Fayette

Formed January 1, 1821 (20^th county)

Fayette County (21,492), Vandalia (7,460)

An 1859 red brick and stone home was converted into the courthouse in 1933.  It sits on a hill on 7^th Street and between Gallatin and Johnson streets.  United States Highway 40 is four blocks east of the location.  The 1820 State Capitol was converted to the earlier courthouse in 1832.  Frederick Remann was the original architect for the Georgian Revival style building.  The building was enlarged in 1993.  The county was cut from Bond, Clark, and Crawford counties on January 1, 1821 as the 20^th county with Vandalia as the only county seat.  Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette is the namesake of the county.  The county seat is reported to be a combination between “vanguard” and “dale” translating to “forefront in the valley.”  Vandalia was the state capital from 1819-1839. 

The area of the county is 716 square miles.  It is 20 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 55 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 30.0 persons per square mile making it 75 out of 102 in the state.  Fayette County has 52.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 57 crosses the southeast tip of the county coming from Effingham County and going into Marion County.  Interstate Highway 70 crosses east to west through the county from Effingham County to Bond County.  United States Highway 40 parallels Interstate Highway 70 from Effingham to Bond counties.  United States Highway 51 travels north to south in the county from Shelby County to Marion County.  The county is a rectangle with two added feet, one sticking south from the southwest corner and the other sticking east from the southeast corner.  Vandalia is in the southwest quarter of the county.  Vandalia is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 34.7% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced VAN-DALE-YA. 

Fayette County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 14 Board Members (legislative.)  Seventeen Circuit Court Judges serve Fayette, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Effingham, Jasper, Marion, Montgomery, and Shelby counties and a court clerk serves Fayette County (judicial.) Fayette County is in south central Illinois southeast of Springfield and northeast of St. Louis, MO.  The county center is 10.8 miles Northeast of Vandalia nearer Brownstown.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Shelby, Effingham, Clay, Marion, Clinton, Bond, and Montgomery counties.

Farina