Bond

January 1, 1817 (12^th county)

Bond County (16,729), Greenville (7,079)

The Federalist style county courthouse, built in 1884 and remodeled in 1948, is a red brick building.  It is located on a square at College Avenue, 2^nd Street, Main Avenue, and 3^rd Street.  Illinois State Highway 127 is 3^rd Street.  W. R. Parsons provided the designs.  The courthouse grounds feature veteran memorials, canons, and a gazebo.  Bond County was created on January 1, 1817 out of Madison County as the 12^th county.  Hills Station was the first county seat (1817), Perryville next (1817), and finally Greenville (1821).  The county is named for the first Governor of Illinois, Shadrach Bond.  Greenville is named for Greenville, North Carolina. 

Bond County government consists of a sheriff and 7 Commissioners.  Eighteen Circuit Court Judges serve Bond and Madison counties.  The county is in southwestern Illinois.  Springfield, Illinois is north and Saint Louis, Missouri is west of the county.  The county center is 4.3 miles West-Northwest of Greenville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Montgomery, Fayette, Clinton, and Madison counties. 

The area of the county is 380 square miles.  It is 76 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 64 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 44.0 persons per square mile making it 53 out of 102 in the state.  Bond County has 58.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 70 crosses the county east to west from Fayette to Madison counties.  United States Highway 40 parallels Interstate Highway 70 from Fayette County to Madison County.  The county is rectangular with an additional nose sticking out of the northwest toward the west.  Greenville is located slightly east of center in the county.  Greenville is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 42.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Saint Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Pierron