Fulton

Formed January 1, 1823 (27^th county)

Fulton County (33,611), Lewistown (2,045), Canton (13,320)                

The towered stone courthouse sits on a square at Main, Washington, Adams and Lincoln streets.  Illinois State Highway 100 is Main Street.  The courthouse was built in 1898 using the designs of Charles Bell.  The grounds have canons and veteran memorials are across the street.  Fulton County was created on January 1, 1823 from Pike County as the 27^th county with Lewistown as the only county seat. 

Fulton County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 7 Board Members (legislative.)  Fifteen Circuit Court Judges serve Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, McDonough, and Warren counties and a court clerk serves Fulton County (judicial.) The county is in western Illinois.  Springfield, Illinois is southeast and Peoria, Illinois is northeast of the county.  The Illinois River forms its eastern border.  The county center is 13.5 miles North-Northwest of Lewistown nearer Cuba.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Knox, Peoria, Tazewell, Mason, Schuyler, McDonough, and Warren counties.  Inventor Robert Fulton is the namesake of the county.  The county seat is named for the son of a settler. 

The area of the county is 865 square miles.  It is 10 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 44 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 38.9 persons per square mile making it 62 out of 102 in the state.  Fulton County has 72.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 24 goes northeast to southwest in the county from Peoria County to Schuyler County.  United States Highway 136 crosses east to west from Mason to McDonough counties.  The county shape is an arrowhead pointing northwest.  Lewistown is in the southern half of the county.  Canton is in the northeast quarter of the county.  Lewistown is the county seat and Canton is the largest city.  Lewistown is 6.1% of the county population while Canton is 39.6% of the county population.  This county is in the Canton Micropolitan Statistical Area.