Lee

Formed February 27, 1839 (83^rd county)

Lee County (34,144), Dixon (15,290)

The masonry Classical Revival design with a dome was built in 1901.  The building is located on a square at Galena, 2^nd, Ottawa, and 3^rd streets.  United States Highway 52 is Galena Street through the city.  A Law Courts Building was added in 1984.  Charles E. Brush provided the designs for the courthouse.  Lee County was founded on February 27, 1839 out of Ogle County as the 83^rd county with Dixon as the only county seat.  The county is named for American Statesman Richard Henry Lee of Virginia.  Dixon was named for its founder, John Dixon. 

Lee County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 7 Board Members (legislative.)  Thirteen Circuit Court Judges serve Lee, Carroll, Jo Daviess, Ogle, and Stephenson counties and a court clerk serves Lee County (judicial.) The county is in north central Illinois.  Rockford, Illinois is northeast and Davenport, Iowa is southwest of the county.  The Rock River cuts the northwest corner of the county.  The county center is 8 miles Southeast of Dixon nearer Lee Center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Ogle, De Kalb, La Salle, Bureau, and Whiteside counties. 

The area of the county is 724 square miles.  It is 19 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 42 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 47.2 persons per square mile making it 50 out of 102 in the state.  Lee County has 63.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 39 goes north to south through the eastern part of the county from Ogle to La Salle counties.  Interstate Highway 88 enters from the northeast, Ogle County, and exits west, Whiteside County.  United States Highway 30 crosses east to west from De Kalb County to Whiteside County.  United States Highway 51 is joined with Interstate Highway 39 from Ogle County to La Salle County.  United States Highway 52 enters from La Salle County, southeast, and exits to Ogle County, northwest.  The county shape is a fat capital letter T lying on its left side.  Dixon is located in the northwest quarter of the county.  Dixon is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 44.8% of the county population.  This county is in the Dixon Micropolitan Statistical Area.