 10, 1868.
- Pilot
- Ross – Name changed from North Fork on June 13, 1851.
- Sidell – Formed from Carroll on December 11, 1866.
- South Ross – Formed from Ross on June 13, 1927.
- Vance – Name changed from Union on June 13, 1851.
Notes:
A township named Trickels Grove was authorized in 1851, but when the electorate failed to organize, it was attached to Middle Fork.
The township of Prairie City was formed from Middle Fork on February 6, 1856; the name was changed to Patton on September 14, 1857; it is now part of Ford County. Other townships created from Patton include Drummers Grove (created in September, 1858) and Stockton (created on March 15, 1859). They are also part of Ford County, which was created on February 17, 1859.
Sources:
- Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD
- Wikipedia
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