Iroquois County, Illinois

Iroquois County Education, Geography, and History

Iroquois County is a county located in the northeast part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 29,718. Iroquois County was created on February 26, 1833. The county seat is Watseka. It is the only county in the United States to be named Iroquois, after the American Indian people.

Etymology - Origin of Iroquois County Name

This county is the only county in the United States to be named Iroquois, named for the American Indian Tribe (a confederacy of six tribes - the Mohawk, Oneida, Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga and Tuscarora.)

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Iroquois County History

Iroquois County was created on February 26, 1833 (Laws, 1833, p. 19) and was formed from unorganized land (Vermilion County). Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Vermilion County (1826-1833), Edgar County (1823-1826), 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(1795-1801).

The County was named for the former confederacy of six Native North American peoples, the Mohawk, Oneida, Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Tuscarora who originally settled along the Hudson River Valley. The name of the tribe was given originally to a river stretching 120 miles between Jasper County, Indiana and the Kankakee River in Illinois and was later transferred to the county. The County Seat is Watseka . Prior County Seats was Montgomery (1837-1839), Middleport (1839-1865) and Watseka (1865-Present).

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,118 square miles (2,896 km²), of which, 1,116 square miles (2,892 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (4 km²) of it (0.14%) is water.

Iroquois county is located in northeast Illinois. The county is located along the border with Indiana. The Iroquois River enters the county from Indiana and flows westward along the south side of the village of Iroquois to the north and joins the larger Kankakee River. Kankakee River then flows into the Illinois River further to the northwest. Iroquois County State Wildlife Area is located in this county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Kankakee County
• Northeast: Newton County, Ind.
• Southeast: Benton County, Ind.
• South: Vermilion County
• Southwest: Ford County
  

Education

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