Douglas County, Illinois

Douglas County Education, Geography, and History

Douglas County is a county located in the state of Illinois. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 19,980. Douglas County was created on February 16, 1859. The county seat is Tuscola. The county is named for Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861), prominent Illinois Democrat who engaged in debates with Abraham Lincoln.

Etymology - Origin of Douglas County Name

The county is named for Stephen A. Douglas, United States Senator (1847-1861), debated Abraham Lincoln on slavery and ran against him for President in 1860.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Douglas County History

Douglas County was created on February 8 and February 16, 1859 (Laws, 1859, pp. 24, 28) and was formed from Coles County. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Coles County (1831-1859), Edgar County (1823-1831), Clark County (1819-1823), Crawford County (1816-1819), Edwards County (1815-1816), Madison County (1812-1815), St. Clair County (1801-1812) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1790-1801).

The County was named for Stephen A. Douglas, an eminent lawyer, brilliant political orator, Secretary of State (1840), Representative to Congress (1843-1847), United States Senator (1847-1861), and candidate for the Presidency in 1860. The County Seat is Tuscola . Prior County Seats was Camargo- Temporary designation (1859-1860) and Tuscola (1860-Present).

"Douglas County, lying a little east of the center of the State, embracing an area of 410 square miles and having a population (in 1900) of 19,097. The earliest land entry was made by Harrison Gill, of Kentucky, whose patent was signed by Andrew Jackson. Another early settler was John A. Richman, a West Virginian, who erected one of the first frame houses in the county in 1829. The Embarras and Kaskaskia Rivers flow through the county, which is also crossed by the Wabash and Illinois Central Railways. Douglas County was organized in 1857 (being set off from Coles) and named in honor of Stephen A. Douglas, then United States Senator from Illinois. After a sharp struggle Tuscola was made the county-seat. It has been visited by several disastrous conflagrations, but is a thriving town, credited in 1890, with a population of 1,897. Other important towns are Arcola (population, 1.733), and Camargo, which was originally known as New Salem. " ["Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois", 1901]

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 417 square miles (1,081 km²), of which 417 square miles (1,080 km²) is land and 1 square mile (1 km²) (0.13%) is water.

Douglas county is located close to the center of Illinois. Walnut Point State Park is found in this county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Champaign County
• Northeast: Vermilion County
• East: Edgar County
• South: Coles County
• Southwest: Moultrie County
• Northwest: Piatt County

Education

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