Edgar

Formed January 3, 1823 (29^th county)

Edgar County (16,868), Paris (8,296)                

A classic Romanesque style courthouse serves Edgar County, built in 1891.  There was an 1832 courthouse as well.  The current courthouse is built of stone and designed by Henry Elliott.  The facility is on a square at Court Street, Central, Wood, and Main streets.  Central Street is United States Highway 150 in the town.  The building features a tower and a fountain. 

Edgar County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 7 Board Members (legislative.)  Seventeen Circuit Court Judges serve Edgar, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, and Vermilion counties and a court clerk serves Edgar County (judicial.) The county is in eastern Illinois on the border with Indiana.  Springfield, Illinois is west and Terre Haute, Indiana is directly across the border.  The county center is 10.9 miles Northwest of Paris nearer Redmon.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Vermilion County and Indiana and Clark, Coles, Douglas, and Champaign counties.  The county originated on January 3, 1823 from Clark County as the 29^th county with Paris as the only county seat.  Revolutionary War hero John Edgar is the namesake for the county.  The county seat is named for a carving on a tree but the origin of the carving and its meaning is unknown. 

The area of the county is 623 square miles.  It is 31 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 62 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 27.1 persons per square mile making it 82 out of 102 in the state.  Edgar County has 67.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 150 enters from Vermilion County to the north and turns and heads east into Indiana.  The overall shape of the county is rectangular.  Paris is south and slightly east of center in the county.  Paris is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 49.2% of the county population.